file

[ fahyl ]

/ faɪl /

|||

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR file ON THESAURUS.COM

noun

a folder, cabinet, or other container in which papers, letters, etc., are arranged in convenient order for storage or reference.

a collection of papers, records, etc., arranged in convenient order: to make a file for a new account.

Computers. a collection of related data or program records stored on some input/output or auxiliary storage medium: This program's main purpose is to update the customer master file.

a line of persons or things arranged one behind another (distinguished from rank¹def 10).

Military.

a person in front of or behind another in a military formation.
one step on a promotion list.

one of the vertical lines of squares on a chessboard.

a list or roll.

a string or wire on which papers are strung for preservation and reference.

verb (used with object), filed, fil·ing.

to place in a file.

to arrange (papers, records, etc.) in convenient order for storage or reference.

Journalism.

to arrange (copy) in the proper order for transmittal by wire.
to transmit (copy), as by wire or telephone: He filed copy from Madrid all through the war.

verb (used without object), filed, fil·ing.

to march in a file or line, one after another, as soldiers: The parade filed past endlessly.

to make application: to file for a civil-service job.

Nearby words

filatov flap, filature, filbert, filch, filchner ice shelf, file, file band, file card, file clerk, file extension, file folder

Idioms

on file, arranged in order for convenient reference; in a file: The names are on file in the office.

Origin of file

1425–75; late Middle English filen < Middle French filer to string documents on a thread or wire, Old French: to wind or spin thread < Late Latin fīlāre, verbal derivative of Latin fīlum thread, string

SYNONYMS FOR file

10 classify, label, catalog, index, list, categorize.

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR file ON THESAURUS.COM

Related forms

file·a·ble, adjectivefil·er, nounnon·fil·er, noun

Can be confused

file phial

Definition for file (2 of 4)

file

[ fahyl ]

/ faɪl /

noun

a long, narrow tool of steel or other metal having a series of ridges or points on its surfaces for reducing or smoothing surfaces of metal, wood, etc.

a small, similar tool for trimming and cleaning fingernails; nail file.

British Slang. a cunning, shrewd, or artful person.

verb (used with object), filed, fil·ing.

to reduce, smooth, or remove with or as if with a file.

Origin of file

before 900; Middle English; Old English fīl, fēol; cognate with German Feile; akin to Greek pikrós sharp

Related forms

file·a·ble, adjectivefil·er, noun

Definition for file (3 of 4)

file

[ fahyl ]

/ faɪl /

verb (used with object), filed, fil·ing. Archaic.

to defile; corrupt.

Origin of file

before 1000; Middle English; Old English fȳlan to befoul, defile, derivative of fūl foul

Definition for file (4 of 4)

filé

[ fi-ley, fee-ley ]

/ fɪˈleɪ, ˈfi leɪ /

noun New Orleans Cookery.

a powder made from the ground leaves of the sassafras tree, used as a thickener and to impart a pungent taste to soups, gumbos, and other dishes.

Origin of filé

1800–10, Americanism; < Louisiana French; literally, twisted, ropy, stringy (perhaps orig. applied to dishes thickened with the powder), past participle of French filer; see file¹

Also called filé powder.

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for file

Did he go to the authorities to file a report against the Guerreros Unidos drug cartel?
Mexico’s Priests Are Marked for Murder|Jason McGahan|January 7, 2015|DAILY BEAST
With 3D printing you can continue to use the file and update.
3-D Printing Is Changing the Future of Prosthetics|Lucy Vernasco|December 10, 2014|DAILY BEAST
She also told TMZ that she plans to file a civil suit against Cosby.
Bill Cosby’s Long List of Accusers (So Far): 18 Alleged Sexual Assault Victims Between 1965-2004|Marlow Stern|November 24, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Now, the foundation has presidents, boards, and accountants, and their job is to file.
Wyclef Jean Talks Lauryn Hill, the Yele Haiti Controversy, and Chris Christie|Marlow Stern|November 20, 2014|DAILY BEAST

Crooks can use it to apply for credit, file fake claims with insurers, or buy drugs and medical equipment that can be resold.
How Your Pacemaker Will Get Hacked|Kaiser Health News|November 17, 2014|DAILY BEAST
And so there is no way that I can tell for sure that he was or he wasn't, because we never did maintain a file in this direction.
Warren Commission (10 of 26): Hearings Vol. X (of 15)|The President's Commission on the Assassination of President Kennedy
That this has really taken place may be proved by the use of a file.
The Preservation of Antiquities|Friedrich Rathgen
On the file of cabs, just perceptible through the foliage, the cabmen lolled in listless attitudes.
The Morals of Marcus Ordeyne|William J. Locke
The rank and file of American readers have their tastes formed and supplied by the Sunday newspapers and the cheap periodicals.
The Unpopular Review Vol. I|Various
The inspection is from right to left in front, and from left to right in rear, of each rank and of the line of file closers.
Infantry Drill Regulations, United States Army, 1911|United States War Department

British Dictionary definitions for file (1 of 3)

file

/ (faɪl) /

noun

a folder, box, etc, used to keep documents or other items in order

the documents, etc, kept in this way

documents or information about a specific subject, person, etcwe have a file on every known thief

an orderly line or row

a line of people in marching formation, one behind anotherCompare rank 1 (def. 6)

any of the eight vertical rows of squares on a chessboard

computing a named collection of information, in the form of text, programs, graphics, etc, held on a permanent storage device such as a magnetic disk

obsolete a list or catalogue

Canadian a group of problems or responsibilities, esp in government, associated with a particular topicthe environment file

on file recorded or catalogued for reference, as in a file

verb

to place (a document, letter, etc) in a file

(tr) to put on record, esp to place (a legal document) on public or official record; register

(tr) to bring (a suit, esp a divorce suit) in a court of law

(tr) to submit (copy) to a newspaper or news agency

(intr) to march or walk in a file or filesthe ants filed down the hill

Derived Forms

filer, noun

Word Origin for file

C16 (in the sense: string on which documents are hung): from Old French filer, from Medieval Latin fīlāre; see filament

British Dictionary definitions for file (2 of 3)

file

/ (faɪl) /

noun

a hand tool consisting essentially of a steel blade with small cutting teeth on some or all of its faces. It is used for shaping or smoothing metal, wood, etc

rare, British slang a cunning or deceitful person

verb

(tr) to shape or smooth (a surface) with a file

Derived Forms

filer, noun

Word Origin for file

Old English fīl; related to Old Saxon fīla, Old High German fīhala file, Greek pikros bitter, sharp

British Dictionary definitions for file (3 of 3)

file

/ (faɪl) /

verb

(tr) obsolete to pollute or defile

Word Origin for file

Old English fӯlan; related to Middle Low German vülen; see defile 1, filth, foul

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Science definitions for file

file

[ fīl ]

A collection of related data or program records stored as a unit with a single name. Files are the basic units that a computer works with in storing and retrieving data.

Idioms and Phrases with file

file

see in single file; on file; rank and file.