infiltrate: Meaning and Definition of

in•fil•trate

Pronunciation: (in-fil'trāt, in'fil-trāt"), [key]
— v., n. -trat•ed, -trat•ing,
—v.t.
  1. to filter into or through; permeate.
  2. to cause to pass in by filtering.
  3. to move into (an organization, country, territory, or the like) surreptitiously and gradually, esp. with hostile intent: The troops infiltrated the enemy lines.
  4. 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.
  1. to pass into or through a substance, place, etc., by or as by filtering.
  2. to penetrate tissue spaces or cells.
—n.
  1. something that infiltrates.
  2. any substance penetrating tissues or cells and forming a morbid accumulation.
Random House Unabridged Dictionary, Copyright © 1997, by Random House, Inc., on Infoplease.
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