filaments
filaments — noun
1. a very thin, flexible thread or fibre, either natural like silk or cotton, or ar
a very thin, flexible thread or fibre, either natural like silk or cotton, or artificial like nylon or polyester, used in fabrics, industrial products, and biological structures.
Nora pulled a single filament of silk from the spider's web to examine it under the microscope.
countable: a single filament of [material]
The jacket is padded with synthetic filaments that trap warm air close to the body.
collocation: synthetic filaments
Under UV light, the tiny filaments in the banknote glowed blue to prove it was genuine.
Muscle tissue is made up of thousands of thin filaments that slide past each other during movement.
The factory produces carbon filaments used to reinforce bicycle frames and tennis rackets.
文法句型
a filament of [material]
用法筆記
The singular form 'filament' is also common, especially when referring to a single strand: 'a filament of cotton'.
常見錯誤
2. a thin piece of metal wire inside a light bulb or heating element that produces
a thin piece of metal wire inside a light bulb or heating element that produces light or heat when an electric current passes through it.
When the bulb shattered, Takashi could see the tiny filament still glowing for a moment.
collocation: bulb filament
Old-fashioned incandescent bulbs use a tungsten filament, while LED bulbs work differently.
collocation: tungsten filament
The filament in the stove's heating element snapped, so the oven would not get hot.
Luisa replaced the broken filament in the vintage lamp with a new one from a specialist shop.
- wire
a general term for a metal conductor; wire is much broader and not specific to bulbs
- heating element
a broader term for the part that produces heat in appliances like toasters; may include a filament
文法句型
tungsten / carbon + filament
用法筆記
Frequently paired with 'tungsten' or 'carbon' to specify the metal. The word is less common for modern LED bulbs, which do not use a glowing filament.
常見錯誤
3. a long, thin structure consisting of a single chain of cells or one very long ce
a long, thin structure consisting of a single chain of cells or one very long cell, found in simple living things such as algae, fungi, and some bacteria.
Amara examined the green filament of algae floating in the pond under the classroom microscope.
collocation: filament of algae
When bread mould grows, it first forms tiny white filaments that spread across the surface.
collocation: mould filaments
Some species of cyanobacteria grow as long filaments visible to the naked eye.
The biologist stained the fungal filaments with blue dye so they would show up clearly on the slide.
文法句型
filament of [organism]
用法筆記
Primarily a technical term in microbiology and botany. In everyday conversation, people are more likely to say 'strand' or 'thread' instead.
常見錯誤
4. the thin, upright stalk of a flower's male reproductive part (the stamen) that h
the thin, upright stalk of a flower's male reproductive part (the stamen) that holds the anther, which contains pollen.
Diego carefully removed the filament and anther from the lily to study the parts of the flower.
part of a stamen in a flower
In tulips, the filaments are short and the anthers sit close to the petals.
The bee brushed against the filament, causing the anther to release a cloud of yellow pollen.
Each stamen consists of a long filament topped by a small sac called the anther.
- stalk
a more general term for any plant stem; less precise than 'filament' in botany
文法句型
filament of the stamen
用法筆記
A specialised botanical term. Learners studying plant biology should distinguish the filament from the style (part of the female pistil).