ducts

Meanings

1. 1nounplural

   Pipes or channels, usually in a building, that carry air for heating, cooling or ventilation.

   Grammar: Plural of duct; usually discussed as a network: the ducts need cleaning.

   Patterns

   • the ducts in something
   • air ducts

   Dust had built up inside the ducts and the air smelled stale.

   The workers cut holes in the ceiling to run new ducts.

   Heat escapes through leaky ducts in the attic.

2. 2nounpluralmedical

   Narrow tubes in the body that carry fluids such as tears, bile or milk.

   Grammar: Often named by what they carry: tear ducts, bile ducts.

   Patterns

   • tear ducts
   • bile ducts

   Onions make your tear ducts produce extra fluid.

   Gallstones can block the bile ducts.

   Doctors checked the milk ducts during the exam.

3. 3nounpluraltechnical

   Covered channels that protect and guide electrical wires or cables.

   Grammar: Plural of duct in the sense of cable protection, often called cable ducts.

   Patterns

   • cable ducts
   • ducts for something

   The electricians pulled the network cables through ducts under the floor.

   Plastic ducts keep the wires tidy along the wall.

   Ducts must be sealed to stop water getting in.

Word forms

Common combinations

air ducts

The air ducts run above the false ceiling.

clean the ducts

We hired a firm to clean the ducts before winter.

tear ducts

Her tear ducts were blocked, so her eyes watered.

blocked ducts

Blocked ducts can cause pain and swelling.

ventilation ducts

Smoke spread through the ventilation ducts.

Synonyms and how they differ

pipes

Pipes is more general and often means tubes for liquids or gas, while ducts usually carry air or wires.

channels

Channels is wider and can be open grooves, whereas ducts are usually enclosed.

vents

Vents are the openings where air enters or leaves a room, while ducts are the passages behind them.

Word family

duct noun

a single pipe or tube

ductwork noun

the whole system of ducts in a building

ductile adjective

able to be stretched into a wire, said of metal

duct tape noun

strong cloth tape, once used to seal heating ducts

Commonly confused: ducts or ductile?

Practice

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