filter

/ˈfɪltɚ/
nounverb

A device which separates a suspended, dissolved, or particulate matter from a fluid, solution, or other substance; any device that separates one substance from another.

NWL Collins ENABLE

Noun 4 meanings

  1. A device which separates a suspended, dissolved, or particulate matter from a fluid, solution, or other substance; any device that separates one substance from another.

  2. Electronics or software that separates unwanted signals (for example noise) from wanted signals or that attenuates selected frequencies.

  3. Any item, mechanism, device, or procedure that acts to separate or isolate.

    “He runs an email filter to catch the junk mail.”

  4. Self-restraint in speech.

    “He's got no filter, and he's always offending people as a result.”

Verb 4 meanings

  1. To sort, sift, or isolate.

    “This strainer should filter out the large particles.”

  2. To diffuse; to cause to be less concentrated or focused.

    “The leaves of the trees filtered the light.”

  3. To pass through a filter or to act as though passing through a filter.

    “The water filtered through the rock and soil.”

  4. To move slowly or gradually; to come or go a few at a time.

    “The crowd filtered into the theater.”

Definitions: Wiktionary (CC BY-SA) via Kaikki/Wiktextract

Where it comes from

Etymology

From Middle English filtre, from Medieval Latin filtrum (compare also Old French feutre (“felt; filter”)), from Frankish *filtir, from Proto-West Germanic *felt. See felt. Doublet of phin.

Similar and opposite words

Opposite

FILTER at a glance

FILTER has 6 letters and scores 9 points in Scrabble (F 4 + I 1 + L 1 + T 1 + E 1 + R 1) and 10 in Words With Friends, before board bonuses. It ranks #4,367 by how often it appears in everyday English. It is valid in ENABLE, NWL2023, Collins/SOWPODS.

Rhymes with filter

All rhymes

One letter away

Change one letter, keep the rest
  • FILLER9
  • FITTER9
  • FALTER9
  • KILTER10
  • FILMER11
  • FELTER9
  • TILTER6
  • MILTER8
  • JILTER13

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