From Longman Dictionary of Contemporary Englishfunnelfun‧nel1 /ˈfʌnl/ noun [countable] 1 
TDa thin tube with a wide top that you use for pouring liquid into a container with a narrow opening, such as a bottle2 TT British English a metal chimney that allows smoke from a steam engine or steamship to get out
TDa thin tube with a wide top that you use for pouring liquid into a container with a narrow opening, such as a bottle2 TT British English a metal chimney that allows smoke from a steam engine or steamship to get outExamples from the Corpus
funnel• Made a funnel of the waxed paper, and tipped it into my wide-open mouth.• One is reduced to her ribs; the other still has her steel plating and her funnel.• From the other, funnels of smoke poured with flames licking behind them, lighting the dark smoke garishly.• MacLane lit up a cigarette and breathed smoke into the funnel of light.• An opening in a small pipe near the end of the funnel chuffed steam in bursts.funnelfunnel2 verb (funnelled, funnelling British English, funneled, funneling American English) 1 [intransitive, transitive always + adverb/preposition] if you funnel something somewhere, or if it funnels there, it goes there by passing through a narrow opening Police at the barriers funnelled the crowd into the arena. Incoming tides funnel up the channel with enormous power.2 [transitive always + adverb/preposition] to send money, information etc from various places to someone SYN channel His office funneled millions of dollars in secret contributions to the re-election campaign.→ See Verb tableExamples from the Corpus
funnel• The choices funnel down and you go where the funnel goes.• Everything he does funnels in and out of him through his talent.• Economic aid from 24 countries will be funneled into the war zone.• Its aerodynamic shape means that wind is funnelled round its surface causing little movement to the structure.• The bluff is the end of a narrowing tongue of land which would have funnelled the herd to a point.• The basin funnels the wind and shoots it out over this ridge.• The Clinton campaign does not accept money from political action committees through which teacher unions funnel their contributions.• The Expos always seem to have the right player to funnel to the big leagues.Origin funnel1 (1400-1500) Old Provençal fonilh, from Latin infundibulum, from fundere “to pour” 