Skip to main content
Glite Dictionary
to file in

to file in

9 3.5
Enter a place by walking in a line behind other people
  • phrasal verb
translation icon : entrar en fila
  • The monks file in first, followed by the guests who are directed to separate tables.

The cinder blocks snack bar had no windows, only the vents Out the screen door part, people clutching trays of hot food filed in silver sleeves.

Examples

  • By twos and threes, the workers filed in and waited their turn.

    Fiction book (1992)

  • Watch the prisoners file in.

    Big Stan (2007)

  • File in behind me, please.

    The 33 (2015)

  • The other five followed the first two in single file, arms swinging in unison.

    Fiction book (1999)

  • "Thank you, thank you," the sisters would chant as the people filed in.

    Fiction book (1999)

  • The locksmith popped the lock on Dr. V's double doors, and we filed in without saying a word.

    Fiction book (1998)

  • As the two sit in the lunchroom, the other pickers file in and cast odd glances over at Conrad.

    Fiction book (1999)

  • CHRIS: The fans are filing in with great anticipation as the Charlotte Banshees prepare to host game one of their WUBA playoff series against the Houston Gallop.

    Juwanna Mann (2002)

  • The students are asked to file in quietly and take their seats.

  • As the guests filed in, the music began to play softly.

Antonyms

to leave
∞ 1.0

To go away from a place, person, or group

to disperse
104 4.4

To cause people and things, like a crowd or fog, to spread over a wide area

to file out
7 3.7

To leave a place in a line one after another

How Fast

to rush in
36 3.1
to stream
55 1.7
to file in
9 3.5
drifting
6 5.0

Surface Forms

file in infinitive
filed in past
filed in past participle
filing in present participle
files in third person singular

Morphology

file + in

The meaning 'to enter a place by moving in a line' is directly and compositionally derived from 'file' (to proceed in an orderly single file) combined with the directional particle 'in' (into). This verb+particle construction is a standard, transparent pattern in English and would be immediately understandable to a B1 learner who knows both constituent meanings.

Etymology

File in comes from the picture of people walking in a single file, one behind the other, to go in somewhere, so it means 'to enter by moving in a line'.