noun
- pipes collectively; a system or network of pipes.
- material formed into a pipe or pipes.
- the act of a person or thing that pipes.
- the sound of pipes.
- a shrill sound.
- the music of pipes.
- a cordlike ornamentation made of icing, used on pastry.
- a tubular band of ornamental material, sometimes containing a cord, used for trimming the edges and seams of clothing, upholstery, etc.
adjective
- characterized by the peaceful music of the pipe.
- playing on a musical pipe.
- that pipes.
- emitting a shrill sound: a piping voice.
Idioms
- piping hot, (of food or drink) very hot.
noun
- a hollow cylinder of metal, wood, or other material, used for the conveyance of water, gas, steam, petroleum, etc.
- a tube of wood, clay, hard rubber, or other material, with a small bowl at one end, used for smoking tobacco, opium, etc.
- a quantity, as of tobacco, that fills the bowl of such a smoking utensil.
- Music.
- a tube used as, or to form an essential part of, a musical wind instrument.
- a musical wind instrument consisting of a single tube of straw, reed, wood, or other material, as a flute, clarinet, or oboe.
- one of the wooden or metal tubes from which the tones of an organ are produced.
- a small end-blown flute played with one hand while the other beats a small drum.
- Nautical.
- boatswain’s pipe.
- the sound of a boatswain’s pipe.
- the call or utterance of a bird, frog, etc.
- pipes, Informal. the human vocal cords or the voice, especially as used in singing.
- Usually pipes.
- Music.bagpipe.
- a set of flutes, as a panpipe.
- Informal.a tubular organ or passage of a human or animal body, especially a respiratory passage: to complain of congested pipes.
- any of various tubular or cylindrical objects, parts, or formations, as an eruptive passage of a volcano or geyser.
- Mining.
- a cylindrical vein or body of ore.
- (in South Africa) a vertical, cylindrical matrix, of intrusive igneous origin, in which diamonds are found.
- Metallurgy. a depression occurring at the center of the head of an ingot as a result of the tendency of solidification to begin at the bottom and sides of the ingot mold.
- Botany. the stem of a plant.
verb (used without object), piped, pip·ing.
- to play on a pipe.
- Nautical. to signal, as with a boatswain’s pipe.
- to speak in a high-pitched or piercing tone.
- to make or utter a shrill sound like that of a pipe: songbirds piping at dawn.
verb (used with object), piped, pip·ing.
- to convey by or as by pipes: to pipe water from the lake.
- to supply with pipes.
- to play (music) on a pipe or pipes.
- to summon, order, etc., by sounding the boatswain’s pipe or whistle: all hands were piped on deck.
- to bring, lead, etc., by or as by playing on a pipe: to pipe dancers.
- to utter in a shrill tone: to pipe a command.
- to trim or finish with piping, as an article of clothing.
- Cookery. to force (dough, frosting, etc.) through a pastry tube onto a baking sheet, cake or pie, etc.
- Informal. to convey by an electrical wire or cable: to pipe a signal from the antenna.
- Slang. to look at; notice: Pipe the cat in the hat.
Verb Phrases
- pipe down, Slang. to stop talking; be quiet: He shouted at us to pipe down.
- pipe up,
- to begin to play (a musical instrument) or to sing.
- to make oneself heard; speak up, especially as to assert oneself.
- to increase in velocity, as the wind.
noun
- pipes collectively, esp pipes formed into a connected system, as in the plumbing of a house
- a cord of icing, whipped cream, etc, often used to decorate desserts and cakes
- a thin strip of covered cord or material, used to edge hems, etc
- the sound of a pipe or a set of bagpipes
- the art or technique of playing a pipe or bagpipes
- a shrill voice or sound, esp a whistling sound
adjective
- making a shrill sound
- archaic relating to the pipe (associated with peace), as opposed to martial instruments, such as the fife or trumpet
adverb
- piping hot extremely hot
noun
- a long tube of metal, plastic, etc, used to convey water, oil, gas, etc
- a long tube or case
-
- an object made in any of various shapes and sizes, consisting of a small bowl with an attached tubular stem, in which tobacco or other substances are smoked
- (as modifier)a pipe bowl
- Also called: pipeful the amount of tobacco that fills the bowl of a pipe
- zoology botany any of various hollow organs, such as the respiratory passage of certain animals
-
- any musical instrument whose sound production results from the vibration of an air column in a simple tube
- any of the tubular devices on an organ, in which air is made to vibrate either directly, as in a flue pipe, or by means of a reed
- an obsolete three-holed wind instrument, held in the left hand while played and accompanied by the taborSee tabor
- the pipes See bagpipes
- a shrill voice or sound, as of a bird
-
- a boatswain’s pipe
- the sound it makes
- (plural) informal the respiratory tract or vocal cords
- metallurgy a conical hole in the head of an ingot, made by escaping gas as the metal cools
- a cylindrical vein of rich ore, such as one of the vertical diamond-bearing veins at Kimberley, South Africa
- Also called: volcanic pipe a vertical cylindrical passage in a volcano through which molten lava is forced during eruption
- US slang something easy to do, esp a simple course in college
- put that in your pipe and smoke it informal accept that fact if you can
verb
- to play (music) on a pipe
- (tr) to summon or lead by a pipeto pipe the dancers
- to utter (something) shrilly
-
- to signal orders to (the crew) by a boatswain’s pipe
- (tr)to signal the arrival or departure ofto pipe the admiral aboard
- (tr) to convey (water, gas, etc) by a pipe or pipes
- (tr) to provide with pipes
- (tr) to trim (an article, esp of clothing) with piping
- (tr) to force (cream, icing, etc) through a shaped nozzle to decorate food
noun
- a large cask for wine, oil, etc
- a measure of capacity for wine equal to four barrels. 1 pipe is equal to 126 US gallons or 105 Brit gallons
- a cask holding this quantity with its contents
n1.Old English pipe “musical wind instrument,” also “tube to convey water,” from Vulgar Latin *pipa “a pipe, tube-shaped musical instrument” (source of Italian pipa, French pipe, Old Frisian pipe, German Pfeife, Danish pibe, Swedish pipa, Dutch pijp), a back-formation from Latin pipare “to chirp or peep,” of imitative origin. All tubular senses ultimately derive from “small reed, whistle.” Meaning “device for smoking” first recorded 1590s. Pipe-bomb attested from 1960. Pipe-cleaner recorded from 1863. v.Old English pipian “to play on a pipe,” from Latin pipare “to peep, chirp” (see pipe (n.1)). Cf. Dutch pijpen, German pfeifen. Meaning “convey through pipes” is first recorded 1887. Related: Piped; piping. Piping hot is in Chaucer, a reference to hissing of food in a frying pan; to pipe up (early 15c.) originally meant “to begin to play” (on a musical instrument); sense of “to speak out” is from 1856. Pipe down “be quiet” is from 1900; earlier in nautical jargon it meant “use a boatswain’s whistle to dismiss the men from duty” (1833). n.2type of cask, early 14c., from Old French pipe “liquid measure, cask for wine,” from a special use of Vulgar Latin *pipa “pipe” (see pipe (n.1)).
- A vertical cylindrical vein of ore.
- See volcanic pipe.
In addition to the idioms beginning with pipe
also see: