funnel

[ fuhn-l ]

/ ˈfʌn l /

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See synonyms for: funnel / funneled / funnelled on Thesaurus.com

noun

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), fun·neled, fun·nel·ing or (especially British) fun·nelled, fun·nel·ling.

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), fun·neled, fun·nel·ing or (especially British) fun·nelled, fun·nel·ling.

to pass through or as if through a funnel.

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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

OTHER WORDS FROM funnel

fun·nel·like, adjective

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use funnel in a sentence

Another reason to keep an upper hand: Russia also funnels oil to Europe via a pipeline that runs directly through Ukraine.
Up to Speed: What’s Going on in Ukraine?|Nina Strochlic|February 19, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Create a public jobs program that funnels the unemployed to fast growing areas such as at-home health care and child care.
How I'd Create Jobs|The Daily Beast|December 7, 2009|DAILY BEAST
While the test is somewhat tedious, all the manipulations are simple and require no apparatus but flasks, test-tubes, and funnels.
A Manual of Clinical Diagnosis|James Campbell Todd
The catillus (E) itself was shaped something like an hourglass, or two funnels joined at the neck.
The Private Life of the Romans|Harold Whetstone Johnston

The two yellow funnels, the cut of the hull, told Ponting what she was.
The Beach of Dreams|H. De Vere Stacpoole
In order even to see the masts and funnels of the ship one has to go far forward or far aft and crane one's neck upward.
America To-day, Observations and Reflections|William Archer
Her funnels showed most clearly, making sharply defined black daubs on the heaving desert of froth.
The Pillar of Light|Louis Tracy

British Dictionary definitions for funnel

funnel

/ (ˈfʌnəl) /

noun

a hollow utensil with a wide mouth tapering to a small hole, used for pouring liquids, powders, etc, into a narrow-necked vessel

something resembling this in shape or function

a smokestack for smoke and exhaust gases, as on a steamship or steam locomotive

a shaft or tube, as in a building, for ventilation

verb -nels, nelling or -nelled or US -nels, -neling or -neled

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 directionthey funnelled their attention on the problem

(intr) to take on a funnel-like shape

Derived forms of funnel

funnel-like, adjective

Word Origin for funnel

C15: from Old Provençal fonilh, ultimately from Latin infundibulum funnel, hopper (in a mill), from infundere to pour in

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

funnel

Origin of funnel

OTHER WORDS FROM funnel

Words related to funnel

How to use funnel in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for funnel

Derived forms of funnel

Word Origin for funnel