tunnel
[noun]
Synonyms:
- passage, burrow, channel, hole, passageway, shaft, subway, underpass
[verb]
Synonyms:
- dig, burrow, excavate, mine, scoop out

[TahlilGaran] English Synonym Dictionary ▲

I. tun‧nel¹ W3 /ˈtʌnl/ noun [countable]
[Date: 1400-1500; Language: Old French; Origin: tonel 'barrel', from tonne, from Medieval Latin tunna]

1. a passage that has been dug under the ground for cars, trains etc to go through:
a railway tunnel
the Channel Tunnel (=between England and France)

2. a passage under the ground that animals have dug to live in

[TahlilGaran] Dictionary of Contemporary English ▲

II. tunnel² verb (past tense and past participle tunnelled, present participle tunnelling British English, tunneled, tunneling American English) [intransitive always + adverb/preposition, transitive]

1. to dig a long passage under the ground
tunnel into/through/under
They were tunnelling into the mountainside.
tunnel your way under/through etc
The prisoners tunneled their way under the fence.

2. if insects tunnel into something, they make holes in it
tunnel into
The grubs tunnel into the wood.

[TahlilGaran] Dictionary of Contemporary English ▲

tunnel
noun
ADJ. long, short | narrow, wide | dark | subterranean, underground | connecting, entrance, escape, service | rail, railway, road | wind a wind tunnel for aerodynamic experiments
VERB + TUNNEL go through, use | disappear into, enter, go into The train disappeared into a tunnel.
come out of | bore, build, construct, dig, excavate They've built a new tunnel through the mountain. The initial section of tunnel had to be dug by hand.
TUNNEL + VERB run A service tunnel runs between the two buildings.
TUNNEL + NOUN mouth, roof, wall
PREP. through a/the ~
PHRASES a labyrinth/maze/network/system of tunnels The badger sett had twelve entrances to what must have been a labyrinth of tunnels.

[TahlilGaran] Collocations Dictionary ▲

tunnel

a two-mile/1500-foot-long etc tunnel
A 250-metre-long tunnel provides access to all parts of the development.
a dark tunnel
He peered uneasily down the dark tunnel at the end of the platform.
a narrow tunnel
She ran down the narrow tunnel leading to the exit.
an underground tunnel
The prisoners escaped through an underground tunnel.
a rail/railway tunnel
the 15km long Gotthard railway tunnel
a road tunnel
a road tunnel through the mountains
the Channel Tunnel (=the tunnel under the sea between England and France)
They went by train via the Channel Tunnel.
the roof of a tunnel
The roof of the tunnel was a foot above his head.
the entrance to a tunnel/tunnel entrance
To the right was the entrance to a second tunnel.
dig a tunnel
Burglars had dug a tunnel under the building in an attempted raid.
build a tunnel
The contractors will start building the tunnel next month.
a tunnel leads somewhere
The Greenwich Foot Tunnel leads under the RiverThames.

[TahlilGaran] Collocations Dictionary ▲