| 释义 |
fence
I. \ˈfen(t)s\ noun
(-s)
Usage: often attributive
Etymology: Middle English fens, short for defens — more at defense
1. archaic : a means of protection or security : defense
< my whole body wanted a fence against heat and cold — Jonathan Swift >
2.
a. : a barrier intended to prevent escape or intrusion or to mark a boundary
< large areas of range were put under fence >
as
(1) : a structure of posts and boards, wire, pickets, or rails commonly used as an enclosure for a field or yard
< erected a fence that was horse high, hog tight, and bull strong >
(2) : something legally constituting an enclosure around land (as a bank of earth high enough to confine livestock)
b. : something resembling a fence in appearance or function
< a teapot rimmed with a silver fence >
< a fence of mountains around the valley >
< built a radar fence across the continent >
: an immaterial barrier or boundary line
< erected legislative fences to control the development of industrial and residential areas >
< on the other side of the fence in the argument >
c.
(1) : an obstacle met in fox hunting that can be jumped (as a fence, hedge, brook, or chicken coop)
(2) : an artificial obstacle on the course of a steeplechase or horse show : jump
d. : fencing 3
3. : fencing 4
< books of fence >
4.
a. : a receiver of stolen property : a dealer in stolen goods
b. : a place where stolen goods are bought and sold
5.
a. : an attachment to a plane, saw bench, or woodworking machine that controls the location or extent of the cut — see beading plane illustration
b. : an attachment to a marking gauge that serves to guide the marking
6. : a projection on a lock forming an obstruction to throwing the bolt except when the gatings of the tumblers are properly arranged (as by the key) to allow the fence to pass
7. : a means of political support for an officeholder, candidate, or institution : a political interest — usually used in plural
< building his fences for election as governor — Springfield (Massachusetts) Daily News >
< the tedious, tricky, and often tense art of diplomatic fence-mending — Newsweek >
8. : a fixed plate that projects from the upper surface of an airplane wing and sometimes continues around the leading edge, that is substantially parallel to the airstream, and that is used to prevent spanwise flow — called also stall fence
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- on the fence
II. verb
(-ed/-ing/-s)
Etymology: Middle English fensen, from fens, n.
transitive verb
1.
a. : to surround, separate, or delineate with or as if with a fence : erect a fence around or along (as a field or boundary)
< he fenced his yard with white pickets >
< mountains fence in the valley >
< fence off a corner of the sea with dikes >
< the canonical books are those the church has fenced off from other writings >
b. : to keep in or out with or as if with a fence: as
(1) : to secure in an enclosure : confine
< fence sheep >
(2) : to restrict the activity of
< minds that were fenced round with dogma >
(3) : to ward off : repel, exclude
< laws that fence out undesirable immigrants >
2. : to provide a defense or screen for : give security to : protect
< a motorcycle escort on each side fenced the celebrity's limousine >
: shield
< she had fenced his tatters even from her own eyes — Mary King >
: hedge
< fences his doctrines with the specious plea that statesmen must live as the world lives — Times Literary Supplement >
3. Scots law
a. : to open the proceedings of (the parliament or a court of law) with a form of words forbidding persons to interrupt or obstruct the proceedings unnecessarily
b. : to secure or strengthen (a provision in a contract) by a condition (as by a clause imposing forfeiture)
4. : to sell (stolen property) with criminal intent : dispose of (stolen goods) gainfully especially to a fence
< the gang stole cars and fenced them themselves >
— compare receive
5. : to turn aside : evade, parry
< the chairman fences awkward questions >
intransitive verb
1.
a. : to practice the art of fencing
< he fences daily with a skilled foilsman >
b. : to use tactics of attack and defense resembling those of fencing (as thrusting, guarding, parrying)
< the tennis players fenced for an opening >
c. : to baffle inquiry by equivocation or evasion : parry arguments by shifting ground
< he fences skillfully on the witness stand >
2. obsolete : to provide protection or security : guard or defend oneself — used with against
< a constant endeavor to fence against the infirmities of ill health — Laurence Sterne >
3. : to leap a fence — used of a horse and rider or a greyhound
< the hunter fences leaving a safe but not wasteful space above the jump >
4. : to build or repair a fence
< when farmers fenced with rails >
Synonyms: see dodge, enclose
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- fence the tables |