Library / English Dictionary

FILTER

Pronunciation (US):

(GB):

 I. (noun) 

Sense 1

Meaning:

Device that removes something from whatever passes through it

Classified under:

Nouns denoting man-made objects

Hypernyms ("filter" is a kind of...):

device (an instrumentality invented for a particular purpose)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "filter"):

diatomaceous earth; diatomite; kieselguhr (a light soil consisting of siliceous diatom remains and often used as a filtering material)

glass wool (glass fibers spun and massed into bundles resembling wool)

water filter (a filter to remove impurities from the water supply)

strainer (a filter to retain larger pieces while smaller pieces and liquids pass through)

oil filter (a filter that removes impurities from the oil used to lubricate an internal-combustion engine)

diffusing screen; light filter (a transparent filter that reduces the light (or some wavelengths of the light) passing through it)

fuel filter (a filter in the fuel line that screens out dirt and rust particles from the fuel)

filter bed (filter consisting of a layer of sand or gravel for filtering water)

drain basket (a filter in a sink drain; traps debris but passes water)

coffee filter (filter (usually of paper) that passes the coffee and retains the coffee grounds)

bacteria bed (layer of sand or gravel used to expose sewage effluent to air and the action of microorganisms)

air cleaner; air filter (a filter that removes dust from the air that passes through it)

Derivation:

filter; filtrate (remove by passing through a filter)

Sense 2

Meaning:

An electrical device that alters the frequency spectrum of signals passing through it

Classified under:

Nouns denoting man-made objects

Hypernyms ("filter" is a kind of...):

electrical device (a device that produces or is powered by electricity)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "filter"):

high-pass filter (a filter that passes frequencies above a certain value and attenuates frequencies below that value)

low-pass filter (a filter that passes frequencies below a certain value and attenuates frequencies above that value)

 II. (verb) 

Sense 1

Meaning:

Pass through

Example:

Water permeates sand easily

Synonyms:

filter; percolate; permeate; sink in

Classified under:

Verbs of touching, hitting, tying, digging

Hypernyms (to "filter" is one way to...):

penetrate; perforate (pass into or through, often by overcoming resistance)

Troponyms (each of the following is one way to "filter"):

infiltrate (pass into or through by filtering or permeating)

infiltrate (cause (a liquid) to enter by penetrating the interstices)

Sentence frames:

Something ----s
Something is ----ing PP

Derivation:

filtration (the act of changing a fluid by passing it through a filter)

filtration (the process whereby fluids pass through a filter or a filtering medium)

Sense 2

Meaning:

Remove by passing through a filter

Example:

filter out the impurities

Synonyms:

filter; filter out; filtrate; separate out; strain

Classified under:

Verbs of touching, hitting, tying, digging

Hypernyms (to "filter" is one way to...):

separate (divide into components or constituents)

Sentence frames:

Somebody ----s something
Something ----s something

Derivation:

filter (device that removes something from whatever passes through it)

filtrate (the product of filtration; a gas or liquid that has been passed through a filter)

filtration (the act of changing a fluid by passing it through a filter)

filtration (the process whereby fluids pass through a filter or a filtering medium)

Sense 3

Meaning:

Run or flow slowly, as in drops or in an unsteady stream

Example:

reports began to dribble in

Synonyms:

dribble; filter; trickle

Classified under:

Verbs of walking, flying, swimming

Hypernyms (to "filter" is one way to...):

course; feed; flow; run (move along, of liquids)

Troponyms (each of the following is one way to "filter"):

leach; percolate (permeate or penetrate gradually)

Sentence frames:

Something ----s
Something is ----ing PP

Sentence example:

Water and oil filter into the bowl

Credits

 Context examples: 

The filter was especially evident after the last hare population peak in 2009.

(Race across the tundra: White spruce vs. snowshoe hare, National Science Foundation)

The image was taken with the Cassini spacecraft narrow-angle camera on June 3, 2016 using a spectral filter which preferentially admits wavelengths of ultraviolet light centered at 338 nanometers.

(Regarding Rhea, NASA)

To test the functionality of the new structures, the team used Dextran — a fluorescent protein which stains the urine-like substance produced when nephrons filter the blood, called glomerular filtrate.

(Scientists Create Functioning Kidney Tissue, The Titi Tudorancea Bulletin)

There are also treatments which filter abnormal antibodies from the blood or add healthy antibodies from donated blood.

(Myasthenia Gravis, NIH: National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke)

The renal tubules filter the blood and produce urine.

(Clear Cell Renal Cell Carcinoma, NCI Dictionary)

It filters the air you breathe, removing dust, germs, and irritants.

(Nose Injuries and Disorders, NIH)

Chronic kidney disease (CKD) means that your kidneys are damaged and can't filter blood as they should.

(Chronic Kidney Disease, NIH: National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases)

A protein crystallographic technique, which utilizes a unique quality filter to create crystal structures which show both the target protein fold and the part of the scaffold that binds to it.

(Cocrystallography, NCI Thesaurus)

Trees are particularly good at filtering air pollutants such as ozone, sulphur dioxide, nitrogen oxides and particulate matter, which come from cars and roadworks.

(People Living Near Parks in Cities Less Likely to Face Early Death, The Titi Tudorancea Bulletin)

When the nanosensors are injected into a mouse, the liver filters them out of the blood and then are consumed by the organ's lysosomes.

(High-Fat, High-Sugar Diet Causes Lasting Harmful Effects on Liver, The Titi Tudorancea Bulletin)