- (v.t.) To smooth or polish as with a file.
- (n.) A roll or list.
- (n.) A row of soldiers ranged one behind another; -- in contradistinction to rank, which designates a row of soldiers standing abreast; a number consisting the depth of a body of troops, which, in the ordinary modern formation, consists of two men, the battalion standing two deep or in two ranks.
- (n.) Anything employed to smooth, polish or rasp, literally or figuratively.
- (v.t.) To set in order; to arrange or lay away, especially as papers in a methodical manner for preservation and reverence; to place on file; to insert in its proper place in an arranged body of papers.
- (n.) A shrewd or artful person.
- (n.) An orderly succession; a line; a row.
- (v.t.) To make foul; to defile.
- (v.t.) To put upon the files or among the records of a court; to note on (a paper) the fact date of its reception in court.
- (n.) An orderly collection of papers, arranged in sequence or classified for preservation and reference; as, files of letters or of newspapers; this mail brings English files to the 15th instant.
- (v.t.) To rub, smooth or cut away, with a file; to sharpen with a file; as, to file a saw or a tooth.
- (n.) A steel instrument, having cutting ridges or teeth, made by indentation with a chisel, used for abrading or smoothing other substances, as metals, wood, etc.
- (v.i.) To march in a file or line, as soldiers, not abreast, but one after another; -- generally with off.
- (n.) Course of thought; thread of narration.
- (v.t.) To bring before a court or legislative body by presenting proper papers in a regular way; as, to file a petition or bill.
- (n.) The line, wire or other contrivance, by which papers are put and kept in order.
Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary
| APA | Webster's. (2011). file. Retrieved September 20, 2026, from http://smartdefine.org/file/definitions/2007955 |
| Chicago | Webster's. 2011. "file" http://smartdefine.org/file/definitions/2007955 (accessed September 20, 2026). |
| Harvard | Webster's 2011, file, Smart Define, viewed 20 September, 2026, <http://smartdefine.org/file/definitions/2007955>. |
| MLA | Webster's. "file" 27 May 2011. Web. 20 September 2026. <http://smartdefine.org/file/definitions/2007955> |