Word of the Day: Filter
A filter is a type of screen that allows liquids or air to pass through while trapping sold, unwanted substances:
- An air filter removes dirt in the air as it goes through a machine.
- A gas filter in your car traps impurities found in gasoline.
- A coffee filter is used in a coffee maker. The filter allows water to pass through the coffee grounds.
- I have to change the furnace filter in my house every few months because it gets dirty.
- A vaccum cleaner has a filter that traps very small particles of dirt and dust.
- Saltwater must go through a filtration process in order to separate the salt from the water. (The word “filtration” is also a noun.)
It’s possible to use “filter” as a verb. In this case, it’s in reference to the screening or selection of people or things.
- Applicants for jobs are filtered through the interview process.
- The media act as a filter for stories that are fake.
- Football tryouts filter out the players who aren’t good enough to make the team.
- Immigrants who enter the United States are filtered though Homeland Security which checks people for criminal backgrounds.
Essential English Dictionary
Visit the Popular English Words Beginning with F page to see the list of all words starting with letter F. For seeing the HiCafe dictionary, visit the Popular English Words with Meaning page.
