A Ship's Funnel and a Kitchen Funnel Are the Same Idea
A funnel channels liquid into a narrow opening. On a ship it channels smoke, and the shape gave it the name.
A funnel is a cone tapering to a tube, used to guide liquid into a narrow opening. A ship's funnel is the same shape doing the same job with smoke, and the word transferred straight from the kitchen to the engine room. The verb followed: to funnel money or people is to channel them through a narrow point.
- A cone for pouring. *A plastic funnel.*
- A ship's chimney. *A red funnel.*
- To channel. *Funnel the crowd.*
- Sales funnel — a marketing model. *The top of the funnel.*
Word forms
| Form | Word | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Noun | funnel | A metal funnel. |
| Plural | funnels | Three funnels. |
| Verb | funnel | Funnel the water. |
| Past | funnelled | Funnelled through. |
| Related | tunnel | A rail tunnel. |
How it is used in a sentence
- The Titanic had four funnels.One of them was a dummy.
- Money was funnelled abroad.Channelled.
- A funnel cloud may become a tornado.Meteorology.
Funnel in different fields
- Kitchen — a cone for pouring liquid
- Shipping — the smokestack
- Meteorology — a funnel cloud, a rotating column of air
- Marketing — the narrowing path from awareness to purchase
- Anatomy — the infundibulum, a funnel-shaped structure
From Provençal *fonilh*, from Latin *infundibulum*, from *infundere*, to pour in, from *in* and *fundere*, to pour.
Are funnel and tunnel related?
Yes. Tunnel came from a French word for a cask or pipe, related to the same family of funnel-shaped things.
What is a sales funnel?
A model describing how a large group of potential customers narrows at each stage until a few make a purchase.