pipe / pīp/ • n. 1. a tube of metal, plastic, or other material used to convey water, gas, oil, or other fluid substances. ∎  a cylindrical vein of ore or rock, esp. one in which diamonds are found. ∎  a cavity in cast metal. ∎  inf. a duct, vessel, or tubular structure in the body, or in an animal or plant.2. a narrow tube made from wood, clay, etc., with a bowl at one end for containing burning tobacco, the smoke from which is drawn into the mouth. ∎  a quantity of tobacco held by this.3. a wind instrument consisting of a single tube with holes along its length that are covered by the fingers to produce different notes: a reed pipe. ∎  (usu. pipes) bagpipes. ∎  (pipes) a set of pipes joined together, as in panpipes. ∎  a tube by which sound is produced in an organ. ∎  [in sing.] a high-pitched cry or song, esp. of a bird. ∎  a boatswain's whistle.4. Comput. a command that causes the output from one routine to be the input for another. 5. Comput. a connection to the Internet or to a Web site: although many businesses have high-powered pipes, the vast majority of home users still have to dial up.6. a cask for wine, esp. as a measure equal to two hogsheads, usually equivalent to 105 gallons (about 477 liters).• v. 1. [tr.] convey (water, gas, oil, or other fluid substances) through a pipe or pipes: water from the lakes is piped to several towns. ∎  transmit (music, a radio or television program, signals, etc.) by wire or cable.2. [tr.] play (a tune) on a pipe or pipes. ∎  [intr.] (of a bird) sing in a high or shrill voice. ∎  [with direct speech] say something in a high, shrill voice: “No, ma’am,” piped Lucy. ∎  [tr.] use a boatswain's whistle to summon (the crew) to work or a meal: the hands were piped to breakfast.3. [tr.] decorate (clothing or soft furnishings) with a thin cord covered in fabric. ∎  put (a decorative line or pattern) on a cake or similar dish using icing, whipped cream, etc. PHRASES: put that in one's pipe and smoke it inf. used to indicate that someone should accept what one has said, even if it is unwelcome.PHRASAL VERBS: pipe down [often in imper.] inf. stop talking; be less noisy.pipe up say something suddenly.DERIVATIVES: pipe·ful / ˈpīpˌfoŏl/ n. (pl. -fuls) pipe·less adj.pip·y / ˈpīpē/ adj. (pip·i·er, pip·i·est)

pipe A command-line operator available in some operating systems whereby a number of processes (tasks), whose names are listed sequentially, are activated concurrently so that each process (after the first-named) accepts as its input the output from the immediately previously named process. The operating system provides buffering of data between the processes, and so the user is relieved of the necessity of specifying temporary files for receiving and delivering the data. Pipes are a notable feature of UNIX. See also command-line interface, filter.

pipe
1. Nearly vertical, cylindrical body or opening in rock.

2.. In mining, an ore shoot at the intersection of two barren veins.

3.. At Kimberley, South Africa, pipes of diamond-bearing breccia.

4.. In sedimentology, tube often filled with mud, particularly in limestones.

5.. In volcanology, vertical channel-ways below a volcano through which magma flows towards the surface.

pipe1 musical wind instrument: hollow cylinder or tube OE.; tubular passage or canal XIV; narrow tube used for smoking tobacco XVI. OE. pīpe = OFris., MLG., MDu. pīpe (Du. pijp), OHG. pfifa (G. pfeife), ON. píipa :- Gmc. *pīpa — Rom. *pīpa, f. L. pīpāre peep, chirp, of imit. orig.; reinforced in ME. by (O)F. pipe.
So pipe vb.1 OE. pīpian play on a pipe. Hence piper (-ER1). OE. pīpere. Also vb.2 draw through a pipe XVI.

pipe pipe of peace a North American Indian peace pipe; a calumet; the term is first recorded in the late 17th century.
Pipe Roll the annual accounts kept by the Exchequer from the 12th to the 19th century; apart from an isolated roll in 1130, the series begins in 1156 and continues with a few interruptions until 1832. The name probably derives from the subsidiary documents having been rolled in pipe form.

See also pan pipes at Pan.