1. Preservation and methodical arrangement as of documents and papers etc.
   "I have some filing to do"
    
2. The entering of a legal document into the public record
   "The lawyer completed the filing of the lawsuit just before the deadline"
    
3. The act of using a file (as in shaping or smoothing an object)
   "The metalworker's precise filing gave the piece a smooth finish"
    
4. A fragment rubbed off by the use of a file
   "Metal filings collected at the base of the workbench"; "The locksmith used iron filings to demonstrate magnetic fields"

1. Smooth with a file
   "file one's fingernails"
    
2. (law) record in a public office or in a court of law
   "file a complaint"; "file for divorce";
   - register
    
3. Place in a container for keeping records
   "File these bills, please"; "file away these bills, please";
   - file away
    
4. Proceed in line
   "The students filed into the classroom"
    
5. Place a formal charge against
   "The plaintiff filed a complaint with the court";
   - charge, lodge

Derived forms: filings

See also: file in, file out

Type of: accuse, criminate, enter, entry, formation, fragment, impeach, incriminate, march, process, put down, record, register, shaping, smooth, smoothen, storage, submission, submittal [N. Amer]

Encyclopedia: Filing