Meaning & use
pipeline
Last updated
Meanings
nouncountable
A long line of connected pipes that carries oil, gas or water over a long distance.
Grammar: A regular countable noun: an oil pipeline, two pipelines.
Patterns
- a pipeline from somewhere to somewhere
A new pipeline carries natural gas from the coast to the city.
Workers laid the water pipeline across the desert.
The oil pipeline was shut down after a leak was found.
nouncountablebusiness
A stream of projects, products or people moving through stages toward completion or a result.
Grammar: Often used with in: new products in the pipeline are being developed.
Patterns
- in the pipeline
- a pipeline of something
The company has several new drugs in the pipeline.
A strong sales pipeline means plenty of deals are close to being signed.
The program builds a pipeline of young engineers for the industry.
nouncountablecomputing
A series of connected steps in which the output of one stage becomes the input of the next, especially in computing.
Grammar: Often appears with data or build: a data pipeline.
Patterns
- a pipeline for something
Our data pipeline cleans the records before they reach the database.
The team set up a pipeline that tests and publishes the app automatically.
A processor's pipeline lets it start one instruction before the last ends.
Word forms
| plural | pipelines |
|---|
Common combinations
- an oil pipeline
- The oil pipeline stretches over a thousand miles.
- in the pipeline
- Several new products are already in the pipeline.
- a sales pipeline
- The manager reviewed the sales pipeline every Monday.
- a data pipeline
- A data pipeline moves information from the app to the dashboard.
- a talent pipeline
- The company built a talent pipeline by working with local universities.
- a gas pipeline
- A gas pipeline supplies the whole region.
Synonyms and how they differ
- pipe
- A pipe is a single tube, while a pipeline is a long connected system of pipes, often across many miles.
- conduit
- Conduit is more formal and covers any channel carrying water, wires or information, and it need not be a pipe.
- channel
- Channel is a general word for a route that something travels along, so it lacks the idea of a connected set of stages.
- workflow
- Workflow describes the order of tasks in a job, whereas pipeline stresses items moving through the stages, often automatically.
Word family
Commonly confused: pipeline or pipe?
pipeline vs pipe
A pipe is one tube, while a pipeline is a whole line of connected pipes, or a series of steps in business and computing.
Practice
The firm says several new products are 'in the ___' and will launch next year.
Choose one answer.
In the pipeline is the fixed phrase for something being developed. Tunnel, funnel and conveyor are real nouns but do not form this idiom.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “pipeline”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.