pipe Hear it!

pipe Definition

pipe (pīp)

noun

  1. a hollow cylinder or cone, as of reed, straw, wood, or metal, in which air vibrates to produce a musical sound, as in an organ or wind instrument
  2. any wind instrument; specif.,
    1. bagpipe
    2. a small medieval fipple flute played with the left hand while the right hand beats a tabor
  3. a small, shrill whistle, used by a boatswain as in conveying orders to a ship's crew
  4. a high, shrill sound, as of a voice, birdcall, etc.
  5. the vocal organs, esp. as used in singing
  6. a long tube of clay, concrete, metal, plastic, etc., for conveying water, gas, oil, etc. or for use in construction
    1. a tubular organ or canal of the body
    2. the respiratory organs
    1. a somewhat cylindrical deposit of ore
    2. an opening into a volcano's crater
  7. anything tubular in form
    1. a tube with a small bowl at one end, in which tobacco, etc. is smoked
    2. enough tobacco, etc. to fill such a bowl
    1. a large cask for wine, oil, etc., having a capacity of about two hogsheads, or 126 gallons
    2. this volume as a unit of measure
  8. Slang something regarded as easy to accomplish

Etymology: ME < OE < WGmc *pipa < VL *pipa < L pipare, to cheep, chirp, peep, of echoic orig.

intransitive verb piped, pip·ing

  1. to play on a pipe
  2. to utter shrill, reedy sounds or tones
  3. Metallurgy to develop longitudinal cavities, as steel sometimes does in ingots and castings during solidification
  4. Naut. to signal a ship's crew by sounding a boatswain's pipe

transitive verb

  1. to play (a tune, etc.) on a pipe
  2. to utter in a shrill, reedy voice or tone
  3. to affect or bring to some condition or place by or as by playing pipes to pipe the clan to battle
  4. ☆ to convey (water, gas, oil, etc.) by means of pipes
  5. ☆ to provide with pipes
  6. to trim (a dress, etc.) with piping
  7. to squeeze (icing, dough, or other soft or puréed food) from a pastry bag
  8. Slang to look at or notice
  9. Naut. to call together or alert (the crew), make (a specified call), or signal the arrival aboard or the departure of (someone) by sounding a boatswain's pipe

pipe Idioms

pipe down

Slang to become quiet or quieter; stop shouting, talking, etc.

pipe in

to convey (esp. transcribed or remote music or speech) by an electric or electronic system

pipe up

  1. to begin to play or sing (music)
  2. to speak up or say, esp. in a piping voice

pipe Synonyms

pipe

n.

  1. A tube

    pipeline, drain pipe, sewer, waterpipe, aqueduct, trough, passage, duct, cloaca, tubular runway, canal, vessel; see also channel 1, conduit, tube 1.

  2. A device for smoking

    nosewarmer*, hayburner*, hod*, boiler*, smokestack*. *

    Varieties of smoking pipes include: meerschaum, corncob (also: Missouri meerschaum*); bulldog, brier, clay, churchwarden, narghile, hookah, Turkish, hubble-bubble, opium, calabash, calumet, peace pipe, water pipe, hashish pipe, hash pipe*.

  3. A musical instrument

    wind instrument, flageolet, piccolo; see flute, musical instrument.

pipe Telecom Definition

  1. A circuit, in the vernacular, as in a broadband pipe. See also circuit.
  2. A coaxial cable configuration. See also coaxial cable.
  3. A cable conduit or ductwork. See also conduit.
  4. A waveguide for microwave transmission. See also waveguide.

pipe Usage Examples

Converse of object

  • leak: The floor was covered in about an inch of water but there was no sign of leaking pipes.
  • insulate: For systems without a tank stat, it is vital to insulate the pipes adjacent to the tank that feed the heating coil.
  • smoke: Bad enough with him smoking that pipe of his.
  • bury: But the rivalries are interrupted: in the exact place where Zöllner is buried, new pipes are to be laid.
  • lay: There are 16 miles of pipes laid in the concrete under the ice.

Adjective modifier

  • perforated: Concealed perforated pipes hidden below the water line would have spewed gasoline and then the floating fuel would have been ignited.
  • underground: I imagined they were responding to some report of a blocked drain, by sucking out the underground pipes along the road.
  • plastic: You can even install special plastic pipe in solid floors to provide under floor heating.
  • frozen: Gordon also mentions that frozen water supply pipes were a problem.
  • 22mm: A piece of 22mm copper pipe is inserted into this hole as a sleeve.

Modifies a noun

  • organ: Billy couldn't take a pipe organ with him, in fact he didn't own one.
  • cleaner: The best pipe cleaner craft book I've been able to find.
  • dream: Talk of shaping Europes policy is just a pipe dream.
  • insulation: The opportunity to update existing heating controls should never be missed along with increasing pipe insulation.

Noun used with modifier

  • exhaust: These chrome trims are either straight, to lengthen the exhaust pipe, or a shrouded fan shape to deflect the gases downwards.
  • clay: A number of clay pipes are among the finds.
  • flue: Like the great, the sixteen top notes of the clarion are composed of flue pipes.
  • hose: We are building two planters out of breeze block with lengths of hose pipe between the mortar joints.
  • outfall: A new sea outfall pipe is to be sited north of the town.
  • burst: I would have hoped your tenants would be sensible enough not to want burst pipes damaging their goods.

Browse dictionary entries near pipe

  1. pipal
  2. pipage
  3. pip
  4. pious
  5. pioneer
  6. pion
  7. Pinzón
  8. pinyon
  9. Pinyin
  10. piny
  1. pipe bomb
  2. pipe clay
  3. pipe cleaner
  4. pipe cutter
  5. pipe down
  6. pipe dream
  7. pipe fitter
  8. pipe fitting
  9. pipe of peace
  10. pipe organ