filter

B1 Topic:Photography & Images

US /ˈfɪltɚ/ UK /ˈfɪltə/ See IPA manual

Homophones

philter /ˈfɪltɚ/

Freq #9377

Meanings

1

noun
A device that removes unwanted things from a liquid, gas, or other substance passing through it.

The water filter removes dirt and makes the water safe to drink.
2

verb
To pass something through a device to remove unwanted parts.

This machine filters out the impurities from the oil.
3

noun
A digital effect that changes the look of a photo or video.

She added a bright filter to her holiday photo.
4

verb
To sort or select items so only the ones you want remain.

You can filter the search results by price.

Verb forms

Verb forms are not available for this word yet.

Thesaurus

Synonyms

2 verb · to pass something through a... strain

Opposites

ideal

Word family

Forms filteredfilteringfilters

Derived forms biofilterbitfilterchemofilterclear-filterdefilterdiafilterelectrofilterfilter-feederfilterabilityfilterablefiltererfiltergram

Related forms filtratefiltrationfiltride

Appears in

Phrases (1)

See all

filter tip
the filtering material attached to the mouth end of a cigarette

Noun + noun

Idioms (1)

See all

filter bubble
the intellectual isolation created by algorithms that feed you only content you already agree with

Etymology

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.

*pel- (beat) Proto-Indo-European filtre Middle English filtrum la-med *filtir frk *felt Proto-West Germanic

View etymology graph ->

Topics

Photography & Images Tools, Machines & Construction

External links

# filter

**Type:** Word
**Level:** B1
**Part of speech:** noun, verb
**IPA (US):** /ˈfɪltɚ/
**IPA (UK):** /ˈfɪltə/
**Frequency rank:** 9377

## Meanings
1. A device that removes unwanted things from a liquid, gas, or other substance passing through it.
2. To pass something through a device to remove unwanted parts.
3. A digital effect that changes the look of a photo or video.
4. To sort or select items so only the ones you want remain.

## Examples
- The water filter removes dirt and makes the water safe to drink.
- This machine filters out the impurities from the oil.
- She added a bright filter to her holiday photo.
- You can filter the search results by price.

## Antonyms
- ideal

## Derived Forms
- biofilter
- bitfilter
- chemofilter
- clear-filter
- defilter
- diafilter
- electrofilter
- filter-feeder
- filterability
- filterable
- filterer
- filtergram

## Related Forms
- filtrate
- filtration
- filtride

## Roots and Affixes
- Root: *pel- (beat)
- Root: filtre
- Root: filtrum
- Root: *filtir
- Root: *felt

## Etymology
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.

## AI Etymology
Filter comes 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. In current use, the main senses are “A device that removes unwanted things from a liquid, gas, or other substance passing through it” and “To pass something through a device to remove unwanted parts”.

## Topics
- Photography & Images
- Tools, Machines & Construction

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