Meaning & use
a funnel
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Meanings
nouncountable
A cone-shaped tool with a wide top and a narrow tube, used for pouring liquid into a small opening.
Grammar: Countable: you can say a funnel, the funnel, or funnels.
Patterns
- pour something through a funnel
- use a funnel
- a funnel with a narrow tube
Use a funnel to pour the oil into the engine without spilling it.
She held the funnel steady while he poured in the juice.
The kitchen drawer is full of funnels in different sizes.
nouncountablebusiness
A series of stages that people pass through, especially from first interest to buying something.
Grammar: Countable: often used in business writing, as in the sales funnel.
Patterns
- the sales funnel
- move through the funnel
- at the top of the funnel
Most customers drop out of the sales funnel before they buy.
We need more people at the top of the funnel to get enough sales.
The marketing team studied each stage of the funnel.
verbtransitive
To move something through a narrow space or into a particular place.
Grammar: Takes an object: funnel money into a project. Often used with into or through.
Patterns
- funnel something into something
- funnel something through something
The company funneled extra funds into research.
Water was funneled through a narrow pipe.
They funneled the crowd through a single gate.
Word forms
| plural | funnels |
|---|---|
| third person singular | funnels |
| past tense | funneled |
| past participle | funneled |
| -ing form | funneling |
Common combinations
- pour something through a funnel
- Pour the mixture through a funnel into the bottle.
- the sales funnel
- The sales funnel shows how many leads become customers.
- funnel money into something
- The government funneled money into public transport.
- at the top of the funnel
- Advertising brings people in at the top of the funnel.
Synonyms and how they differ
Word family
- funneled adjective
- Directed through a narrow way or into a place: funneled funds.
Commonly confused: a funnel or tunnel? a funnel or funnel cake?
a funnel vs tunnel
A tunnel is a passage under the ground or through a hill; a funnel is a tool for pouring. They sound similar but are different objects.
a funnel vs funnel cake
Funnel cake is a sweet fried food, not the tool itself. The name comes from the funnel used to pour the batter.
Practice
Which sentence uses "funnel" correctly?
Choose one answer.
A funnel is the tool with a wide top and narrow tube for pouring. A tunnel is a passage, a channel is a passage for water or a TV station, and a cone is just the shape without the tube.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “a funnel”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.