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file

1
[ fahyl ]
/ faɪl /
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See synonyms for: file / filed / files / filing on Thesaurus.com

noun
verb (used with object), filed, fil·ing.
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.
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Idioms about file

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

Origin of file

1
First recorded in 1425–75; late Middle English verb filen, from Middle French filer “to string documents on a thread or wire,” Old French: “to wind or spin thread,” from Vulgar Latin fīlāre “to wind or spin thread,” from the Latin noun fīlum “a string, thread”; the English noun is derived from the verb

OTHER WORDS FROM file

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

WORDS THAT MAY BE CONFUSED WITH file

file , phial

Other definitions for file (2 of 4)

file2
[ 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

2
First recorded before 900; Middle English; Old English fīl, fēol; cognate with German Feile; akin to Slavic (Polish) piła “saw”

OTHER WORDS FROM file

file·a·ble, adjectivefiler, noun

Other definitions for file (3 of 4)

file3
[ fahyl ]
/ faɪl /

verb (used with object), filed, fil·ing.Archaic.
to defile; corrupt.

Origin of file

3
First recorded before 1000; Middle English, Old English fȳlan “to befoul, defile,” derivative of fūl foul

Other definitions for file (4 of 4)

filé
[ fi-ley, fee-ley ]
/ fɪˈleɪ, ˈfi leɪ /

noun New Orleans Cooking.
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.
Also called filé powder .

Origin of filé

1800–10, Americanism;<Louisiana French; literally, twisted, ropy, stringy (perhaps originally applied to dishes thickened with the powder), past participle of French filer;see file1
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use file in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for file (1 of 3)

file1
/ (faɪl) /

noun
verb

Derived forms of file

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)

file2
/ (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 of file

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)

file3
/ (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

Scientific 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.
The American Heritage® Science Dictionary Copyright © 2011. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

Other Idioms and Phrases with file

file

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

The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
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