pipe
• noun 1 a tube used to convey water, gas, oil, etc. 2 a device for smoking tobacco, consisting of a narrow tube that opens into a small bowl in which the tobacco is burned, the smoke being drawn through the tube to the mouth. 3 a wind instrument consisting of a single tube with holes along its length that are covered by the fingers to produce different notes. 4 one of the cylindrical tubes by which notes are produced in an organ. 5 (pipes) bagpipes. 6 a high-pitched cry or song, especially that of a bird. • verb 1 convey through a pipe. 2 transmit (music, a programme, a signal, etc.) by wire or cable. 3 play (a tune) on a pipe. 4 sing or say in a high, shrill voice. 5 decorate with piping. — PHRASES pipe down informal stop talking; be less noisy. pipe up say something suddenly. put that in one’s pipe and smoke it informal one will have to accept a particular fact, even if it is unwelcome. — ORIGIN from Latin pipare ‘to peep, chirp’.
Perform another search of the Compact Oxford English Dictionary
About this dictionary
The Compact Oxford English Dictionary of Current English contains 145,000 words, phrases, and definitions.
Find out more about Oxford's range of English dictionaries
Sign up for the AskOxford Word of the Day
Search the Little Oxford Dictionary of Quotations
Search the Concise Dictionary of First Names
| 
