What does "filter" mean?
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.
Filter
/ˈfɪltə/ name, noun, verb, slang
name, noun, verb, slang ·Common ·Middle school level
Meaning at a glance
- Primary sense: 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.
- Grammar: filter is listed as name, noun, verb, slang.
- Nearest alternatives: attenuate, attuning, blacklist, blacklisting.
- Useful contrasts: allow, flood, glut.
- Usage evidence: In swimming pools, water is continuously pumped through a filter.
How to use "filter"
- Start with the primary definition, then check the part of speech before placing the word in a sentence.
- Compare nearby synonyms to make sure "filter" carries the exact meaning, tone, and strength you need.
- Use the example sentence as a context check. If your sentence uses the word differently, confirm that the grammar still fits.
Meaning check
- Does the word fit the sentence's grammar?
- Does it match the intended tone rather than only the dictionary definition?
- Would a simpler synonym be clearer for the reader?
- Is there enough surrounding context to prevent ambiguity?
Source and review context
This entry combines structured lexical data with WordToolSet review checks. Definitions, examples, synonyms, and usage notes may come from different source tables, so the page is designed to show evidence from more than one angle before you rely on "filter" in a final draft.
If a word has several senses, prefer the sense that matches your sentence's grammar and surrounding context. A correct definition can still be the wrong choice when the sentence needs a different register, emphasis, or level of specificity.
Before you rely on this definition
Read the first definition as a starting point, then check the example, synonyms, and part of speech before treating "filter" as the right word for your sentence.
If your draft is formal, technical, persuasive, or sensitive, compare "filter" with a nearby alternative so the final choice matches both meaning and reader expectation.
Compare nearby meanings
- Use synonyms when you need a softer, stronger, simpler, or more specific word.
- Use antonyms to check the boundary of the meaning and avoid accidental contrast.
- Use the example sentence to confirm the word behaves naturally in context.
- Keep the original wording when a replacement adds complexity without improving precision.
Definition decision workflow
1. Identify the role
Check whether "filter" is acting as name, noun, verb, slang in your sentence. A definition is only useful when the grammar matches the way the word is being used.
2. Test the nearest option
Compare it with "attenuate" and other nearby choices to see whether the sentence needs a softer, stronger, or more familiar word.
3. Confirm with context
Use the example sentence below as an evidence check, then read your own sentence out loud to catch tone or rhythm problems.
Review note: Definition pages are checked for source coverage, sentence evidence, synonym support, and editorial insight before they are treated as approval-ready pages. If the evidence is too thin, the page remains available to users but is kept out of the approval-facing indexed inventory.
Final meaning check
Before publishing a sentence with "filter", ask whether the word helps the reader understand the idea faster. A precise word should reduce confusion, not simply make the sentence look more polished.
When the definition, synonym evidence, and example context point in the same direction, the word is usually a safer choice. When they conflict, revise the sentence or choose a clearer alternative.
Definitions
Noun
- 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.
"Then add four drops of crocodile semen, and pass the mixture through a filter."
- 2 device that removes something from whatever passes through it wordnet
- 3 Electronics or software that separates unwanted signals (for example noise) from wanted signals or that attenuates selected frequencies.
- 4 an electrical device that alters the frequency spectrum of signals passing through it wordnet
- 5 Any item, mechanism, device, or procedure that acts to separate or isolate.
"He runs an email filter to catch the junk mail."
Show 4 more definitions
- 6 Self-restraint in speech. figuratively
"He's got no filter, and he's always offending people as a result."
- 7 A non-empty upper set (of a partially ordered set) which is closed under binary infima (a.k.a. meets).
"The collection of cofinite subsets of ℝ is a filter under inclusion: it includes the intersection of every pair of its members, and includes every superset of every cofinite set."
- 8 A translucent object placed in the light path of a camera to remove certain wavelengths (colors), or a computer program that simulates such an effect.
- 9 An appearance-altering digital image effect.
"He don't need no filter posting pictures!"
Verb
- 1 To sort, sift, or isolate. transitive
"This strainer should filter out the large particles."
- 2 pass through wordnet
- 3 To diffuse; to cause to be less concentrated or focused. transitive
"The leaves of the trees filtered the light."
- 4 remove by passing through a filter wordnet
- 5 To pass through a filter or to act as though passing through a filter. intransitive
"The water filtered through the rock and soil."
Show 4 more definitions
- 6 run or flow slowly, as in drops or in an unsteady stream wordnet
- 7 To move slowly or gradually; to come or go a few at a time. intransitive
"The crowd filtered into the theater."
- 8 To ride a motorcycle between lanes on a road intransitive
"I can skip past all the traffic on my bike by filtering."
- 9 To be discouraged where a connoisseur or hardcore fan would not. derogatory, intransitive, slang
"Most people get filtered by that episode."
Proper Noun
- 1 A surname from German.
Example
"In swimming pools, water is continuously pumped through a filter."
Common questions
What is a synonym for "filter"?
Common synonyms include: attenuate, attuning, blacklist, blacklisting, bleed, blurred.
How do you use "filter" in a sentence?
In swimming pools, water is continuously pumped through a filter.
How do you pronounce "filter"?
Pronounced /ˈfɪltə/.
Etymology
Etymology 1
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.
Etymology 2
Borrowed from German Filter.