(~s)
Frequency: The word is one of the 3000 most common words in English.
1.
A ~ is a long hollow object that is usually round, like a pipe.
He is fed by a ~ that enters his nose.
...a cardboard ~.
N-COUNT
2.
A ~ of something such as paste is a long, thin container which you squeeze in order to force the paste out.
...a ~ of toothpaste.
...a small ~ of moisturizer.
N-COUNT: oft N of n
3.
Some long, thin, hollow parts in your body are referred to as ~s.
The lungs are in fact constructed of thousands of tiny ~s.
N-COUNT
4.
The ~ is the underground railway system in London. (BRIT)
I took the ~ then the train and came straight here...
N-SING: the N, also by N
5.
You can refer to the television as the ~. (AM INFORMAL; in BRIT, use the box )
The only baseball he saw was on the ~.
= TV
N-COUNT: the N
6.
If a business, economy, or institution goes down the ~s or goes down the ~, it fails or collapses completely. (mainly AM INFORMAL)
The country was going down the ~s economically...
PHRASE: V inflects
7.
see also bronchial ~ , cathode-ray ~ , fallopian ~ , inner ~ , test ~