file

noun

1. A collection of papers collated and archived together.

   “It is upon a file with the duke's other letters.”

   “We'd like to know a little bit about you for our files We'd like to help you learn to help yourself”

2. A roll or list.

   “a file of all the gentry”

3. A course of thought; a thread of narration.

   “Let me resume the file of my narration.”

4. An aggregation of data on a storage device, identified by a name.

   “He had created a file for coding to design a new product.”

   “I'm going to delete these unwanted files to free up some disk space.”

5. A row of modular kitchen units and a countertop, consisting of cabinets and appliances below (dishwasher) and next to (stove/cooker) a countertop.

   “Many homes now have double-file kitchens.”

6. (Canada, US, abbreviation, alt-of, clipping)Clipping of file cabinet.

   “The Nonfiction Vertical File: […]I spent my university years working in the library at the Maritime School of Social Work. One of my responsibilities was to keep the library's vertical file up to date. The vertical file was a cabinet full of current newspaper and magazine clippings on topics of interest to the students and faculty of the school.”

7. A column of people one behind another, whether "single file" or in a grid pattern.

   “The troops marched in Indian file.”

8. A small detachment of soldiers.
9. One of the eight vertical lines of squares on a chessboard (i.e., those identified by a letter).
10. A tool consisting of a strip or rod of hardened and coarse metal, used for removing sharp edges, shaping, and cutting, especially through metal; usually a hand tool.
11. (archaic, slang)A cunning or resourceful person.

    “Will is an old file, in spite of his smooth face.”

    “The greatest character among them was that of a Pickpocket, or, in truer language, a File.”

12. (obsolete, slang)A pickpocket.

    “The greatest character among them was that of a pickpocket, or, in their language, a file.”

verb

1. (transitive)To commit (official papers) to some office.

   “She filed their accounts yesterday.”

   “The episode’s unwillingness to fully commit to the pathos of the Bart-and-Laura subplot is all the more frustrating considering its laugh quota is more than filled by a rollicking B-story that finds Homer, he of the iron stomach and insatiable appetite, filing a lawsuit against The Frying Dutchman when he’s hauled out of the eatery against his will after consuming all of the restaurant’s shrimp (plus two plastic lobsters).”

2. (transitive)(of a journalist) To submit (an article) to a newspaper or similar publication.

   “I filed my copy soon after the interview.”

3. (transitive)To place in an archive in a logical place and order.

   “Troves of documents filed away in the depository.”

4. (transitive)To store a file (aggregation of data) on a storage medium such as a disc or another computer.
5. (intransitive, transitive)To submit a formal request to some office.

   “She filed for divorce the next day.”

   “The company filed for bankruptcy when the office opened on Monday.”

   “They filed for a refund under their warranty.”

   “What started as a way to cover my expenses became something I could turn into a full-time job. Within a year, I filed an LLC and made it official.”

6. (obsolete, transitive)To set in order; to arrange, or lay away.

   “I would have my several courses and my dishes well filed.”

7. (intransitive)To move in a file.

   “The applicants kept filing into the room until it was full.”

8. (transitive)To smooth, grind, or cut with a file.

   “I'd better file the bottoms of the table legs. Otherwise they will scratch the flooring.”

   “Orion hit a rabbit once; but though sore wounded it got to the bury, and, struggling in, the arrow caught the side of the hole and was drawn out. Indeed, a nail filed sharp is not of much avail as an arrowhead; you must have it barbed, and that was a little beyond our skill.”

9. (archaic)To defile.

   “I cannot thinke […] So true a bird would file ſo faire a neſt, […]”

   “for Banquo's issue have I fil'd my mind”

10. To corrupt.

name

1. A surname.