# file

Pronunciation: say "FYL" /faɪl/

## Noun

1. A named collection of data stored on a computer or other device.
   - Simple: A set of saved information on a computer, kept under its own name.
   - _The file was too large to send by email._
   - _He organized his project files into separate folders._
3. A collection of papers gathered and stored together in an organized way.
   - Simple: A group of papers that are kept and stored together.
   - _He handed the detective a file containing every report from the case._
   - _The clerk archived the old files in the basement._
5. A hand tool with a rough or abrasive surface, used to shape or smooth something, such as metal, wood or fingernails, by rubbing away small bits.
   - Simple: A tool with a rough surface that you rub on something, like metal or your nails, to smooth or shape it.
   - _The blacksmith reached for a file to remove the burrs from the blade._
   - _A few strokes with the file left the edge perfectly smooth._
7. A column of people positioned one behind another, either in a single line or in a grid.
   - Simple: A line of people standing or moving one behind another.
   - _The hikers moved in single file across the bridge._
   - _The troops formed neat files before the inspection._
9. Short for file cabinet: a piece of office furniture with drawers for storing papers in folders. *(Canada, US)* — Clipping of file cabinet.
   - Simple: Short for file cabinet: an office cabinet with drawers for keeping folders and papers.
   - _He pulled open the top drawer of the file and dug for last year's forms._
   - _The bottom drawer of the metal file beside her desk was too full to close._
11. Any of the eight vertical columns of squares on a chessboard, each identified by a letter.
   - Simple: A column of squares that runs up and down a chessboard.
   - _Doubling both rooks on a single file gave White a decisive advantage._
   - _Black doubled her rooks on the open file and soon broke through to White's back rank._
15. A holder for loose papers, in the form of a folder, binder, or box, that keeps them together and in sequence.
   - Simple: A folder, binder, or box where you keep papers so they stay together and in the right order.
   - _An expanding file with a pocket for each month keeps the household receipts in order._
   - _The office ordered a carton of hanging files for the new cabinets._

## Verb

2. To formally submit a document, claim, complaint, or request to a court or official body, as in 'file for bankruptcy' or 'file a tax return'.
   - Simple: To officially send in a form or a request to a court or government office.
   - _The company chose to file for bankruptcy last spring._
   - _Residents can file for a permit at the county office._
6. To smooth, grind, or cut a surface by rubbing it with a file.
   - Simple: To rub something with a file to smooth it, shape it or cut it, as when you file your nails.
   - _The jeweler filed the ring until the seam disappeared._
   - _You should file the burrs off the cut pipe._
4. To put documents or data away in an organized place so they can be found later.
   - Simple: To put papers or records away in an order so you can find them later.
   - _Clerks file each contract under the client's name._
   - _She filed the receipts in the correct folder before leaving._
8. To move along one behind another in a single line or column.
   - Simple: To walk one behind another in a single line.
   - _Mourners file past the open casket one at a time._
   - _The recruits filed onto the parade ground at dawn._
10. Of a reporter, to send in a story or article for publication in a newspaper or similar outlet.
   - Simple: When a reporter sends a finished story to a newspaper or news website.
   - _Correspondents file their dispatches as soon as the event ends._
   - _She filed an exclusive interview minutes before the print deadline._

## Noun

12. A roll or written list of names or entries. *(obsolete)*
   - Simple: A written list or roll of names or things.
13. A cunning or resourceful person, especially a sly and shrewd one. *(archaic)*
   - Simple: A clever, crafty person who knows how to get what they want.

## Verb

14. To make foul or unclean; to defile. *(archaic)*
   - Simple: To make something dirty or unclean.

## Other meanings

- (noun) A small body of soldiers detached from a larger force.
- (noun) A course of thought, or the connected thread running through a story or argument.
- (noun) A row of kitchen cabinets and appliances along one wall, used chiefly in the layout names single-file kitchen and double-file kitchen.

## Origin

**Meanings 1–4, 9–10, 12, 15** — Latin fīlum ("thread") became Old French fil ("thread"), the source of the word. Filum is a doublet.
**Meanings 7–8, 11** — Latin filum ("thread") gave fīlāre, which became the French verb filer ("to spin out, to arrange one behind another"), and from that came French file.
**Meanings 5–6, 13** — From Middle English file, from Old English fēl, fēol ("file"), from Proto-Germanic *finhlō ("file, rasp"), from a Proto-Indo-European root meaning "to adorn, form." It is related to Dutch vijl and German Feile ("file").
**Meaning 14** — Proto-West Germanic *fūlijan, meaning "to make foul," gave Old English fȳlan, which meant "to defile, make foul," and that became Middle English filen ("to defile").

Source: DictionaryAI, https://dictionaryai.com/define/file (written from Wiktionary data, CC BY-SA 4.0: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/).