Tunneled, Tunneling vs. Tunnelled, Tunnelling – What’s the Difference?

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Candace Osmond

Candace Osmond studied Advanced Writing & Editing Essentials at MHC. She’s been an International and USA TODAY Bestselling Author for over a decade. And she’s worked as an Editor for several mid-sized publications. Candace has a keen eye for content editing and a high degree of expertise in Fiction.

Here we go again, more confusion for my fellow Canadian writers attempting to write for American readers.

The word tunnel is not just a noun that refers to an underground passage. It’s also a verb that means to dig. Is its present participle form spelled tunnelling or tunneling?

Keep reading as I explain the meaning and difference between tunneled/tunneling and tunnelled/tunnelling. I’ll also show you examples of these words in a sentence, too.

What is the Difference Between Tunneled/Tunneling and Tunnelled/Tunelling?

Tunneled vs Tunelled Ngram
Trend of the words Tunneled and Tunnelled through the years.

The main difference between tunneled/tunneling and tunnelled/tunelling is their English variations. Tunnel is inflected with one L in American English, hence tunneled and tunneling. But in British English, tunnel is inflected with two Ls.

This confusion has been around since the early 20th century. Tunnelled and tunnelling are the original spellings of the verb’s simple past and present participle forms. But many verbs ending in -el simplified their spellings for the American and Canadian English versions.

Tunneling vs Tunnelling Ngram
Trend of the words Tunneling and Tunnelling through the years.

UK, Australia, and other countries outside North America went on with the longer spellings, tunnelled and tunnelling.

Other examples include chaneled and channelled, canceled and cancelled, and traveled and travelled.

Is it “Tunneled” or “Tunnelled”?

Both tunneled and tunnelled are correct spellings for the past form of tunnel. This word is a verb meaning to dig or force a passage underground through something. In physics, tunnel as a verb means to pass through a potential barrier (of a particle).

Tunnel comes from the Old French verb, tonnelle, which means net. It also originates from tonel, which means cask.

Example:

  • She tunneled under the barrier.
  • She tunnelled under the barrier.

Is it “Tunnelling” or “Tunneling”?

Both tunnelling and tunneling are correct spellings for the present participle form of tunnel. Other words for the verb tunnel include dig, burrow, dig one’s way, mine, bore, excavate, and drill.

Example:

  • She is tunneling under the barrier.
  • She is tunnelling under the barrier

Examples of “Tunneling” in a Sentence

Take a look at some examples of tunneling in a sentence

  • Mila is tunneling under the fence.
  • Doctors should know that the end of a catheter must be tunneling under the patient’s skin to the stomach.
  • Recent tunneling projects unearthed artifacts from the Roman period.
  • The construction of a large-scale tunneling project under the Yangtze River kicked off Wednesday in east China’s Jiangsu Province, the China Railway Construction Corporation Ltd. said on Thursday. [CGTN]

Examples of “Tunnelling” in a Sentence

  • Mila is tunnelling under the fence.
  • This long street is tunnelling through a snow shed.
  • They are tunnelling the ridge between the school and the office building.
  • Construction of the eastern section of the new Suburban Rail Loop (SRL) in Melbourne, Australia took a step closer to reality last week as the Victorian Government named a shortlist for the tunnelling work. [New Civil Engineer]

Tunneled vs. Tunnelled Summary

This guide has shown you the difference between tunneled/tunneling and tunnelled/tunnelling and how to use them in a sentence. The words have the same meaning but different English variations.

Use tunneled and tunneling with a single L if you are writing for North American readers. But if you’re writing for British readers, the longer spellings, tunnelled and tunnelling, are more appropriate.