tunnel
tun·nel/ˈtʌn(ə)l/noun, verb
tunnel is spelled T-U-N-N-E-L: 6 letters and 2 syllables (tun·nel). It appears 17 times per million words in written English, the 4,752nd most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a noun, tunnel means “An underground or underwater passage” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The plural of tunnel is tunnels.
How many letters and syllables are in tunnel?
| Letters | 6: T-U-N-N-E-L |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 2: tun·nel |
| In writing | 17 times per million words; the 4,752nd most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How common is tunnel?
Tunnel appears 17 times per million words in written English, the 4,752nd most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce tunnel?
- /ˈtʌn(ə)l/
Tunnel has 2 syllables, split tun·nel in writing.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: En-us-tunnel.ogg, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Words people confuse with tunnel
Also written: tunnelling.
Sources: English Wiktionary (homophones, alternative spellings).
Forms of tunnel
- tunnels plural, present, singular, he/she/it
- tunneling US, participle, present
- tunnelling UK, participle, present
- tunneled US, participle, past
- tunnelled UK, participle, past
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does tunnel mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
noun
- 1
An underground or underwater passage.
- 2
A passage through or under some obstacle.
- 3
A hole in the ground made by an animal, a burrow.
- 4
A wrapper for a protocol that cannot otherwise be used because it is unsupported, blocked, or insecure.
- 5
A vessel with a broad mouth at one end, a pipe or tube at the other, for conveying liquor, fluids, etc., into casks, bottles, or other vessels; a funnel.
- 6
The opening of a chimney for the passage of smoke; a flue.
- 7
A level passage driven across the measures, or at right angles to veins which it is desired to reach; distinguished from the drift, or gangway, which is led along the vein when reached by the tunnel.
- 8
Anything that resembles a tunnel.
verb
- 1
To make a tunnel through or under something; to burrow.
- 2
To dig a tunnel.
- 3
To transmit something through a tunnel (wrapper for an insecure or unsupported protocol).
- 4
To insert a catheter into a vein to allow long-term use.
- 5
To undergo the quantum-mechanical phenomenon where a particle penetrates through a barrier that it classically cannot surmount.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Tunnel in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
In the sense an underground or underwater passage:
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.
Where does tunnel come from?
From Middle English tonnel, from Old French tonel(e), diminutive of tone (“cask”), a word of uncertain origin and affiliation. Related to Old English tunne (“tun; cask; barrel”). More at tun.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).