| 释义 |
▪ I. outlet, n.|ˈaʊtlɪt|
[out- 7.]
1. a. A place or opening at which anything is let out or escapes, or by which exit is possible; a means of issue; a channel of egress or discharge; a vent; a passage or way out, an exit; spec. a shop, a retail store; an institution disposing of the produce of a manufacturer; a market (for goods).
a1250Owl & Night. 1754 He wuneth at Porteshom, At one tune ine Dorsete Bi thare see in ore ut-lete [= By the sea in an outlet]. 1600Hakluyt Voy. (1810) III. 482 We were alwaies in good hope to find some out-let into the maine Ocean. 1635E. Pagitt Christianogr. 35 That great Promontory, whose base lying between the out-lets of the River Indus and Ganges stretcheth [etc.]. 1655Fuller Ch. Hist. ii. vi. §43 Like the Caspian Sea, receiving all, and having no Out-let. 1727H. Herbert tr. Fleury's Eccl. Hist. I. 128 John..was master of the out-lets of the Temple. 1845Budd Dis. Liver 89 The abscess, if large, may discharge through more outlets than one. 1919Brit. Manufacturer Nov. 28/1 India..is the most important outlet for British goods. 1933[see consumer 2 c]. 1962Daily Tel. 29 May 12/2 The Six are reluctant to guarantee ‘comparable outlets’ in advance. 1964New Society 27 Feb. 20/2 The shopper..has a choice between self-service and counter-service, and..between the supermarket and smaller self-service... Given this rather bewildering variety of ‘outlets’ for groceries it is of interest to consider why any housewife should choose one shop rather than another. 1966Listener 17 Mar. 376/1 One may hope that the stimulus given by National Library Week will..lead to a permanent improvement in the outlets for the distribution of reading matter. 1975Sci. Amer. Oct. 122/3 Both the motor and its companion controller are available from W. W. Grainger, Inc., an electrical-supply firm with retail outlets in all major U.S. cities. 1976National Observer (U.S.) 27 Nov. 8/2 Yet Moldafsky and Bird are outlet experts. Each has more than 10 years' experience in outlet shopping, and both have researched and written guide books to outlet stores.
b. transf. and fig. A way out of a difficulty; a means of escape, relief, or discharge, a ‘vent’.
1625Bacon Ess., Seditions (Arb.) 411 In such manner, as no Euill shall appeare so peremptory, but that it hath some Out-let of Hope. 1667J. Flavel Saint Indeed (1754) 61 Prayer is the best outlet to fear. 1873Hamerton Intell. L. xi. v. 427 An energetic nature seeking an outlet for energy. 1916Joyce Portrait of Artist (1969) ii. 64 The ambition which he felt astir at times in the darkness of his soul sought no outlet. 1928E. O'Neill Strange Interlude i. ii. 67 She's got to find normal outlets for her craving for sacrifice. 1938‘G. Graham’ Swiss Sonata 260 You think Mlle Lemaitre and the average wife are doing the same thing; in different ways each one is seeking an outlet. 1978E. Healey Lady Unknown iv. 138 Dickens..needed..an outlet for that driving energy.
†c. fig. Issue. Obs.
1710Henry On Ps. lxvi. 12 How glorious the issue was at last..for (1)..The outlet of the trouble is happy.
d. Anat. The opening of a cavity of the body formed by the skeleton; used orig. of the pelvis and later of the thorax. Opp. inlet n. 5.
1797J. Bell Anat. Bones, Muscles & Joints I. v. 140 The outlet of the pelvis is the lower circle again, composed by the arch of the pubis and by the sciatic ligaments. 1828,1906[see inlet n. 5]. 1960E. Gardner et al. Anat. xxix. 339/1 The thoracic cavity communicates with the abdomen by the inferior thoracic aperture, or thoracic outlet, which is closed by the diaphragm. 1974Passmore & Robson Compan. Med. Stud. III. ii. xliii. 2/1 There are two areas which present the greatest potential mechanical obstruction to descent to the fetus, the pelvic brim and the effective bony outlet at the level of the ischial spines.
e. = point n.1 A. 19 e.
1892E. A. Merrill Electr. Lighting Specifications 77 The building shall be wired to ― lamp outlets, ― switch outlets... At each outlet the loose wire shall be neatly coiled and the ends carefully taped. 1917A. L. Cook Interior Wiring iii. 213 Wherever there is an outlet, such as a lighting fixture or a switch. 1925G. A. Willoughby House Wiring i. 68 Some local ordinances require the number of watts to be counted for each type of outlet in various rooms. 1958M. Dickens Man Overboard iv. 54 There was only one electric outlet from which a multiple plug sent fraying wires in all directions. 1968Paschkis & Ryder Direct Analog Computers xxvi. 377 A second board is provided having male plugs fitting the female outlets on the board. 1972C. L. Cooper in W. King Black Short Story Anthol. 221 He set it [sc. a tape recorder] down next to an..easy chair, unlatched the top, and plugged the cord into one of the wall outlets.
2. a. A place into which anything is let out; spec. a pasture into which cattle are let out. b. A field, yard, or other enclosure attached to a house.
1752J. MacSparran America Dissected (1753) 13 They will..raise great Quantities of neat Cattle, as the Climate is benign, and their Outlets or Commonages large. 1793–1813Rep. Agric. 33 in Marshall Review (1818) II. 39 (E.D.D.) After the cows have been turned into the outlet. 1884Chesh. Gloss., Boozing Field,..the pasture which is contiguous to the booses, where the cows are tied up, and which is retained by an outgoing tenant as an outlet for his cattle.
†3.
a. The outlying parts, the exterior parts; the environs of a town.
b. The suburban streets or roads passing into the country. Obs.
1583Golding Calvin on Deut. lix. 356 We see but the outleets (that is to say) the outermost partes of Godes Woorkes. 1762Goldsm. Cit. W. lv, A dismal-looking house in the outlets of the town. 1771E. Griffith Hist. Lady Barton I. 101, I hear the outlets about Dublin are delightful; you will be unpardonable if you don't visit them all.
4. The action of letting out or discharging; discharge, escape by outflow. lit. and fig.
1640Bp. Reynolds Passions xi. 109 Melted away, and wasted by an extreame out-let of Love. 1870Spurgeon Treas. Dav. Ps. xxxix. 2 A flood gathering in force and foaming for outlet.
5. attrib. and Comb. as (sense 1 a), outlet-pipe etc.; (sense 1 b) outlet mechanism; (sense 1 d) outlet box, a box used to contain connections to wires where they are led out of conduits.
1854Ronalds & Richardson Chem. Technol. I. 159 Hot-air pipes enclosed in an oven on a level with the outlet-pipe. 1898Daily News 25 May 5/1 The fine subway under Shaftesbury-avenue, the outlet grating of which is visible at Piccadilly-circus. 1906N. Harrison Electric Wiring vi. 133 With all metallic conduits whether flexible or not there are employed junction and outlet boxes. 1949Koestler Insight & Outlook v. 69 In the gradually emerging sense of humour, we have a further outlet mechanism. 1971W. N. Alerich Electr. Construction Wiring v. 92/1 An outlet box or the equivalent must be inserted at every point in the system where access to enclosed wires is necessary.
▪ II. outˈlet, v. Obs. or rare.
[out- 15.]
trans. To let out, give egress to, pour forth.
1592Davies Immort. Soul xxxii. xxxiv, Like Buckets bottomless, which all out-let. 1627–47Feltham Resolves i. vii. (1677) 8 Nor ought that blood to be accounted lost, which is out-letted for a noble Master. 1851Mayhew Lond. Labour (1861) II. 406/2 The sewage..which is ‘outletted’ (as I heard a flusherman call it) into the Thames. |