: 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
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.
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Noun
Soda siphons either have a bottle with precarbonated water or a bottle of tap water with a plastic top screwed on top.—Bestreviews, Mercury News, 27 May 2025 Soda makers, on the other hand, can carbonate much more water than a siphon, as the carbon dioxide cartridge is inside the machine to create carbonated water.—Bestreviews, Mercury News, 27 May 2025
Verb
But Kevin also wondered what would happen to the other people whose money got siphoned up by the fake Middlesex account.—Cezary Podkul, ProPublica, 25 June 2025 New aid system criticized Israel and the U.S. say Hamas has siphoned aid from the U.N.-run system, while U.N. officials say there is no evidence of systematic diversion.—Mohammad Jahjouh, Los Angeles Times, 15 June 2025 See All Example Sentences for siphon
Word History
Etymology
Noun
French siphon, from Latin siphon-, sipho tube, pipe, siphon, from Greek siphōn
: a bent tube through which a liquid can be drawn by means of air pressure up and over the edge of one container and into another container at a lower level
2
: any of various tube-shaped organs in animals and especially mollusks that are used to draw in or pass off fluids
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