Bloom filter

noun

A space-efficient probabilistic data structure that is used to test whether an element is a member of a set. False positive matches are possible, but false negatives are not.

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Meanings

nounBloom filter (plural Bloom filters)

plural Bloom filters

  1. computerA space-efficient probabilistic data structure that is used to test whether an element is a member of a set. False positive matches are possible, but false negatives are not.

    A Bloom filter is a set-like data structure that is highly efficient in its use of space. It supports two operations only: insertion and membership querying.

    2008, Bryan O'Sullivan, John Goerzen, Donald Bruce Stewart, Real World Haskell: Code You Can Believe In, O'Reilly Media, →ISBN, page 581

Origin

Conceived by Burton Howard Bloom in 1970.

Full word history & related roots →
Cite this entry
APA

Bloom filter. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Bloom%20filter

MLA

“Bloom filter.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Bloom%20filter. Accessed November 3, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “Bloom filter,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Bloom%20filter.

Source: Bloom filter on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.