noun
tunnel
TUHNL
noun
1
An underground or underwater passage, often built for travel.
"The train disappeared into a long tunnel through the mountain."
"Rescuers dug through the rubble to reach a tunnel below the collapsed building."
2
In networking, a method of carrying one protocol's traffic inside another, often for security.
"The remote employees connect through an encrypted VPN tunnel."
verb
1
To dig or build a passage through or under something.
"Moles tunnel through soft soil looking for grubs."
How to Use Tunnel
Learner’s notesIn plain EnglishA passage dug through or under something — literally underground, or figuratively in computing, where data is "tunneled" securely through another connection.
Common pairings
dig a tunnel
tunnel vision
VPN tunnel
Word Forms
tunneled past tense, tunnelled past tense, tunnels plural, tunnels singular
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Etymology
From Middle French tonnelle ("net") or tonel ("cask"), related to Old English tunne, the ancestor of "tun."