French word

tube

Pronunciation

IPA/tyb/

Meaning

  • masculine nountube

Example

Le tube de dentifrice est presque vide.

The toothpaste tube is nearly empty.

Illustration for tube (tube)

More examples

J'ai besoin d'un tube de colle pour réparer la chaise.

I need a tube of glue to repair the chair.

Core concept

A narrow hollow casing for holding or channeling something, with a highly successful song called a tube in popular French.

Common phrases

  • tube de dentifrice

    tube of toothpaste

  • tube de colle

    tube of glue

  • tube de peinture

    tube of paint

Similar words

tuyau: A narrow hollow pipe used to carry liquids or gases.
flacon: A small container for liquids, often used for perfume or medicine.
bouteille: A capped container used to store or transport liquids.
récipient: A general container for holding objects or liquids.

Definition in French

Objet creux et allongé, généralement de forme cylindrique, destiné à contenir quelque chose ou à laisser passer un fluide; familièrement, chanson ayant rencontré un grand succès populaire.

Word origin

French borrowed tube from Latin tubus, a word for a pipe or hollow passage, and later extended the noun in popular usage to a very successful song.

Usage tips

  • French pronounces tube as /tyb/, with the vowel of tu rather than the English vowel in tube and with a pronounced final consonant.

Other meanings

  • pipenoun
  • hitnoun

Opposites

  • flopfailurenoun

Word lists with this word