definition of filaments
1. a very fine thread or threadlike structure; a fiber or fibril: filaments of gold. 2. the stalklike portion of a stamen, supporting the anther. 3. (in an incandescent lamp) the threadlike conductor, often of tungsten, that is heated to incandescence by the passage of current. 4. the heating element of a vacuum tube, resembling the filament in an incandescent lamp.