filter

filter — 名詞

1. a piece of equipment or a layer of material that lets liquids or gases pass thro

1.名詞B1
釋義

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.

例句

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

同義詞
  • strainer

    usually a metal or plastic mesh, less fine than a filter

  • sieve

    separates solids by size rather than by passing through a porous material

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

❌I bought a coffee sieve for my machine.
✅I bought a coffee filter for my machine.
💡A sieve separates by size using a mesh; a filter uses a porous material that traps finer particles.

2. a coloured glass or plastic attachment that screws onto a camera and modifies th

2.名詞B1
釋義

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

例句

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。

同義詞
  • 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

❌I used a digital filter on the photo before taking it.
✅I used a lens filter on the camera before taking the photo.
💡A 'lens filter' is a physical attachment; a 'digital filter' is software applied afterward.

3. a program, setting, or rule that examines information and decides what to keep o

3.名詞B1
釋義

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

例句

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

同義詞
  • sorter

    organises items by criteria but does not remove them

  • blocker

    specifically prevents access to unwanted content

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

❌I used the filter to delete all the data.
✅I used the filter to sort and hide certain data.
💡A filter hides or selects data but usually does not permanently delete it.

4. a digital tool inside a photo app or social-media platform that alters how a pic

4.名詞A2
釋義

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

例句

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

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

5.名詞C1
釋義

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.

例句

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。

同義詞
  • 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

反義詞
  • 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

6.名詞B2
釋義

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

例句

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。

同義詞

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