Skip to the word

Added 9 October 2026

filter

/ˈfɪltə/ noun

In Latin: liquatorium Wiktionary

noun Definition from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA). Pronunciation from Wiktionary, via Kaikki.org. More about filter at Wordnik → Where our words come from →

A device which separates a suspended, dissolved, or particulate matter from a fluid, solution, or other substance; any device that separates one substance from another.
Electronics or software that separates unwanted signals (for example noise) from wanted signals or that attenuates selected frequencies.
Any item, mechanism, device, or procedure that acts to separate or isolate.
He runs an email filter to catch the junk mail.

verb

To sort, sift, or isolate.
This strainer should filter out the large particles.
To diffuse; to cause to be less concentrated or focused.
The leaves of the trees filtered the light.
To pass through a filter or to act as though passing through a filter.
The water filtered through the rock and soil.

Origin

From Middle English filtre, from Medieval Latin filtrum (compare also Old French feutre (“felt; filter”)), from Frankish *filtir, from Proto-West Germanic *felt. See felt. Doublet of phin.

From Wiktionary, via Kaikki.org (CC BY-SA)

Back to today's word