fun·nel (fŭn'əl)
n.

1. 1. A conical utensil having a small hole or narrow tube at the apex and used to channel the flow of a substance, as into a small-mouthed container.
   2. Something resembling this utensil in shape.
2. A shaft, flue, or stack for ventilation or the passage of smoke, especially the smokestack of a ship or locomotive.

v., -neled, or -nelled, -nel·ing, or -nel·ling, -nels, or -nels.

v.intr.

1. To take the shape of a funnel.
2. To move through or as if through a funnel: tourists funneling slowly through customs.

v.tr.

1. To cause to take the shape of a funnel.
2. To cause to move through or as if through a funnel.

[Middle English fonel, from Provençal fonilh, from Late Latin fundibulum, from Latin īnfundibulum, from īnfundere, to pour in. See infuse.]

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The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition Copyright © 2007, 2000 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Updated in 2009. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.

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