funnels 1 of 2

verb

present tense third-person singular of funnel
as in channels
to cause to move to a central point or along a restricted pathway funneled endless time and money into his misguided pet project

Synonyms & Similar Words

Relevance

funnels

2 of 2

noun

plural of funnel
as in tubes

Related Words

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of funnels
Verb
The money funnels up, and then out at the end of the year to pay partners, and the whole thing starts over. — Liz Hoffman, semafor.com, 14 July 2026 An ordinance funnels that 1% into school employee bonuses, which topped $50,000 for some local teachers, according to Meta. — Sydney Lake, Fortune, 13 July 2026 And chronic leader overload is one of the clearest symptoms of a design that funnels everything upward. — Daria Rudnik, Forbes.com, 8 July 2026 San Diego City Council members are calling for fundamental changes to the city’s 4-year-old opportunity fund, which funnels money to recreation centers in low-income areas where community donations tend to lag. — David Garrick, San Diego Union-Tribune, 18 June 2026 The zone then funnels carcasses to the seafloor, and very little sediment movement at those depths means that the carcasses stay exposed to scavengers. — Mindy Weisberger, CNN Money, 12 June 2026 Generally, the share of Wimbledon prize money that funnels to the best players has declined since the 2010s. — Lev Akabas, Sportico.com, 11 June 2026 Americans are hanging on by their fingernails in an economy that funnels wealth to the ultra-rich and leaves crumbs for working people. — Sen. Elizabeth Warren, Time, 27 May 2026 Another funnels cocaine through the Amazon toward Ecuador’s port city of Guayaquil, now one of the world’s principal departure points for cocaine shipments heading to Europe. — Antonio María Delgado, Miami Herald, 13 May 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for funnels
  1. channels
  2. tubes
  3. directs
  4. pipes
Verb
  • Created by Chicago painter Nathaniel Mary Quinn, the image mashes up caricatures of Mick Jagger, Keith Richards, and Ron Wood into a glorious grotesquerie that channels the colorful glam-trash aesthetics of the band’s late-’70s phase.
    — Stuart Berman, Pitchfork, 13 July 2026
  • This pick has great movement, plenty of airflow, and a blue pinstripe that channels Swift’s look.
    — Annie Blackman, InStyle, 11 July 2026
Definition of channels
Noun
  • There are also slots for glow-in-dark tritium tubes, but the tubes themselves are sold separately.
    — Maryna Holovnova, New Atlas, 15 July 2026
  • When force is applied, the pillar tilts toward the point of contact, compressing the corresponding chamber and pushing fluid through soft tubes to actuators.
    — Jijo Malayil, Interesting Engineering, 13 July 2026
Definition of tubes
Verb
  • Make sure every downspout directs water at least 6 feet away from the house—and even farther if possible.
    — Olivia McIntosh, Martha Stewart, 13 July 2026
  • Instead of projecting light onto a flat surface, the new method directs laser energy into a three-dimensional volume inside a photosensitive material called SU-8.
    — Neetika Walter, Interesting Engineering, 10 July 2026
Definition of directs
Verb
  • The Florida Keys Aqueduct Authority, which pipes fresh water from the mainland throughout the Keys, said in a statement that the break happened on Conch Key, which is about 14 miles north of the Middle Keys city of Marathon.
    — David Goodhue, Miami Herald, 30 June 2026
  • The company also currently pipes water to 26 of its own data centers, and is working on more than 100 more such water reclamation projects.
    — Bloomberg, Mercury News, 11 June 2026
Definition of pipes

Browse Nearby Words

funneling
funnels
funnies
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Funnels.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/funnels. Accessed 20 Jul. 2026.

Copy Citation

More from Merriam-Webster on funnels

Nglish: Translation of funnels for Spanish Speakers

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

More from Merriam-Webster

Word of the Day

Listen to the pronunciation of raffish

See Definitions and Examples »

Popular in Grammar & Usage

See More

Merriam-Webster’s Great Big List of Words You Love to Hate

'A' or 'an'? What about before 'h'? An Indefinite Article Guide

Do you 'say your piece' or 'say your peace'?

Why is '-ed' sometimes pronounced at the end of a word?

Commonly Misspelled Words
See More

Popular in Wordplay

See More

14 Phobias You Probably Haven't Heard Of

It's a Scorcher! Words for the Summer Heat

The Longest Long Words List

Ten Words Ending with a Silent ‘T’

Why do we say 'fly off the handle'?
See More

Popular

See More

Merriam-Webster’s Great Big List of Words You Love to Hate

14 Phobias You Probably Haven't Heard Of

It's a Scorcher! Words for the Summer Heat
See More

Games & Quizzes

See All
Play Quordle: Guess all four words in a limited number of tries. Each of your guesses must be a real 5-letter word.
Quordle Can you solve 4 words at once?
Play Blossom: Solve today's spelling word game by finding as many words as you can using just 7 letters. Longer words score more points.
Blossom Pick the best words!
Play Missing Letter: a crossword with a twist. Each of the 25 puzzle words start with a different letter of the alphabet. Which letter is missing?
The Missing Letter A daily crossword with a twist
child-detective
Spot the Misspelled Word July 2026 Those little red underlines can't help you now...
See All