Skip to main content
filter tip

filter tip

4.0
A small piece at the end of a cigarette that reduces the harshness of smoke
  • noun
  • /ˈfɪltər tɪp/
translation icon : filtro
  • He lit his cigarette, enjoying the smooth draw from the filter tip.

Examples

  • Her lips, around the tan filter tip, looked like a pair of miniature water beds plastered with glittery blue candy coat.

    Fiction book (2000)
  • Who was here smoking a filter-tip cigarette, my darling?

    Fiction book (1997)
  • There were two factory-made filter tips in there, but one was shorter than the other and had blue metallic lipstick on it.

    Fiction book (2000)
  • She opened her purse—black, shoulder strap, fine leather; I believe it was Tod's—and extracted a pack of Marlboro 100s with a filter tip.

    Fiction book (2002)
  • For experiments establishing the efficiency of activated carbon filters for Cd removal from mainstream smoke, activated carbon with three different activities was incorporated into a cigarette filter at loadings ranging from 45 to 60 mg per filter tip.

    Academic text (2018)
  • The filter tip reduces the harshness of the smoke and makes it easier to inhale.

  • She always preferred cigarettes with a filter tip for a milder taste while smoking.

Surface Forms

filter tip singular
filter tips plural

Morphology

filter + tip

The meaning is directly and compositionally derived from 'filter' (a device that removes impurities) + 'tip' (the end or extremity): it denotes the tip that contains a filter. This straightforward noun–noun compound follows regular English compounding patterns and is cross-linguistically transparent, so a B1 learner who knows both words should understand it.

Etymology

Filter tip names the small part at the tip of a cigarette that works like a filter and catches some smoke before you breathe it in. That's why the term means 'a small device at the end of a cigarette that filters smoke before it is inhaled'.