1 B2 neutral
To remove unwanted substances, signals, or impurities by passing through a filter.
"This sunscreen filters out harmful UV rays."
separable
filter out
B2 neutral separable transitive
To remove unwanted elements, noise, or impurities from a set or stream, or to exclude certain people or things from consideration.
In plain English
To take out the parts you don't want and keep the rest.
What does "filter out" mean?
3 meanings, ordered from most common to least. Color-coded by CEFR level.
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."
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."
separable
Literal vs figurative
Words literally mean
To remove particles or impurities by passing through a filter.
Actually means
To take out the parts you don't want and keep the rest.
Usage tip
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.
Words that pair with "filter out"
Natural word combinations native speakers use most often.
noise spam impurities candidates results UV rays
How to conjugate "filter out"
The five tense forms you'll use most often.
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
Hear "filter out" in the wild
Listen to native speakers using "filter out" in real YouTube videos — click a clip to watch it on Looplines.
Keep exploring
Jump to every phrasal verb built on the same verb, particle, or level.