Filament (Noun)
Meaning 1
A thin wire (usually tungsten) that is heated white hot by the passage of an electric current.
Classification
Nouns denoting man-made objects.
Examples
- The light bulb uses a filament to produce light when an electric current passes through it.
- Tungsten filaments are often used in incandescent bulbs because they can withstand high temperatures.
- When the switch was flipped, the filament in the lamp glowed brightly as it began to heat up.
- A small electric current flowed through the delicate filament, making it emit a soft glow.
- In older types of bulbs, the filament would sometimes break, causing the bulb to burn out completely.
Hypernyms
Meaning 2
A threadlike structure (as a chainlike series of cells).
Classification
Nouns denoting body parts.
Examples
- The nerve fiber consists of a long filament of cytoplasm enclosed in a thin membrane.
- In some algae, the cells are connected by a threadlike filament that provides structural support.
- The muscle cell contains a large number of thin filaments that slide past each other to produce contraction.
- The hyphae of fungi are branching filaments that absorb nutrients from the surrounding environment.
- The spider's web is made up of strong, sticky filaments that are produced by the spider's spinnerets.
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Meaning 3
A very slender natural or synthetic fiber.
Classification
Nouns denoting substances.
Examples
- The spider's web was made up of incredibly thin filaments that glistened in the morning dew.
- The textile factory produced a variety of synthetic filaments used in clothing and upholstery.
- The biologist studied the filaments that made up the cell walls of the microorganisms under her microscope.
- The artist used delicate filaments of silver and gold to create intricate patterns on her sculptures.
- The engineer designed a new type of 3D printer that could extrude extremely thin filaments of plastic.
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Meaning 4
The stalk of a stamen.
Classification
Nouns denoting plants.
Examples
- The filament of the stamen supports the anther, which produces pollen.
- In the center of the flower, the filaments of the stamens are attached to the receptacle.
- The length of the filament can vary greatly among different plant species.
- The filament is a slender, thread-like structure that connects the anther to the base of the stamen.
- In some flowers, the filaments of the stamens are fused together to form a single structure.