puncture

Word family

punc·ture1 /ˈpʌŋktʃə $ -ər/ noun [countableC]

1 British EnglishBrEHOLE a small hole made accidentally in a tyre 〔轮胎上扎破的〕小孔，小洞 SYN American English flat

She was cycling home when she had a puncture.

她骑车回家途中轮胎被扎破了。

slow puncture (=one that lets air out very slowly) 〔引起车胎缓慢漏气的〕小孔

► see thesaurus at hole

2 HOLEa small hole made by a sharp point, especially in someone’s body 〔尤指身体上由尖物刺穿的〕小孔

puncture wounds

刺伤

Examples from the Corpus

puncture• He knew how to change the washer on a tap, and make pastry, and mend a bicycle puncture.• Blood was obtained by direct cardiac puncture for cholecystokinin assay.• Deep puncture wounds or animal bites anywhere.• Serial lumbar punctures and steroids are frequently used to reduce the intracranial pressure.• Biasion's puncture cost him two minutes and he ended the day two minutes and six seconds behind Fiorio.• The tyre's gone flat again -- I think we've got a slow puncture.• I could see from the four small puncture marks on Fenella's wrist that she had tried to stroke him during lunch.• I could hear the hissing sound of air escaping from the puncture.• The puncture let air rush in and out, spoiling nature's enclosed vacuum system.

slow puncture• I think of it as a sort of leak in my brain, like a slow puncture.

puncture2 verb

1 [intransitiveI, transitiveT]HOLE if a tyre punctures, or if you puncture it, a small hole appears in it 刺破，刺穿（轮胎）

A piece of glass punctured the back tyre.

一块玻璃把后轮胎戳破了。

2 [transitiveT]HOLE to make a small hole in something 刺破，戳破

One bullet punctured his lung.

一颗子弹打穿了他的肺部。

Pressurized container – do not puncture.

压力容器，切勿刺戳。

3 [transitiveT] to interrupt a period of silence by making a noise 〔声音〕打断〔寂静〕

There was a stunned silence, punctured by shrill laughter.

一片诧异的沉默过后爆发出刺耳的笑声。

4 [transitiveT]DESTROY to suddenly destroy someone’s hopes or beliefs, making them feel unhappy, embarrassed, or confused 突然破坏〔某人〕的希望[信念]，突然使〔某人〕感到不快[难堪，迷惑]

He wasn’t hurt, but his dignity was punctured.

他没有受伤，不过自尊受到了伤害。

Examples from the Corpus

puncture• Workers accidentally punctured a natural gas main.• Endoscopic removal should not be attempted as the risk of inadvertently puncturing a package is high.• Their throats had been punctured and their blood drained.• If you say he's a Leo, you really want to try and puncture his dignity a bit.• Sitting Bull, punctured so often in the past, was hit seven times.• Gonick's books puncture the myths about American history.• Who will be brave enough to puncture the Reaganite dream, while blocking the Buchanan nightmare?• Take care not to puncture the uterine wall.• The doctor was worried that the broken rib might puncture the woman's lung.

Origin puncture1

(1300-1400) Latin punctura, from pungere; → PUNGENT

punc·ture1 nounpuncture2 verb

Chinese

Syllable

Corpus