siphon

or sy·phon

[ sahy-fuhn ]

See synonyms for: siphon siphoned siphoning on Thesaurus.com

noun

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.
siphon bottle.

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

verb (used with or without object)

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.

Origin of siphon

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

Other words from siphon

si·phon·al, si·phon·ic [sahy-fon-ik], /saɪˈfɒn ɪk/, adjective
si·phon·less, adjective
si·phon·like, adjective
pseu·do·si·phon·al, adjective
pseu·do·si·phon·ic, adjective

Words Nearby siphon

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

How to use siphon in a sentence

Like many mosquito larvae, they often dangle head down in the water, taking in oxygen through a flexible siphon.
Video captures young mosquitoes launching their heads to eat other mosquitoes | Susan Milius | October 4, 2022 | Science News
After training, his lab witnessed new synaptic growth between the sensory neuron that felt touch and the motor neuron that triggered the siphon withdrawal reflex.
Memories Can Be Injected and Survive Amputation and Metamorphosis - Facts So Romantic | Marco Altamirano | October 20, 2020 | Nautilus
First, they allow Paul to siphon off attention from whichever potential candidate is making news.
Rand Paul’s Passive-Aggressive Trolling Campaign | Olivia Nuzzi | January 6, 2015 | THE DAILY BEAST
What are the economic factors in play when you siphon off access to the coasts?
Life After ‘Winter’s Bone’: Debra Granik on Finding J. Law and the Plight of the Female Director | Marlow Stern | October 24, 2014 | THE DAILY BEAST
How sick do you have to be to siphon money away from an event for the needy?
12-12-12 Concert Ticket Scalpers: The Hurricane Sandy Benefit Spoilers | Winston Ross | December 13, 2012 | THE DAILY BEAST

“In order to save the day, I had to siphon gasoline out of a car, which involved me sucking it out of a tube,” said Donahue.
Growgirl: Heather Donahue’s Journey From ‘Blair Witch’ to Growing Marijuana | Marlow Stern | January 6, 2012 | THE DAILY BEAST
By the end of 1983, Wilson had managed to siphon $300 million of unused Pentagon cash to the Afghan mujahideen.
My Charlie Wilson War | Fatima Bhutto | January 8, 2009 | THE DAILY BEAST
The homemade siphon shown in the sketch consists of two rubber corks and a glass tube with a rubber hose connected to it.
The Boy Mechanic, Book 2 | Various
He was back again in a trice, a flask in one hand, a soda siphon in the other, and a small glass balanced on his thumb.
Red Pepper Burns | Grace S. Richmond
So saying he dispensed whisky and cigarettes, there being a siphon and glasses, and three matches in a match-stand, on the table.
The Regent | E. Arnold Bennett
Now, are we going to discuss this thing rationally, or do you want to hit me with a heavy siphon?
The Terms of Surrender | Louis Tracy
Sir William Thomson's siphon recorder, in all its present completeness, must take rank as a masterpiece of invention.
Heroes of the Telegraph | J. Munro

British Dictionary definitions for siphon

siphon

syphon

/ (ˈsaɪfən) /

noun

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
See soda siphon

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

verb

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

Origin of siphon

C17: from Latin sīphō, from Greek siphōn siphon

Derived forms of siphon

siphonage, noun
siphonal or siphonic (saɪˈfɒnɪk), adjective

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

Scientific definitions for siphon

siphon

[ sī′fən ]

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

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