in•fil•trate
Pronunciation: (in-fil'trāt, in'fil-trāt"), [key]
— v., n. -trat•ed, -trat•ing,
—v.t.
- to filter into or through; permeate.
- to cause to pass in by filtering.
- to move into (an organization, country, territory, or the like) surreptitiously and gradually, esp. with hostile intent: The troops infiltrated the enemy lines.
- to pass a small number of (soldiers, spies, or the like) into a territory or organization clandestinely and with hostile or subversive intent: The intelligence agency infiltrated three spies into the neighboring country.
—v.i.
- to pass into or through a substance, place, etc., by or as by filtering.
- to penetrate tissue spaces or cells.
—n.
- something that infiltrates.
- any substance penetrating tissues or cells and forming a morbid accumulation.
Random House Unabridged Dictionary, Copyright © 1997, by Random House, Inc., on Infoplease.