tunneled

Tunneled is the past participle of tunnel. It is used as an adjective and verb to describe the creation or presence of tunnels. In general usage, something tunneled has had a tunnel bored through it or contains a tunnel aperture.

In civil engineering and mining, tunneled describes ground or rock that has been penetrated to create passageways for transportation, utilities, or resource extraction. Tunneling projects typically involve tunnel boring machines, blasting, lining, ventilation, and safety support.

In computing and networking, tunneled indicates that data is carried inside another protocol or tunnel. Examples include VPN tunnels and SSH tunnels. Tunneling can provide privacy, security, or the ability to traverse restrictive networks, though it can also be used to bypass security controls.

In biology, tunneling nanotubes enable intercellular communication; researchers describe cells as tunneled when they form such connections.

Etymology: The word derives from tunnel, with the suffix -ed forming the past participle.