Jump To:

• file
  file

  noun

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

  noun

  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.

file

¹ American  

[fahyl] / faɪl /

noun

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

2. a collection of papers, records, etc., arranged in convenient order.

   to make a file for a new account.

3. 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.

4. a line of persons or things arranged one behind another (distinguished from rank).

5. Military.

   1. a person in front of or behind another in a military formation.

   2. one step on a promotion list.

6. one of the vertical lines of squares on a chessboard.

7. a list or roll.

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

---

verb (used with object)

filed, filing

1. to place in a file.

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

   Synonyms:

   index, catalog, label, classify, categorize, list

3. Journalism.

   1. to arrange (copy) in the proper order for transmittal by wire.

   2. to transmit (copy), as by wire or telephone.

      He filed copy from Madrid all through the war.

verb (used without object)

filed, filing

1. to march in a file or line, one after another, as soldiers.

   The parade filed past endlessly.

2. to make application.

   to file for a civil-service job.

idioms

1. on file, arranged in order for convenient reference; in a file.

   The names are on file in the office.

file ² American  

[fahyl] / faɪl /

noun

1. 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.

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

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

---

verb (used with object)

filed, filing

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

file ³ American  

[fahyl] / faɪl /

verb (used with object)

Archaic.

filed, filing

1. to defile; corrupt.

---

filé ⁴ American  

[fi-ley, fee-ley] / fɪˈleɪ, ˈfi leɪ /

noun

New Orleans Cooking.

1. 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.

---

file ¹ British  

/ faɪl /

verb

1. obsolete (tr) to pollute or defile

---

file ² British  

/ faɪl /

noun

1. 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

2. rare a cunning or deceitful person

---

verb

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

file ³ British  

/ faɪl /

noun

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

2. the documents, etc, kept in this way

3. documents or information about a specific subject, person, etc

   we have a file on every known thief

4. an orderly line or row

5. a line of people in marching formation, one behind another Compare rank 1

6. any of the eight vertical rows of squares on a chessboard

7. 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

8. obsolete a list or catalogue

9. a group of problems or responsibilities, esp in government, associated with a particular topic

   the environment file

10. recorded or catalogued for reference, as in a file

---

verb

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

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

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

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

5. (intr) to march or walk in a file or files

   the ants filed down the hill

file Scientific  

/ fīl /

1. 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.

---

file More Idioms  

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

---

Other Word Forms

• filer
  noun
• nonfiler
  noun
• fileable
  adjective

Etymology

Origin of file¹

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

Origin of file²

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

Origin of file³

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

Origin of filé⁴

1800–10, < Louisiana French; literally, twisted, ropy, stringy (perhaps originally applied to dishes thickened with the powder), past participle of French filer; see file ¹

Explanation

To file is to submit an application or a record to some official authority, like a court, police station, or city hall. You might file a complaint against your neighbor after he shovels the snow from his driveway into yours. People file for divorce, file for bankruptcy, and file charges against criminals. You can also file a receipt or a record at home, by putting it in a file folder and then sliding the folder into a file cabinet. When you stand "single file," you're in a line or queue, and if the group moves a few steps, you can say it files forward.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

file filé filed filing

The attackers used many of the same web links and behaved much like a previous OpenAI swarm; they used the phrase “OAI” in file names and even in an email address.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 11, 2026

Last month, the state opted not to file charges because of a lack of sufficient evidence.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 10, 2026

Earlier this year, FCC chairman Brendan Carr made the extraordinary demand that ABC file for renewals for eight of its owned-and-operated stations years ahead of schedule.

From Salon ● Sep. 10, 2026

If your company has recently switched providers, log in or call to confirm what’s currently on file.

From MarketWatch ● Sep. 10, 2026

Inside are piles of file folders, stacked on end, lined up one after another, each one labeled, each one stuffed with paper, some more than others.

From "Red Flags and Butterflies" by Sheryl Azzam

Bailey's recipe calls for brandy and gumbo filé, which infuse the dish with a singular flavor.

From Salon ● Apr. 12, 2021

Plentiful throughout the Gulf Coast, crawfish and shrimp are Choctaw staples and traditional seasonings like filé, the spice ground from dried sassafras bark, and spicy chiles are a perfect accompaniment.

From New York Times ● Nov. 4, 2019

It also featured no seafood, and the filé powder was considered optional.

From Washington Post ● Oct. 8, 2019

Dressed in baggy jeans and a sweatshirt, Guy was hunched over the gumbo, adding just the right measure of hot sauce and, at the end, Tony Chachere’s Famous Creole Cuisine gumbo filé.

From The New Yorker ● Mar. 4, 2019

Remove the vessel from the fire, and before pouring into the tureen, sprinkle in two tablespoonfuls of filé.

From Favorite Dishes : a Columbian Autograph Souvenir Cookery Book by Carrie V. Shuman

“It’s a really good day,’ said Mark Rosenbaum, the lead attorney in the class action case filed on behalf of disabled veterans.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 11, 2026

In early 2023, another Singaporean man had filed two lawsuits – in claims amounting to over S$3m - against a woman who rejected his romantic advances.

From BBC ● Sep. 11, 2026

Hundreds of scam victims have filed claims on the seized funds, creating a complex legal battle over how the money will be distributed.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 10, 2026

Last month, ABC and its parent company Disney filed a First Amendment lawsuit in federal court against the FCC.

From Salon ● Sep. 10, 2026

Priddy—was filed in the Circuit Court of Amherst County in October 1924.

From "The Gene" by Siddhartha Mukherjee

In the filing, lawyers for West suggested that the California couple could place the child in hospice care.

From BBC ● Sep. 11, 2026

Greg Martin, a managing director in private markets at Rainmaker Securities, thinks Coxon’s post could force Anthropic to be more explicit about security in its IPO filing.

From MarketWatch ● Sep. 11, 2026

Standing in front of rows of what look like giant filing cabinets that contain Alps, he told AFP he was excited to have all of NASA's climate data plugged directly into the machine.

From Barron's ● Sep. 11, 2026

There are some eyebrow-raising details in the filing of SoftBank-backed SB Energy, a power and data-center developer that plans to go public as soon as this month.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 10, 2026

“She’ll probably end up in the Department of Supernatural Licenses and Records filing papers.”

From "Amari and the Night Brothers" by B.B. Alston

Related Words

• book
• case
• data
• directory
• dossier
• folder
• information
• list
• notebook
• record