funnel
Americannoun
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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.
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a smokestack, especially of a steamship.
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a flue, tube, or shaft, as for ventilation.
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Eastern New England. a stovepipe.
verb (used with object)
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to concentrate, channel, or focus.
They funneled all income into research projects.
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to pour through or as if through a funnel.
verb (used without object)
noun
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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
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to move or cause to move or pour through or as if through a funnel
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to concentrate or focus or be concentrated or focused in a particular direction
they funnelled their attention on the problem
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(intr) to take on a funnel-like shape
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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funnelsimple
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funnelssimple
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have funneledperfect
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have funnelledperfect
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has funneledperfect
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has funnelledperfect
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am funnelingprogressive
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am funnellingprogressive
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are funnelingprogressive
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are funnellingprogressive
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is funnelingprogressive
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is funnellingprogressive
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have been funnelingperfect progressive
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have been funnellingperfect progressive
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has been funnelingperfect progressive
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has been funnellingperfect progressive
Past
-
funneledsimple
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funnelledsimple
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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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Pestle, Sieve, and Whisk: Useful Words for Cooking Tools
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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:
He said that investors want to see evidence that Adobe’s “freemium” funnel will translate to durable paid-subscriber growth, and not weaken the pricing power for its premium offerings.
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 7, 2026
Specifically, the court noted that existing disclosure laws and rules about earmarking donations already act as disincentives for donors hoping to use parties as a means to indirectly funnel money to candidates.
From Salon ● Jul. 2, 2026
The deal to unblock the global energy funnel gives Iran a say in its future management, and a route to riches.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 26, 2026
The plan is for power lines to funnel this green energy to the megacities of Guangzhou, Shenzhen and Chongqing.
From BBC ● May 31, 2026
The ship looked desolate there upon her side, with no one on her decks, and her thin black funnel pointing to the shore.
From "Rebecca" by Daphne du Maurier
He funnels huge amounts of money into those picks so they can win markets and drown out rivals.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 27, 2026
The landmark parkrun saw a large turnout, with runners queuing in finish funnels to get their times recorded on a sunny morning in the capital.
From BBC ● Jun. 13, 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
Palantir began as a defense contractor and has since found other customers selling a platform that funnels data into simple dashboards that use artificial intelligence to aid decision-making.
From Barron's ● Nov. 4, 2025
Black smoke began to billow out of the 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
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
He funneled his fascination into a science-fiction YouTube series about a seemingly endless universe where mundanity meets monsters.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 6, 2026
Those institutional orders will get funneled through S&P Global’s Equity Bookbuild platform.
From Barron's ● Jun. 4, 2026
This evolution was thanks to a daring business move from Huang, who funneled the profits Nvidia generated from its gaming business to develop a software layer called Compute Unified Device Architecture, or CUDA.
From MarketWatch ● May 23, 2026
We’ve been funneled into a class of relative beginners, fourteen- or fifteen-year-olds, which seems a little insulting until it’s obvious that they’re in far better condition than we are.
From "Mockingjay" by Suzanne Collins
OpenAI lawyers have suggested that she funnelled information about OpenAI to Musk after he in 2018 left the AI company, which he co-founded and made early donations to.
From BBC ● May 6, 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
Rijkenberg told parliament the money received from the United States was funnelled into the account of Eswatini's disaster agency, NDMA.
From Barron's ● Nov. 17, 2025
A round orifice is contrived at the summit; and, on this orifice, rises a funnelled mouthpiece built of pure cement.
From The Wonders of Instinct Chapters in the Psychology of Insects by Teixeira de Mattos, Alexander
Japan wants to become an asset management superpower, funneling an estimated $7 trillion in mattress money and low-yielding bank accounts into its booming stock market.
From Barron's ● Jun. 25, 2026
“Kevin Juin solicited more than $2 million in purported loans to invest in a lingerie company, while funneling the money to personal accounts to fund a luxurious lifestyle,” said Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg.
From MarketWatch ● May 29, 2026
In a dark room, a doctor pointed to an hourglass shape glowing on the ultrasound screen: There was her amniotic sac, funneling into her dilated cervix, and there was their tiny daughter’s foot, dipping out.
From Salon ● May 27, 2026
Many advisers say 529s are a good place to start funneling your dollars because of their tax advantages.
From The Wall Street Journal ● May 23, 2026
The long lines, three and four abreast, funneling to the meeting hall, were kept in strict ordfer by Fruit of Islam men communicating by walkie-talkie.
From "The Autobiography of Malcolm X" by Alex Malcolm X;Hailey
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
Its Vision 2023 plan, spearheaded by Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, includes funnelling money into sectors such as tourism, entertainment, and sports.
From BBC ● Oct. 3, 2025
Experts say the infamous hacking team is working nearly 24 hours a day - potentially funnelling the money into the regime's military development.
From BBC ● Mar. 9, 2025
Helsinki says Moscow is funnelling them to the border, a charge the Kremlin denies.
From Reuters ● Nov. 24, 2023
"Listen and believe!" he cried; and funnelling his hands about his lips, he stooped over the central hole.
From At a Winter's Fire by Capes, Bernard Edward Joseph
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.
