filament
filament Lexical Profile
filament Game Scores & Validity
• noun
A fine, high-resistance conducting wire inside an incandescent light bulb or vacuum tube that glows white-hot or emits electrons when heated by an electric current.
"The old light bulb stopped working because the tungsten filament inside had snapped."
A very thin, slender thread, fiber, or threadlike structure, especially a continuous strand of synthetic material or natural fiber.
"The spider spun a delicate filament of silk between the two branches."
A long, thin thermoplastic wire fed from a spool into a 3D printer head to build objects layer by layer.
"She loaded a fresh spool of biodegradable plastic filament into the 3D printer before starting the prototype."
In botany, the slender stalk of a stamen in a flower that supports the pollen-bearing anther.
"Under the magnifying glass, the students examined how the anther was attached to the tip of the floral filament."
• Rhymes for filament
• Nearby Words
Word Origin & Etymology
Borrowed in the late 16th century from French or Modern Latin filamentum, derived from Late Latin filare ('to spin') and ultimately from Latin filum ('thread').