tubes
n. uncountable B2 Upper Intermediate US //ˈtubz// UK //tjˈuːbz// tubes
n. the internet. People use this word when they are joking about how the internet works like a system of pipes.
n. a humorous or disparaging reference to the internet, conceptualised as a physical network of pipes. Often used to mock a lack of technical understanding regarding digital infrastructure.
I am waiting for the video to travel through the tubes.
The website is down because there must be a clog in the tubes today.
While the metaphor of the internet as a series of tubes originated as a political gaffe, it has since been reclaimed by netizens as a staple of online irony.
Usage
Usually used with the definite article 'the' and almost always in the plural form.