funnel

Universal Words noun, verb noun 1 a device that is wide at the top and narrow at the bottom, used for pouring liquids or powders into a small opening 2 (BrE) (also smokestack AmE, BrE) a metal chimney, for example on a ship or an engine, through which smoke comes out verb (-ll-, AmE -l-) to move or make sth move through a narrow space, or as if through a funnel: [V] Wind was funnelling through the gorge. * [VN] Huge pipes funnel the water down the mountainside. * Barricades funnelled the crowds towards the square. * (figurative) Some $10 million in aid was funnelled into the country through government agencies.