tunnel

tunnel — noun

1. a long hole dug underground, built so that people, vehicles, or trains can move

1.nounB1
Definition

a long hole dug underground, built so that people, vehicles, or trains can move from one side of a hill, river, or other obstacle to the other

Example

The workers spent three years digging a tunnel through the mountain.

collocation: dig a tunnel

A new tunnel under the river will connect the two cities by train.

Common collocations
  • dig a tunnel
  • build a tunnel
  • go through a tunnel
  • tunnel entrance
  • tunnel exit
  • enter a tunnel
Synonyms
  • passage

    a general word for any narrow way; not necessarily underground

  • underpass

    a short tunnel for pedestrians crossing under a road; smaller and more urban

  • subway

    in British English, an underground walkway for people; in American English, the metro train system

Grammar Patterns

dig/build/enter + a tunnel

through/under/beneath + the tunnel

Usage Note

This is the most common sense of tunnel. The object through which the tunnel passes is typically introduced by through or under (through the rock, under the river).

Common Mistakes

The train went into the underpass.
The train went into the tunnel.
An underpass is a short passage under a road for pedestrians; a tunnel is a longer underground route for vehicles or trains.
They built a tunnel across the hill.
They built a tunnel through the hill.
Tunnels go through an obstacle (hill, mountain) or under it (river), not across.

2. the covered walkway that players use to go from the changing rooms to the field,

2.nounB2
Definition

the covered walkway that players use to go from the changing rooms to the field, court, or pitch before a game

Example

The home team walked out of the tunnel to loud cheers from the crowd.

collocation: walk out of the tunnel

Christopher and the other captain waited at the tunnel entrance before the match.

collocation: tunnel entrance

Common collocations
  • players' tunnel
  • walk out of the tunnel
  • tunnel entrance
  • emerge from the tunnel
  • step from the tunnel
Synonyms
  • runway

    used in American sports (especially basketball) for the path from locker rooms to the court

Grammar Patterns

walk out of the tunnel

emerge from the tunnel

tunnel + onto + pitch/field

Usage Note

This sense is most common in British sports reporting. In American English, the same area may be called the runway or the locker room corridor.

Common Mistakes

The players walked through the corridor to the pitch.
The players walked through the tunnel to the pitch.
In sports stadiums this walkway is specifically called a tunnel, not a corridor.

3. a hole or passage under the ground that an animal digs and lives in for shelter

3.nounB1
Definition

a hole or passage under the ground that an animal digs and lives in for shelter or protection

Example

The rabbit disappeared into its tunnel when it heard the dog approaching.

collocation: disappear into its tunnel

Badgers dig complex tunnels with several rooms for sleeping and storing food.

Common collocations
  • dig a tunnel
  • underground tunnel
  • tunnel system
  • animal tunnel
Synonyms
  • burrow

    a more specific word for a hole dug by a small animal for living in; interchangeable with tunnel in this sense

  • den

    focuses on the living space itself rather than the passage leading to it

Grammar Patterns

dig a tunnel

live in a tunnel

tunnel system

Common Mistakes

The rabbit went into its cave.
The rabbit went into its tunnel.
A cave is a large natural opening in rock; a tunnel is a narrower burrow that an animal digs itself.
Idioms

light at the end of the tunnel

idiom

A sign that a difficult period is almost over.

After months of hard work, Maya finally saw light at the end of the tunnel.

Do you see any light at the end of the tunnel in this project?

tunnel — verb

Word family

  • tunneller
    nounC1
  • tunnelling
    nounB2

Synonym discussion

Sense: noun/1

While tunnel, passage, underpass, subway, and gallery all describe ways through an enclosed space, each has a different scope. Tunnel is the most specific — it always involves a man-made passage dug underground or through an obstacle, typically for vehicles or trains. Passage is the broadest term and can refer to any narrow way between walls, inside a building, or through a cave — it does not have to be underground. Underpass refers specifically to a short passage that goes under a road or railway, usually for pedestrians or cyclists in urban areas; tunnels are longer and larger. Subway has a split meaning: in British English it is the same as underpass (a pedestrian passage under a road), while in American English it refers to the underground train system. Gallery is the most specialised, used in mining (a horizontal passage in a mine) or in caves (a long natural passage). For everyday use, when cars or trains go through a hill or under a river, tunnel is the right word.

passage ↗underpasssubway ↗gallery ↗

Common collocations

Nouns

Adverbs

Phrases

Prepositions

Etymology

FrenchEnglish

The word tunnel entered English from Old French tonel, meaning a small cask or barrel. It first referred to a barrel-shaped net used for catching birds, then broadened to mean any pipe or chimney shaped like a tube. By the 1700s, the meaning shifted to an underground passage — probably because early tunnels, like those in mines, reminded people of a barrel laid on its side.