pipeline

A long connected set of pipes that carries gas, oil, or water.

• The pipeline carries water to the town.
• Workers repaired a leak in the gas pipeline.
• Two new pipelines will cross the desert.

Common phrases: gas pipeline, oil pipeline, underground pipeline

A process through which work moves toward being ready or finished.

• A new phone is in the pipeline.
• The company has several projects in its development pipeline.
• This training scheme strengthens the pipeline of future managers.

How to use it: in the pipeline (Several new books are in the pipeline.)

Common phrases: in the pipeline, development pipeline, talent pipeline

A series of connected steps that passes information through in the order it arrives.

• The pipeline processes each image in order.
• We added another stage to the graphics pipeline.
• Data moves through several pipelines before reaching the screen.

Common phrases: data pipeline, graphics pipeline, processing pipeline

A common path by which one situation, interest, or belief leads people into another.

• The report examines the school-to-prison pipeline.
• Poor support can create a pipeline from foster care to homelessness.
• Researchers described an online pipeline toward extreme political beliefs.

Common phrases: school-to-prison pipeline, poverty pipeline

To arrange computer work in connected stages so several tasks can move forward at once.

• Engineers pipeline instructions to improve speed.
• The team pipelined the processor operations.
• Can we pipeline these calculations?

Common phrases: pipeline instructions, pipeline processing

To carry oil, gas, or water through connected pipes.

• They pipeline oil to the coast.
• Water was pipelined across the dry region.
• The company plans to pipeline gas inland.

How to use it: pipeline something to somewhere (They pipeline gas to the factory.)

Common phrases: pipeline oil, pipeline gas

To put connected pipes through an area.

• The engineers plan to pipeline the district.
• The valley was pipelined last year.
• They must pipeline the area before homes receive gas.

Common phrases: pipeline an area, pipeline a district