Meaning & use
sealed tube
Last updated
UK/ˌsiːld ˈtjuːb/
US/ˌsiːld ˈtuːb/
Meaning
nouncountablespecialist
A tube of glass or metal closed at both ends so nothing can enter or escape.
Grammar: Countable: a sealed tube, several sealed tubes.
Patterns
- heat something in a sealed tube
- seal something in a tube
The chemist heated the mixture in a sealed tube.
Samples were stored in a sealed tube to protect them from air.
A sealed tube can build up high pressure when it is heated.
Word forms
| plural | sealed tubes |
|---|
Common combinations
- heat in a sealed tube
- The compound was heated in a sealed tube for two hours.
- glass sealed tube
- A glass sealed tube can be broken by pressure.
- store in a sealed tube
- Store the sample in a sealed tube until testing.
- open a sealed tube
- Be careful when you open a sealed tube after heating.
- reaction in a sealed tube
- The reaction in a sealed tube needed a high temperature.
Synonyms and how they differ
- ampoule
- An ampoule is a small sealed glass container, often for liquid medicine, which is narrower than a general sealed tube.
- capsule
- A capsule is a small closed container, but not necessarily tube shaped.
- vial
- A vial is a small bottle that may have a cap, so it is not always permanently sealed.
Opposites
open tube
Word family
Commonly confused: sealed tube or test tube?
sealed tube vs test tube
A test tube is open at the top and used for experiments, while a sealed tube is closed at both ends.
Practice
The chemist put the reactants in a ____ so that gases could not escape.
Choose one answer.
A sealed tube is closed at both ends, which keeps gases in. A beaker or funnel is open.
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