tubing

1. 1
   noununcountable

   Tubes considered together, whether as a single length of tube or as a connected system of tubes.

   The pump connects to the filter with a short length of flexible tubing.

   Copper tubing carries hot water to every radiator in the old house.

   Similarpiping, hose

   Note

   The -ing here turns an object into a material, as it does in piping and wiring: tubing is tube bought and cut to length. As a material it is measured rather than counted, so people buy a length of tubing or a coil of copper tubing, though the plural tubings also exists.

2. 2
   noununcountable

   The pastime of floating down a river on an inner tube for fun.

   In July, tubing on the slow, shallow river draws crowds from all over the state.

   The outfitter rents inner tubes and runs a shuttle bus for tubing trips upstream.

   Note

   The word behaves like rafting or skiing: people go tubing, and it sits before other nouns, as in a tubing trip. On south-east Asia's backpacker trail it has drawn young travelers as a boozy party pursuit. On a snowy hill the same word means sliding downhill on a tube, and the setting tells you which is meant.

3. 3
   noununcountable

   Sledding down a snowy slope or toboggan run on an inner tube.

   The ski resort added groomed lanes for tubing, so families who don't ski can still enjoy the slopes.

   After the storm, the toboggan run reopened for tubing and sledding.

4. 4
   verb

   Present participle and gerund of tube.

   The ER team was already tubing the patient when the surgeon walked in.

   We spent Saturday tubing down the creek with a cooler tied between us.

   Note

   The silent e of tube drops before -ing, as cube becomes cubing. In hospitals the verb is colloquial shorthand for intubating: staff talk of tubing a patient, which suits quick conversation better than formal writing. Followed by down or along, it is the river ride; before a noun, as in a tubing trip, it is the pastime itself.

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