siphon

si·phon | \ ˈsī-fən

variants: or less commonly syphon

Definition of siphon

(Entry 1 of 2)

1a : a tube bent to form two legs of unequal length by which a liquid can be transferred to a lower level over an intermediate elevation by the pressure of the atmosphere in forcing the liquid up the shorter branch of the tube immersed in it while the excess of weight of the liquid in the longer branch when once filled causes a continuous flow

b usually syphon : a bottle for holding aerated water that is driven out through a bent tube in its neck by the pressure of the gas when a valve in the tube is opened

2 : any of various tubular organs in animals and especially mollusks or arthropods that are used for drawing in or ejecting fluids

siphon

verb

variants: or less commonly syphon

siphoned also syphoned; siphoning also syphoning\ ˈsī-fə-niŋ

, ˈsīf-niŋ \

Definition of siphon (Entry 2 of 2)

transitive verb

: to convey, draw off, or empty by or as if by a siphon —often used with off

intransitive verb

: to pass by or as if by a siphon

Synonyms & Antonyms Example Sentences Learn More about siphon

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Examples of siphon in a Sentence

Verb The water needs to be siphoned from the pool. She illegally siphoned money out of other people's bank accounts. Funds were siphoned from the schools to build a new stadium. The large chain stores are siphoning profits from the small local stores.

Recent Examples on the Web: Noun Replete with exterior walls, a functioning lime-green kitchen, a dining room with a table and a soda siphon, a living room with a fireplace and hardwood floors, wainscoting and whatnot. — chicagotribune.com, "The 6 hottest Chicago shows to see right now," 13 Sep. 2019 Replete with exterior walls, a functioning lime-green kitchen, a dining room with a table and a soda siphon, a living room with a fireplace and hardwood floors, wainscoting and whatnot. — chicagotribune.com, "The 6 hottest Chicago shows to see right now," 13 Sep. 2019 Replete with exterior walls, a functioning lime-green kitchen, a dining room with a table and a soda siphon, a living room with a fireplace and hardwood floors, wainscoting and whatnot. — chicagotribune.com, "The 6 hottest Chicago shows to see right now," 13 Sep. 2019 Its tubular siphon, which can grow to be 3 feet long, is an easy target for anatomical jokes. — Lorraine Boissoneault, Smithsonian, "This Centuries-Old Geoduck Shell May Rewrite the Rules About Who Can Harvest the Fancy Clam," 27 Aug. 2019 Replete with exterior walls, a functioning lime-green kitchen, a dining room with a table and a soda siphon, a living room with a fireplace and hardwood floors, wainscoting and whatnot. — chicagotribune.com, "The 5 hottest shows to see now," 22 Aug. 2019 Unlike its relatives in the Hemiptera family, the insect lacks the ability to suck, preferring to munch on high-pressure plants that allow the sap to flow, like a siphon, through its mouth and into its stomach. — Claire Marie Porter, WIRED, "This Voracious, Unstoppable Bug Is Killing Off Vineyards," 2 Aug. 2019 Prosecutors have been investigating similar issues at Goldman, where Mr. Leissner, a former managing director, pleaded guilty last year and admitted to earlier helping siphon off billions of dollars from the fund. — Jenny Strasburg, WSJ, "U.S. Investigating Deutsche Bank’s Dealings With Malaysian Fund 1MDB," 10 July 2019 To their surprise, the new snails kept their siphons wrapped up much longer after a shock, almost as if they’d been trained. — Veronique Greenwood, New York Times, "Scientists Made Snails Remember Something That Never Happened to Them," 15 May 2018 Recent Examples on the Web: Verb Vietnam is already a colossus in producing shoes, clothes and other types of labor-intensive goods, having long ago begun siphoning business away from its giant northern neighbor. — Raymond Zhong, New York Times, "Your Next iPhone Might Be Made in Vietnam. Thank the Trade War.," 30 July 2019 Yet this success story has long been shadowed by financial secrecy, with the island state overseeing legal but questionable processes that have allowed global companies to siphon millions of tax dollars away from low-income African nations. — Abdi Latif Dahir, Quartz Africa, "How an idyllic African island became a tax haven for some of the world’s biggest corporations," 23 July 2019 And travel teams continue to siphon away top athletes at younger and younger ages, draining the player pool. — Alex Putterman, courant.com, "Connecticut Little Leagues forced to adjust amid youth baseball participation decline," 10 July 2019 To Something Nearly As Wild Good: Roughly three hours after Callaway’s second press conference, a new story broke about the team, potentially siphoning away some of the attention here. — Emma Baccellieri, SI.com, "Six Ways the Mets Could Have Handled Their Latest Fiasco Better," 24 June 2019 What is one supposed to think when a candidate spends their time raising money from plutocrats who siphon their profits straight from the pump of oppressive inequality? — Libby Watson, The New Republic, "Hypocrite Accuses Elizabeth Warren of Hypocrisy," 12 Sep. 2019 True freshman Roschon Johnson could start siphoning even more touches from Ingram, especially if this crisis of confidence continues. — Nick Moyle, ExpressNews.com, "Longhorns notebook: Texas expects RB Ingram to bounce back," 9 Sep. 2019 The footage shows the Decepticon siphoning power from the Allspark, the life and power source of these mechanical shape-shifters. — Nick Romano, EW.com, "Transformers: Cyberverse season 2 trailer unites Autobots and Decepticons," 3 Sep. 2019 Issa formed an exploratory committee to replace fellow Republican Hunter, who is scheduled to be tried in January for allegedly siphoning campaign money for personal use. — Washington Post, "Issa moves toward challenging indicted US Rep Duncan Hunter," 29 Aug. 2019

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