filament

noun

fil·a·ment | \ ˈfi-lə-mənt

Definition of filament

: a single thread or a thin flexible threadlike object, process, or appendage (see appendage sense 2): such as

a : a tenuous (see tenuous sense 2) conductor (as of carbon or metal) made incandescent by the passage of an electric current specifically : a cathode (see cathode sense 2) in the form of a metal wire in an electron tube

b(1) : a thin and fine elongated constituent part of a gill (see gill entry 2 sense 1)

(2) : an elongated thin series of cells attached one to another or a very long thin cylindrical single cell (as of some algae, fungi, or bacteria)

c : the anther-bearing stalk of a stamen — see flower illustration

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Other Words from filament

filamentary \ ˌfi-lə-ˈmen-t(ə-)rē

\ adjective

filamentous \ ˌfi-lə-ˈmen-təs

\ adjective

Synonyms for filament

Synonyms

bristle, fiber, hair, thread

Examples of filament in a Sentence

algae covered with tiny filaments the cable was made up of fine filaments twisted together

Recent Examples on the Web

There’s an effort to replace the statue with one made out of a fiber filament. — USA TODAY, "Kacey Musgraves, sneaker flap, skiing in July: News from around our 50 states," 3 July 2019 Don’t use a Microplane; those little filaments of cheese clump in the sauce, rather than melting. — Jessica Battilana, SFChronicle.com, "Repertoire: Fettuccine Alfredo With Favas is an easy summer dinner," 28 June 2019 The filament houses the virus's RNA, a string of genetic material about 19,000 base pairs long that encodes seven proteins. — Michael Greshko, National Geographic, "What is the Ebola virus, and can it be stopped?," 9 Apr. 2019 The only assembly required to get the printer up and running is attaching the spool of PLA filament and snapping the extruder into place. — Timothy Dahl, Popular Mechanics, "Plug and 3D-Print With the Makerbot Replicator+," 17 Oct. 2016 Some microorganisms attempted multicellular arrangements, forming small sheets or filaments of cells. — Quanta Magazine, "Where Animals Come From," 29 July 2014 His heavy square eyeglasses, pushed back on his forehead, doubled the lamp’s glowing filament in miniature, like two magnifying glasses collapsing the sun to start pinpoints of fire. — Jill Ciment, Harper's magazine, "Then Again," 10 June 2019 Slowly, dense regions of dark matter coalesced under their own gravity into a vast tangle of clumps and filaments known as the cosmic web. — Adrian Cho, Science | AAAS, "Galaxy simulations are at last matching reality—and producing surprising insights into cosmic evolution," 30 May 2018 In 2017, a company called Made in Space built fiber-optic filaments in the microgravity environment of the ISS using a material better than that typically used on Earth—but that is difficult to work with under the influence of gravity. — Kevin Dupzyk, Popular Mechanics, "What ISS Taught Us In the Past 20 Years," 20 Nov. 2018

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'filament.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

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Dictionary Entries near filament

Statistics for filament

Last Updated

6 Jul 2019

Look-up Popularity

Time Traveler for filament

The first known use of filament was in 1594

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More Definitions for filament

filament

noun

English Language Learners Definition of filament

: a thin thread or hair

: a thin wire in a light bulb that glows when electricity passes through it

See the full definition for filament in the English Language Learners Dictionary

filament

noun

fil·a·ment | \ ˈfi-lə-mənt

Kids Definition of filament

1 : a fine thread a filament of silk

2 : a fine wire (as in a light bulb) that is made to glow by the passage of an electric current

3 : the stalk of a plant stamen that bears the anther

filament

noun

fil·a·ment | \ ˈfil-ə-mənt

Medical Definition of filament

: a single thread or a thin flexible threadlike object, process, or appendage especially : an elongated thin series of cells attached one to another or a very long thin cylindrical single cell (as of some algae, fungi, or bacteria)