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• 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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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file ¹ British  

/ faɪl /

verb

1. obsolete (tr) to pollute or defile

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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

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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

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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.

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file More Idioms  

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

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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

Still, the couple sought another appeal, but a separate Ventura County Superior Court judge denied their request, stating they could not file a second appeal.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 13, 2026

Current New Orleans District Attorney Jason Williams declined to retry the case, clearing the way for Brooks to file his compensation claim two years later.

From Salon ● Aug. 10, 2026

Tiffany Lynch, chair of the National Police Federation of England and Wales, said that for rank and file officers up and down the country it "feels personal" – "there is disgust, upset".

From BBC ● Aug. 8, 2026

If you decline before the court appoints you, you simply do not file a petition for letters testamentary.

From MarketWatch ● Aug. 7, 2026

There was no way Jonah would be able to casually lean forward, open the file, then look at and memorize its contents.

From "Found" by Margaret Peterson Haddix

His sliver of a restaurant in TriBeCa is named for filé powder, the ground sassafras thickener often used for making gumbo.

From New York Times ● May 24, 2022

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

From Salon ● Apr. 12, 2021

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

The hearing stemmed from a petition animal services had filed that same month against the dog’s owners, Claire M. Birgy and Erick Krasnoff, and cited four separate and unprovoked biting incidents dating back to 2024.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 13, 2026

Polestar claimed the ban was a “Force Majeure” event outside of its control in a July 10 letter to Haiken, according to a copy of the letter filed with the lawsuit.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 13, 2026

Bruce’s owners filed an appeal with the Ventura County Superior Court on April 8.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 13, 2026

The number of people who filed for unemployment benefits was 209,000 in the week through Aug. 8, 9,000 higher than the upwardly revised 200,000 reported a week earlier, the Labor Department said Thursday.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 13, 2026

When we got to school I filed off the bus and into the building with everybody else.

From "Ida B" by Katherine Hannigan

Earlier this year Musk acquired a Florida-based gas and diesel turbine manufacturer, according to a Federal Trade Commission filing.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 13, 2026

Bonta did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Sauer’s latest filing Wednesday.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 12, 2026

In a more positive sign for the firm, revenue jumped 11 percent during the period to total 204.8 billion yuan, the filing showed.

From Barron's ● Aug. 12, 2026

The move, which GM disclosed in a regulatory filing, aims to give suppliers enough capital to maintain production and potentially stockpile parts.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 12, 2026

It was jammed full of filing cabinets, covered with dust.

From "The Woman All Spies Fear" by Amy Butler Greenfield

Related Words

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