funnel
Americannoun
-
funnels
plural
-
a cone-shaped utensil with a tube at the apex for conducting liquid or other substance through a small opening, as into a bottle, jug, or the like.
-
a smokestack, especially of a steamship.
-
a flue, tube, or shaft, as for ventilation.
-
Eastern New England. a stovepipe.
verb (used with object)
-
funnels,
present (3rd person singular)
-
funneled,
past participle, past
-
funnelled,
past participle, past (especially British)
-
funneling,
present participle
-
funnelling
present participle (especially British)
-
to concentrate, channel, or focus.
They funneled all income into research projects.
-
to pour through or as if through a funnel.
verb (used without object)
-
funnels,
present (3rd person singular)
-
funneled,
past participle, past
-
funnelled,
past participle, past (especially British)
-
funneling,
present participle
-
funnelling
present participle (especially British)
noun
-
a hollow utensil with a wide mouth tapering to a small hole, used for pouring liquids, powders, etc, into a narrow-necked vessel
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something resembling this in shape or function
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a smokestack for smoke and exhaust gases, as on a steamship or steam locomotive
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a shaft or tube, as in a building, for ventilation
verb
-
to move or cause to move or pour through or as if through a funnel
-
to concentrate or focus or be concentrated or focused in a particular direction
they funnelled their attention on the problem
-
(intr) to take on a funnel-like shape
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
-
funnelsimple
-
funnelssimple
-
have funneledperfect
-
have funnelledperfect
-
has funneledperfect
-
has funnelledperfect
-
am funnelingprogressive
-
am funnellingprogressive
-
are funnelingprogressive
-
are funnellingprogressive
-
is funnelingprogressive
-
is funnellingprogressive
-
have been funnelingperfect progressive
-
have been funnellingperfect progressive
-
has been funnelingperfect progressive
-
has been funnellingperfect progressive
Past
-
funneledsimple
-
funnelledsimple
-
had funneledperfect
-
had funnelledperfect
-
was funnelingprogressive
-
was funnellingprogressive
-
were funnelingprogressive
-
were funnellingprogressive
-
had been funnelingperfect progressive
-
had been funnellingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of funnel
1375–1425; late Middle English fonel < Old Provençal fonilh ( Gascon ) < Vulgar Latin *fundibulum, for Latin infundibulum, derivative of infundere to pour in
Explanation
The cone-shaped tool you use to pour liquid into a small hole is a funnel. The swirling winds of a tornado make the shape of a funnel. This is why they are called funnel clouds. You can also use the word metaphorically to describe something that goes from wide to narrow while moving. If six lanes of traffic must funnel through a tunnel, you'll probably see a traffic jam. And if you photographed the scene from above, the cars would make a triangular shape, as if they formed a flat funnel. If a company is funneling money into research and development, it is spending lots of money in that department. Funnel cake is made by pouring batter through a funnel in to hot oil. Yum!
Vocabulary lists containing funnel
Words to Know Before You Defrost the Bird
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
In return, it is alleged that Ethiopia has helped funnel arms to the UAE's allies in Sudan, though that is denied by both countries.
From Barron's ● Oct. 2, 2026
Screening is the last line in the security funnel.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 2, 2026
Roy would use the city attorney’s role as the prosecutor of most misdemeanor crimes to funnel nonviolent offenders into diversion programs, such as mental health treatment or vocational training.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 1, 2026
Alphabet is instead choosing to funnel resources to its Google Cloud business, which Nathanson believes is a more profitable strategy than “chasing frontier leadership at any cost.”
From MarketWatch ● Sep. 16, 2026
Gregor watched a gorgeous, gauzy funnel of silk grow up around them as if by magic.
From "Gregor the Overlander" by Suzanne Collins
The whales were believed to have died in such numbers in this particular area because it is a popular foraging habitat -- and has a V-shaped trench that funnels carcasses to the seafloor.
From Barron's ● Jun. 10, 2026
But versatility is also a lost art — collateral damage during the construction of the pipeline that directly funnels social media stars to the screen.
From Salon ● Jan. 24, 2026
A more moderate Santa Ana wind event typically funnels gusts through canyons, but isn’t powerful enough to climb mountains.
From Los Angeles Times ● Dec. 17, 2025
Marketing shifted from campaign bursts to always‑on funnels and A/B testing.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 22, 2025
The Manhattan’s crew had trained floodlights on the enormous white Olympic flag flying from the after mast, on the American flag on the foremast, and on the ship’s red, white, and blue funnels.
From "The Boys in the Boat: Nine Americans and Their Epic Quest for Gold at the 1936 Berlin Olympics" by Daniel James Brown
Later that year, FTX filed for bankruptcy after failing to return customer funds it had secretly funneled to Alameda.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 27, 2026
The owners allegedly underreported how much they paid their employees by more than $100,000 each year and funneled profits through mortgage payments and investments.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 17, 2026
Earlier this year, Lewin funneled $3.8 billion to a small arm of the United Nations, the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, quadrupling the budget of the agency.
From Salon ● Jun. 23, 2026
Those institutional orders will get funneled through S&P Global’s Equity Bookbuild platform.
From Barron's ● Jun. 4, 2026
A gray haze that swirled up into the sky, slowly at first, then swaying slightly with the breeze until it funneled up, up, up into the clouds.
From "A Tangle of Knots" by Lisa Graff
At the time, Nasa described pyrocumulonimbus as "the fire-breathing dragon of clouds, external" as they funnelled a smoke-like chimney into the earth's atmosphere while hurling thunderbolts, wind and rain.
From BBC ● Jul. 27, 2026
He told BBC Scotland News a lack of a "meaningful queuing structure" saw thousands of fans funnelled through "a series of bottlenecks and pinch points".
From BBC ● Jun. 15, 2026
It is also unclear how much daily imported energy China is using right away, and how much is being funnelled into its oil reserves, says Hansen.
From BBC ● Mar. 18, 2026
Millions more were funnelled into art by Claude Monet and Vincent van Gogh, a private jet, and the production of the Hollywood movie "The Wolf of Wall Street" by Najib's stepson.
From Barron's ● Dec. 25, 2025
The ship was of about 7000 tons, single funnelled, and with two stumpy masts with telescopic topmasts and a sheaf of derricks to each.
From The Wireless Officer by Percy F. (Percy Francis) Westerman
Working into the wee hours of the morning, he has flagged about 7,000 scam profiles, including many funneling applicants to those roles.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 22, 2026
Roberts, the suit alleged, was the hub of the operation, funneling fake art through his gallery from multiple sources.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 12, 2026
It seems there is possibly a second sponsor, Daktronics, that is funneling money to Kawhi Leonard for doing nothing.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 8, 2026
The person alleged in an interview that the sponsorship deal was “1,000% a way to circumvent the salary cap. It was funneling money from the Clippers through Daktronics back to Kawhi.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 7, 2026
The hills on either side of a cove would direct the water right down the middle, funneling it toward the village.
From "Meltdown" by Deirdre Langeland
He said high pressure over Europe was funnelling hot air north from northern Africa, with the weather system hindering cloud formation.
From Barron's ● Jun. 26, 2026
They have accused him of "funnelling millions of dollars from mining contracts through illegitimate shell companies to finance his family's lavish lifestyle".
From BBC ● Mar. 26, 2024
The door has been left ajar, funnelling an icy breeze into the bar where a small group of members sup pints.
From BBC ● Dec. 10, 2023
Helsinki says Moscow is funnelling them to the border, a charge the Kremlin denies.
From Reuters ● Nov. 24, 2023
It is a bold step to make holes in the funnelling as obviously any uncertainty of draught might fill the hut with smoke.
From Scott's Last Expedition Volume I by Robert Falcon Scott
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
