filament

Everyday

1. A filament is a very thin thread or wire. tree →
2. In an old-style light bulb, the filament is the thin wire that glows when electricity passes through it. tree →
3. (science) A thin thread in living things, such as in fungi, plants or a flower's stamen. tree →
4. The plastic thread used in 3D printers. tree →

In the lessons

Used in science lessons on electricity (filament lamps) and plants (the filament holds the anther in a flower). Phrases: «filament bulb», «filament lamp», «thin filament». It tells the reader something is threadlike.

Examples

• The filament in the bulb glowed bright orange. tree →
• When the filament breaks, the bulb stops working. tree →
• The stamen of a flower has a filament and an anther. tree →
• Spiders spin silk filaments. tree →
• Our 3D printer uses plastic filament. tree →
• Fungi grow tiny filaments under the ground. tree →

Note

Countable: a filament, filaments. Filament bulbs waste lots of energy as heat; LED bulbs use much less. Do not touch a bulb just switched off; the filament makes it hot.