pipe
see also WATER, GAS
- a long, hollow tube or cylinder made of plastic or metal that carries gas or liquid: pipe
a gas pipe ◎ the hot-water pipe
- to carry liquid or gas in pipes: pipe sth
The oil is piped to the coast for export.
- a long hollow pipe made of glass, rubber, etc: tube
The patient was connected by tubes to a kidney machine. ◎ a bicycle inner tube
- a long rubber or plastic pipe that is used for getting water from a tap to another place: hosepipe, hose
a garden hose ◎ a fire hose (= a pipe used for carrying water to a fire)
- a line of connected pipes that are used for carrying liquid or gas: pipeline
The oil pipeline stretches from Iraq to the Turkish coast.
※ pipes in buildings
- a large pipe that carries water or gas to a building: main (often plural)
We'll have to turn off the water at the mains.
- all the pipes and water tanks, etc in a building: the plumbing (noun U)
The plumbing in this house is very old and noisy.
- if you fit new pipes, etc into a room, building, etc, you put* them in, install them
He's just put in a new central heating system. ◎ They're having a shower put in.
- a person whose job is to put in and repair water pipes, etc: plumber
※ pipes that carry water, etc away
- a pipe or hole that dirty water, etc goes down to be carried away: drain
- (used about a liquid) to flow away: drain (away); to cause a liquid to drain away: drain sth
Dirty water drains away through this pipe under the sink. ◎ He drained the water from the heating system.
- the whole system that is used to remove water from a place: drainage (noun U)
※ toilets TOILET
- the long metal or plastic pipe that is fixed under the edge of a roof to carry away rainwater: gutter
- a pipe which goes down the side of a building, especially one that carries water from the roof into a drain: drainpipe
※ problems with pipes
- to make it difficult or impossible for anything to pass through a pipe, gutter, etc: block (sth) (up), clog (sth) (up) (with sth)
The water won't go down the sink - it's completely blocked up. ◎ There's something clogging up the gutter.
- something that is blocking a pipe, etc: blockage; to remove a blockage: unblock sth
a blockage in the drainpipe ◎ I can't unblock the sink.
- to break open suddenly and violently: burst*
a burst pipe
- a small hole or crack that liquid or gas can get through: leak; to get out through a hole or crack: leak
a leak in a pipe ◎ The pipes are leaking. ◎ Water is leaking through the ceiling from the bathroom pipes.
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