Meaning & use
funnel
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Meanings
nouncountable
A tool shaped like a cone with a tube at the bottom, used to pour liquid or powder into a small opening.
Grammar: Countable: a funnel, two funnels.
Patterns
- a funnel for something
- use a funnel to do something
Use a funnel to pour the oil into the engine without spilling.
The kitchen funnel is in the drawer next to the measuring cups.
She needed a funnel to fill the small bottle with vinegar.
nouncountable
A tube or pipe that carries smoke or gas upward, especially on a ship or steam engine.
Grammar: Countable: often used in the plural for ships with more than one funnel.
Patterns
- the ship's funnel
- a tall funnel
Black smoke rose from the ship's funnel.
The old train had a tall funnel that belched steam.
The funnel of the steamship was painted red and black.
verbtransitive or intransitive
To move or guide something through a narrow space or toward a particular place.
Grammar: Can take an object: funnel money into a project. Also used without an object: The crowd funneled through the gate.
Patterns
- funnel something into something
- funnel something through something
- funnel into something
The company funneled millions of dollars into the new research lab.
Fans funneled through the narrow exits after the concert.
The government plans to funnel more resources into rural schools.
Word forms
| plural | funnels |
|---|---|
| third person singular | funnels |
| past tense | funneled |
| past participle | funneled |
| -ing form | funneling |
Common combinations
- funnel into
- The charity funnels donations into food programs.
- funnel through
- The water funnels through a narrow pipe.
- funnel money into
- They funneled money into the campaign.
- funnel cloud
- A funnel cloud was spotted near the coast.
- funnel cake
- We bought funnel cake at the fair.
Synonyms and how they differ
- channel
- Channel is more often used for directing resources or energy, while funnel emphasizes passing through a narrow opening or toward one point.
- direct
- Direct is more general and neutral; funnel suggests a narrower, more concentrated movement.
- pipe
- Pipe as a noun is a tube for carrying fluids; a funnel is specifically a cone-shaped tool for pouring.
Word family
- funneled adjective
- Having been passed through a funnel or directed in a narrow stream.
- funneling noun
- The act of guiding something through a narrow passage or toward a point.
Commonly confused: funnel or tunnel?
funnel vs tunnel
A tunnel is a passage dug through or under something; a funnel is a cone-shaped tool for pouring.
Practice
Choose the correct sentence:
Choose one answer.
A funnel is the cone-shaped tool for pouring; 'to pour' correctly follows 'used a funnel to...'. Option 0 confuses 'funnel' with 'tunnel'; options 2 and 3 use wrong verb forms after 'to'.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “funnel”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.