[duct] n [NL ductus, fr. ML, aqueduct, fr. L, act of leading, fr. ducere to lead--more at tow] (1667) 1: a bodily tube or vessel esp. when carrying the secretion of a gland
2. a: a pipe, tube, or channel that conveys a substance b: a pipe or tubular runway for carrying an electric power line, telephone cables, or other conductors 3 a: a continuous tube formed in plant tissue by a row of elongated cells that have lost their intervening end walls b: an elongated cavity (as a resin canal of a conifer) formed by disintegration or separation of cells
4: a layer (as in the atmosphere or the ocean) which occurs under usu. abnormal conditions and in which radio or sound waves are confined to a restricted path -- duc.tal adj -- duct.less adj
[2]duct vt (1936) 1: to enclose in a duct
2: to convey (as a gas) through a duct; also: to propagate (as radio waves) through a duct