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filter out

B2 neutral separable transitive
In simple words

To take out the parts you don't want and keep the rest.

Literal meaning: To remove particles or impurities by passing through a filter.

Meanings

1 B2 neutral

To remove unwanted substances, signals, or impurities by passing through a filter.

"This sunscreen filters out harmful UV rays."

Grammar: separable
2 B2 idiomatic neutral

To remove or exclude unwanted information, options, or people from a larger selection.

"The software automatically filters out spam before it reaches your inbox."

Grammar: separable
3 B2 idiomatic informal

To deliberately ignore or block out something, such as background noise or an unwanted thought.

"She had learned to filter out the office chatter and focus on her work."

Grammar: separable
Usage notes

Used both literally (filtering out impurities in water or particles in air) and figuratively (filtering out irrelevant information in a search, or unsuitable candidates in a hiring process). Very common in technology, science, and business contexts.

Commonly used with

noise spam impurities candidates results UV rays

Forms

Base
filter out
I/you/we/they
3rd person
filters out
he/she/it
Past simple
filtered out
yesterday
Past participle
filtered out
have + pp
-ing form
filtering out
continuous

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