Tunneling - Meaning, Definition & English Examples
Tunneling is the process of creating a passage or channel through a solid material, such as digging underground. It is also used in physics to describe particles passing through barriers.
Definition:
Digging or constructing a passage underground, often through obstacles.
Synonyms:
burrowing, excavating, digging, mining
Part of Speech:
noun, verb
Antonyms:
surfacing, emerging
Common Collocations:
tunneling through rock, quantum tunneling, tunneling machine
Derivatives:
tunneled, tunneler
Usage Tips:
Use 'tunneling' for physical or metaphorical underground passages; avoid confusion with 'channeling.'
Common Phrases:
tunneling under the radar, tunneling through bureaucracy
Etymology:
Derived from 'tunnel,' from Old French 'tonel,' meaning a cask or pipe-shaped structure.
Examples:
- 1. The workers are tunneling through the mountain to build a new road.
- 2. Quantum tunneling allows particles to pass through barriers they shouldn’t overcome.
- 3. The rabbit was tunneling under the fence to escape the garden.
- 4. Engineers designed a machine for tunneling beneath the city without disturbing traffic.