PIPES | English Meaning, Definition, and Pronunciation

Old English pīpe ‘musical tube’, pīpian ‘play a pipe’, of Germanic origin; related to Dutch pijp and German Pfeife, based on Latin pipare ‘to peep, chirp’, reinforced in Middle English by Old French piper ‘to chirp, squeak’

a tube used to convey water, gas, oil, or other fluid substances.

tube conveying water, gas, oil, etc.

a device for smoking tobacco, consisting of a narrow tube made from wood, clay, etc. with a bowl at one end in which the tobacco is burned, the smoke from which is drawn into the mouth

device for smoking tobacco

• a smell of pipe tobacco

a wind instrument consisting of a single tube with holes along its length that are covered by the fingers to produce different notes

type of wind instrument

• the tone of a reed pipe

a command which causes the output from one routine to be the input for another.

type of command

a cask for wine, especially as a measure equal to two hogsheads, usually equivalent to 105 gallons (about 477 litres)

cask for wine

• a fresh pipe of port

convey (water, gas, oil, or other fluid substances) through a pipe or pipes

convey through pipe

• water from the lakes is piped to Manchester

play (a tune) on a pipe or pipes

play tune on pipe

• he believed he'd heard music—a tune being piped

(of a bird) sing in a high or shrill voice

(of bird) sing

• outside at the back a curlew piped

decorate (clothing or soft furnishings) with thin cord covered in fabric and inserted into a seam.

decorate clothing etc. with piping

arrange (food, particularly icing or cream) in decorative lines or patterns

put piping on cake etc.

• she had been piping cream round a flan

propagate (a pink or similar plant) by taking a cutting at the joint of a stem.

propagate pink by taking cutting at joint of plant