filter
/ˈfɪltə(r)/ (bre, ipa) · /ˈfɪltər/ (ame, ipa) · /ˈfil-tər/ (ame, mw) · /ˈfɪl.tər/ (bre, ipa) · /ˈfɪl.tɚ/ (ame, ipa)
filter — 名詞
1. a piece of equipment or a layer of material that lets liquids or gases pass thro
過濾器
去除液體或氣體中固體顆粒的裝置
a piece of equipment or a layer of material that lets liquids or gases pass through while trapping unwanted solid pieces inside it. Filters also block certain types of light, sound, or electrical signals.
Vikram replaced the water filter in his kitchen after noticing a strange taste in the tap water.
Vikram 發現自來水有怪味後，換掉了廚房裡的淨水器。
compound: water filter
The mechanic said the car's air filter was clogged with dust and needed changing.
技師說車子的空氣濾網塞滿灰塵，需要更換了。
compound: air filter
A coffee filter separates the ground beans from the liquid, giving you a clean cup of coffee.
咖啡濾紙把咖啡粉和液體分開，讓你喝到純淨的咖啡。
Sound engineers use a special filter in the recording studio to remove background noise from the street.
錄音室的音效工程師用特殊濾波器去除街道傳進來的背景噪音。
Liang bought a new filter for his fish tank to keep the water clear and healthy for the fish.
Liang 買了一個新的魚缸過濾器，讓水保持清澈，對魚的健康有益。
文法句型
filter + for + noun
filter + made of/from + material
用法筆記
Often appears in compound nouns naming a specific type of filter (water filter, coffee filter, air filter). The material inside a filter is called the filter medium.
常見錯誤
2. a coloured glass or plastic attachment that screws onto a camera and modifies th
相機濾鏡
裝在相機鏡頭前的有色玻璃或塑膠片
a coloured glass or plastic attachment that screws onto a camera and modifies the colour, brightness, or quality of the light reaching the film or digital sensor
Élise attached a polarizing filter to her camera to reduce the strong glare coming off the lake.
Élise 把偏光鏡裝在相機上，以減少湖面強烈的反光。
A yellow filter can make the sky look darker and the clouds more dramatic in black-and-white photos.
黃色濾鏡可以讓天空顯得更暗，讓黑白照片中的雲朵更有戲劇效果。
Nellie forgot to remove the UV filter from her lens, and the indoor shots came out slightly dark.
Nellie 忘了拿下鏡頭上的 UV 濾鏡，結果室內照片拍出來偏暗。
Minh bought a set of screw-on filters for his new camera to experiment with landscape photography.
Minh 買了一組旋入式濾鏡裝在他的新相機上，嘗試拍攝風景照。
- lens filter
more specific term for a camera filter that screws onto the lens
文法句型
[colour/type] + filter
filter + for + camera/lens
用法筆記
Common types include UV filters (protect the lens), polarizing filters (reduce reflections), and neutral-density filters (reduce the amount of light). Many photographers keep a UV filter on the lens permanently for protection.
常見錯誤
3. a program, setting, or rule that examines information and decides what to keep o
篩選工具
依條件選取或排除資訊的程式或設定
a program, setting, or rule that examines information and decides what to keep or remove, for example by blocking unwanted emails or showing only search results that match certain conditions
Her email filter automatically moves messages from unknown senders into a junk folder.
她的郵件篩選器會自動把陌生寄件者寄來的信件移到垃圾郵件資料夾。
compound: email filter
The job website has a salary filter that lets you see only positions within your budget.
求職網站設有薪資篩選功能，讓你只看預算範圍內的職缺。
collocation: salary filter
Parents often install a content filter on home computers to block websites that are not suitable for children.
家長常在家裡的電腦安裝內容過濾軟體，阻擋不適合兒童瀏覽的網站。
Adaeze applied a date filter to her spreadsheet so it showed only sales from the past month.
Adaeze 在試算表上套用了日期篩選條件，只顯示過去一個月的銷售資料。
The search engine's safe-search filter prevents adult material from appearing in the results.
搜尋引擎的安全搜尋篩選功能會防止成人內容出現在搜尋結果中。
文法句型
[noun] + filter
filter + for + [purpose]
用法筆記
Commonly appears in computing contexts. A spam filter sorts email, a search filter narrows results, and a parental-control filter restricts access to online content.
常見錯誤
4. a digital tool inside a photo app or social-media platform that alters how a pic
特效濾鏡
在相片應用程式中改變影像外觀的數位效果
a digital tool inside a photo app or social-media platform that alters how a picture looks by applying colour tones, smoothing skin, or adding decorative frames
Noor applied a vintage filter to her holiday photo before posting it on social media.
Noor 在把度假照片上傳到社群媒體前，先套用了復古濾鏡。
collocation: vintage filter
The beauty filter on that app makes everyone's skin look perfectly smooth.
那款 app 的美顏濾鏡讓每個人的皮膚看起來都完美光滑。
compound: beauty filter
Yuki tried every filter available, but none of them made the sunset picture look any better.
Yuki 試了每一種濾鏡，但沒有任何一種讓夕陽照片看起來更好看。
Many apps now let you create your own custom filter and share it with friends.
現在許多 app 都可以自訂濾鏡，並與朋友分享。
文法句型
apply/use + a filter
[app name] + filter
用法筆記
This sense is informal and very common on social media. Filters are often named after their effect: 'vintage', 'bright', 'monochrome', 'warmth'. The verb 'apply' is the most typical collocation.
5. the ability to stop yourself from saying something that might be rude, offensive
說話分寸
避免說出冒犯或不當言語的自我克制
the ability to stop yourself from saying something that might be rude, offensive, or embarrassing. If someone has 'no filter', they say whatever comes to mind without thinking about how others might feel.
Talia has no filter — she told her boss exactly what she thought of his plan during the meeting.
Talia 說話完全不經大腦——她在會議上直接對老闆說出她對他的計畫的真實想法。
idiomatic phrase: has no filter
When Ezra is tired, his filter disappears and he often says things he regrets later.
Ezra 累的時候就會失去說話的過濾機制，常常說出事後讓自己後悔的話。
Grandpa speaks his mind without any filter, but somehow everyone loves his honesty.
爺爺說話向來直來直往毫不修飾，但神奇的是大家都很喜歡他的坦率。
Cyrus wishes he had a better filter before making jokes at family dinners.
Cyrus 希望自己在家庭聚餐時開玩笑能更有分寸。
- tact
the ability to say difficult things in a polite way; more formal than 'filter'
- self-censorship
deliberately stopping yourself from expressing something; more formal and deliberate
- bluntness
saying things directly without softening them
文法句型
have + no + filter
(someone's) + filter
用法筆記
Almost always used in the phrases 'have no filter', 'lack a filter', or 'without a filter'. The image is of a physical filter that would catch rude words before they come out of your mouth. This is an informal, metaphorical sense.
6. a green light in the shape of an arrow on a traffic-lights system that tells dri
轉彎箭頭燈
允許車輛轉彎的綠色箭頭交通號誌
a green light in the shape of an arrow on a traffic-lights system that tells drivers they may turn in that direction even when the main lights are red
Heloísa waited at the junction until the green filter arrow lit up, allowing her to turn right.
Heloísa 在路口等候，直到綠色轉彎箭頭燈亮起才向右轉。
compound: filter arrow
The left filter at this intersection stays green for only ten seconds, so drivers must move quickly.
這個路口的左轉箭頭燈只亮十秒鐘，駕駛必須快速通過。
When the amber filter light appears, drivers should prepare to stop unless they have already entered the junction.
當黃色箭頭燈亮起時，駕駛應準備停車，除非已經進入路口。
Feng waited patiently behind three cars at the filter light before he could turn into the side street.
Feng 在箭頭燈前耐心地等了三輛車，然後才轉進巷子裡。
- turn arrow
common term in American English for the same thing
- protected turn
a turn signal that stops oncoming traffic
文法句型
the + [colour] + filter
filter + light
用法筆記
This sense is mainly British English. In the US, this is called a 'turn arrow' or 'protected turn'. The filter is often a separate light below or beside the main traffic lights.
filter — 動詞
1. to move or pass slowly through a barrier, opening, or space. This can describe p
滲入；傳開
緩慢地穿過縫隙或逐漸為人所知
to move or pass slowly through a barrier, opening, or space. This can describe physical movement (people leaving a place bit by bit, light coming through a curtain) or information becoming known gradually over time.
The audience began to filter out of the theatre in small groups after the final scene ended.
最後一幕結束後，觀眾開始三三兩兩地從戲院走出來。
phrasal verb: filter out (intransitive — people leaving)
Soft morning light filtered through the paper blinds and gently lit up the bedroom.
清晨柔和的光線穿過紙窗簾，輕輕照亮了臥室。
filter through [barrier] — light passing slowly
News of the accident slowly filtered back to the village, making everyone anxious.
事故的消息慢慢傳回村莊，讓每個人都很擔心。
New students filtered into the hall one by one, looking for empty seats near the back.
新生一個接一個地走進禮堂，在後面找空位坐下。
Reema waited for the details to filter through from the head office before making any announcements.
Reema 在總公司的細節傳達下來之前，等待著不做任何宣布。
- gush
to flow out quickly and forcefully
文法句型
filter + through/into/out + noun phrase
filter + adverb of direction
用法筆記
Often used with a preposition (through, into, out of, back) that indicates the direction of slow movement. The subject is typically light, sound, people, or information — things that move gradually rather than all at once.
常見錯誤
2. to pass a liquid or gas through a device in order to remove solid pieces or unwa
過濾
讓液體或氣體通過多孔材料以去除雜質
to pass a liquid or gas through a device in order to remove solid pieces or unwanted substances that are mixed in with it
The treatment plant filters all the drinking water through layers of sand and charcoal.
水處理廠將所有飲用水通過砂層和木炭層進行過濾。
transitive: filter + object + through + medium
Indra always filters the used cooking oil through a cloth before storing it for later use.
Indra 總是把用過的食用油用布過濾後才存放起來備用。
transitive: filter + object + through + tool
Before you can drink it, the rainwater must be filtered to remove dirt and bacteria.
雨水必須經過過濾去除灰塵和細菌後才能飲用。
This swimming-pool pump filters the water continuously, so it stays clean all summer.
這個游泳池的抽水馬達會持續過濾水質，讓整個夏天水都保持乾淨。
The machine filters out all the dust particles from the air before releasing it back into the room.
機器在空氣釋回室內之前，先過濾掉其中所有的灰塵粒子。
- contaminate
to make something dirty or impure
文法句型
filter + noun phrase
filter + noun phrase + through + noun phrase
filter + noun phrase + out
filter + out + noun phrase
用法筆記
Can be used transitively ('filter the water') or with 'filter out' to emphasise the removal ('filter out impurities'). The passive form is very common ('is filtered', 'must be filtered').
常見錯誤
3. to examine a collection of information, such as emails, files, or search results
篩選
從大量資訊中選取符合條件的部分
to examine a collection of information, such as emails, files, or search results, and keep only the items that meet certain conditions while removing the rest
Christopher filters his inbox so that only messages from his team appear in his main view.
Christopher 把收件匣設成只顯示團隊成員寄來的信件。
transitive: filter + direct object
The job board filters the listings by salary range, location, and years of experience.
求職網站按薪資範圍、地點和年資條件來篩選職缺。
filter + by + criteria
You can filter the spreadsheet to show only rows where the sales total is above five thousand.
你可以篩選試算表，只顯示銷售總額超過五千元的列。
Adaeze filtered out all the duplicate entries before running the final report for her manager.
Adaeze 在為主管製作最終報告前，先篩除了所有重複的項目。
The app lets you filter for vegan restaurants within two kilometres of your current location.
這個 app 可以讓你篩選出目前位置兩公里內的素食餐廳。
- sort
rearranges items by a rule but does not remove them
- narrow down
reduces a set of options by applying criteria
- sift
examines items closely to separate wanted from unwanted
文法句型
filter + noun phrase
filter + noun phrase + out
filter + out + noun phrase
filter + for + criterion
用法筆記
Can be followed by 'by' (filter by price), 'for' (filter for specific items), or 'out' (filter out unwanted data). In spreadsheet software, 'filter' is a standard feature that hides rows that do not meet the criteria.