pipeline

Pluralpipelines

Formspipelines, pipelining, pipelined

1. 1
   nouncountable

   A long line of connected pipes that carries water, gas, or oil from one place to another.

   Like a very long straw that carries water or gas across the land.

   The new pipeline brings clean water to the village.

   Workers are fixing a leak in the gas pipeline near the road.

   Similarconduit, line

   Note
2. 2
   nounfigurativelycountable

   A set of steps that something moves through before it is finished or ready.

   The new phone is still in the company's pipeline, so you can't buy it yet.

   Every story goes through an editing pipeline before it appears in the paper.

   Similarworkflow, process, system

   Note
3. 3
   nounfigurativelycountable

   A steady supply of new people, ideas, or other good things that keeps coming.

   The youth team is a pipeline of new players for the club.

   Our school has become a pipeline for young scientists.

   Similarsource, supply, stream, feeder

4. 4
   nouncountable

   A path that moves information along in order, so the first piece in comes out first.

   Like a line of people at a door: the first person to join the line is the first one through.

   Messages travel through the pipeline in the same order they were sent.

   The game loads its pictures through a pipeline, one after another.

   Similarqueue, channel

5. 5
   nounfigurativelycountable

   A common path that many people follow as their interests, lives, or opinions change over time.

   There is a well-known pipeline from loving video games to studying computer science.

   His teacher joked about the class-clown-to-actor pipeline when he got the lead role.

   Similarpath, trajectory, route, progression

   Note
6. 6
   verbtransitive

   To send water, gas, or oil somewhere through pipes.

   The city pipelines fresh water from the mountains to homes in the valley.

   Workers will pipeline the gas across the river next year.

   Similarconvey, transport, pump, carry

   Note
7. 7
   verbtransitive

   To put a system of pipes through a place.

   The crew will pipeline the whole neighborhood by summer.

   Last year the company pipelined two farming towns to bring them gas.

8. 8
   verbtransitive

   To design a computer chip or similar system so work moves in stages, each stage passing its result to the next.

   The engineers pipelined the chip so it can work on several tasks at once.

   We can pipeline the video software so each frame moves through the steps without waiting.

   Note
9. 9
   nouncountable

   The hollow space inside a wave when the top of the wave curls over a surfer.

   Like riding through a tunnel made of moving water.

   The surfer ducked into the pipeline as the wave curled over him.

   She came flying out of the pipeline just before the wave crashed down.

   Similartube, barrel

   Note

Showing meanings only. Show all 9