FUNNEL


Meaning of FUNNEL in English

I. ˈfən ə l noun

( -s )

Usage: often attributive

Etymology: Middle English fonel, funel, from Old Provençal fonilh, from Medieval Latin fundibulum, short for Latin infundibulum, from infundere to pour in, from in + fundere to pour — more at in , found

1.

a. : a utensil that has typically the shape of a hollow cone with a tube extending from the point, is designed to catch and direct a downward flow of liquid or some other substance, and is sometimes fitted or combined with a strainer or filter — see separatory funnel

b. : something shaped like a funnel (as a conical part, passage, or hole) ; specifically : the swimming funnel of a cephalopod

c. : one that serves as a constricted channel or central agent or organization through which something passes or is transmitted

2. : a stack or flue for the escape of smoke or for ventilation ; specifically : the stack of a ship

3. : a cylindrical band of metal ; especially : one around the top of an upper mast around which the rigging fits

4. : running gate

5. : funnel cloud

6. : a black usually cylindrical metal hood attached to a spotlight to prevent the spill of light outside the illuminated area of a stage

II. verb

( funneled also funnelled ; funneled also funnelled ; funneling also funnelling ; funnels )

intransitive verb

1. : to have or take the shape of a funnel : narrow , widen

a shallow, rounded valley bottom funnels into a miniature gorge with steep bluffs — Journal of Geology

2. : to move to or from a focal point or into a central channel

the gang … funneled onto the end of the jetty off the slope — R.O.Bowen

orders were funneling out to the ships from the flagship — Alexander Griffin

3. : to pass through or as if through a funnel ; specifically : to move through a constricted passage or central medium

the fierce winds which funneled up the valley center — John Steinbeck

through the great port funnels much of the overseas commerce — Newsweek

thousands of pictures … funneled back to the press and public through the public-relations division — Robert Moora

transitive verb

1. : to cause to funnel:

a. : to form into the shape of a funnel

funnels his hands and shouts through them

b. : to cause to move to or from a focal point or into a central channel

traffic is funneled into consolidation stations … and fanned out to destinations — Distribution Age

airlift's traffic pattern funnels planes from widely separated … bases into two 20-mile-wide corridors — National Geographic

c. : to direct to a single recipient or distribute from a single source

impurities funneled into the air by automobiles, backyard bonfires, and factory chimneys — New York Times

funnel the kerosine into the tank

d. : to send or direct through a narrow passage or central medium

pass … through which were funneled troops and supplies — F.T.Chapman

cupped her hands over the lens of the flashlight, funneling the light through a small opening — E.S.Gardner

if a bank funnels its news through a public-relations firm — Banking

2. : to serve as a means for the transmission or direction of

accused the press of funneling secret military information to Soviet Russia — Newsweek

funnel … high-caliber young people to the agency business — Printer's Ink

III. ˈfu̇n ə l, ˈfən- noun

( -s )

Etymology: origin unknown

dialect England : hinny

Webster's New International English Dictionary.      Новый международный словарь английского языка Webster.