siphon

American  

[sahy-fuhn] / ˈsaɪ fən /

Or syphon

noun

siphons plural

1. a tube or conduit bent into legs of unequal length, for use in drawing a liquid from one container into another on a lower level by placing the shorter leg into the container above and the longer leg into the one below, the liquid being forced up the shorter leg and into the longer one by the pressure of the atmosphere.

2. siphon bottle.

3. a projecting tubular part of some animals, especially certain mollusks, through which liquid enters or leaves the body.

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verb (used with or without object)

siphons, present (3rd person singular) siphoned, past participle, past siphoning present participle

1. to convey, draw, or pass through or as if through a siphon (sometimes followed by off ).

   to siphon water; to siphon off profits into a secret bank account.

siphon British  

/ saɪˈfɒnɪk, ˈsaɪfən /

noun

1. a tube placed with one end at a certain level in a vessel of liquid and the other end outside the vessel below this level, so that liquid pressure forces the liquid through the tube and out of the vessel by gravity

2. See soda siphon

3. zoology any of various tubular organs in different aquatic animals, such as molluscs and elasmobranch fishes, through which a fluid, esp water, passes

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verb

1. (often foll by off) to pass or draw off through or as if through a siphon

siphon Scientific  

/ sī′fən /

1. A pipe or tube in the form of an upside-down U, filled with liquid and arranged so that the pressure of the atmosphere forces liquid to flow upward from a container through the tube, over a barrier, and into a lower container.

2. A tubular animal part, as of a clam, through which water is taken in or expelled.

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Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• siphonage
  noun
• pseudosiphonal
  adjective
• pseudosiphonic
  adjective
• siphonal
  adjective
• siphonic
  adjective
• siphonless
  adjective
• siphonlike
  adjective

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• siphons
  plural

Participles

• siphoning
  present
• siphoned
  past

Conjugated Forms

Present

• siphon
  simple
• siphons
  simple
• have siphoned
  perfect
• has siphoned
  perfect
• am siphoning
  progressive
• are siphoning
  progressive
• is siphoning
  progressive
• have been siphoning
  perfect progressive
• has been siphoning
  perfect progressive

Past

• siphoned
  simple
• had siphoned
  perfect
• was siphoning
  progressive
• were siphoning
  progressive
• had been siphoning
  perfect progressive

Future

• will siphon
  simple
• will have siphoned
  perfect
• will be siphoning
  progressive
• will have been siphoning
  perfect progressive

Etymology

Origin of siphon

1650–60; < Latin sīphōn- (stem of sīphō ) < Greek síphōn, sī́phōn pipe, tube

Explanation

A siphon is a device used to move liquid from one container to the other. If you're giving your goldfish a magnificent new bowl, you can use a siphon to move the water from the old one to the new. A siphon is a tube running from one container to another that uses gravity to cause liquid to flow. The key is that the container with the liquid has to be at a higher level than the container you’re moving the liquid to. You have to use force to start the initial flow, but after that gravity takes over. We also use siphon as a verb, for the process of emptying. An endless meeting might siphon off all your energy.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

siphon siphons siphoned siphoning

The judge described the diversion of public funds as a gross abuse of public trust and said proxy companies and associates were used to siphon money from the projects.

From BBC ● May 20, 2026

“We believe this case was nothing more than a lawyer-driven attempt to siphon off charitable funds for their own gain,” the spokesperson said.

From Los Angeles Times ● May 15, 2026

Yet higher gas prices could siphon money away from other retailers in the next few months if they persist.

From MarketWatch ● Apr. 21, 2026

Software stocks are finally making a tentative comeback after being pummeled by fears that artificial intelligence could siphon business away.

From Barron's ● Mar. 4, 2026

Together, they siphon off an enzyme, which stops the production of a certain hormone, which complicates my life.

From "Middlesex: A Novel" by Jeffrey Eugenides

This includes the Revolutionary Guard, which siphons about half the revenue.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 14, 2026

Instead, it siphons the Colorado’s flow into the All-American Canal, delivering five times as much water to Imperial as Los Angeles uses in a year — and 10 times as much as Nevada.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jan. 17, 2023

Scientists initially blamed this crucial ecosystem’s die-off solely on an unusually strong El Niño, a weather pattern that periodically siphons water away from the western Pacific and lowers local tides.

From Scientific American ● Dec. 1, 2022

That’s because there’s minimal local investment by the company, which siphons readership and potential subscribers away from local outlets providing foundational local coverage.

From Seattle Times ● Aug. 10, 2022

The siphons at the ends of their necks glistened.

From "Snow Falling on Cedars: A Novel" by David Guterson

“It kind of siphoned all of that pent-up, closeted stuff that you hold back, that you couldn’t freely express,” she said.

From Slate ● May 4, 2026

Each pay period, the money arrived and then vanished almost immediately, siphoned off by a stack of cash-advance apps that automatically withdrew what she owed.

From MarketWatch ● Feb. 12, 2026

Citing a government estimate, they warned senators that some $6.6 trillion in deposits could be at risk of being siphoned out of the traditional financial system.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jan. 30, 2026

In a matter of months, billions had been siphoned away.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jan. 7, 2026

I knew this day would come, and yet the news siphoned the oxygen from our already claustrophobic house.

From "I Will Always Write Back" by Caitlin Alifirenka and Martin Ganda

Other product lines Tan has brought together, including data-center switches and software, are siphoning even more AI economics toward Broadcom.

From Barron's ● Jun. 19, 2026

Arbitration has also become a massive phenomenon, siphoning countless cases off from the courts into a shadowy, opaque system that nobody can ever truly fully observe.

From Slate ● Apr. 27, 2026

More than two dozen Iraqi banks, many with close ties to the militias, were banned in 2023 and 2024 by the Treasury for siphoning off dollars from Iraq’s Fed accounts, using fraudulent wire transfers.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 22, 2026

The video YouTuber Nick Shirley posted just after Christmas alleged widespread fraud at day cares in Minnesota that were siphoning government funds but not providing care for any children at all.

From Salon ● Jan. 29, 2026

This need to be always on guard was an unmeasured expenditure of energy, the slow siphoning of the essence.

From "Between the World and Me" by Ta-Nehisi Coates