4[transitiveT]American EnglishAmEWORK/DO WORKINSTEAD to do someone else’s work for them for a short period so that they can rest 暂时代替〔某人工作,以便让他休息〕
I can spell you if you get tired.
如果你累了,我可以替你一会儿。
5spell something ↔ outphrasal verbphr v
a)EXPLAINto explain something clearly and in detail 清楚地说明;详细地解释
spell out how/what etc
The report spelled out in detail what the implications were for teacher training.
这份报告详细说明了教师培训的作用。
b)SAY/STATEto show how a word is spelled by writing or saying the letters separately in order 〔用字母〕拼出〔某个单词〕
‘W-E-I-R, ’ she said, spelling it out.
“W-E-I-R, ” 她一个字母一个字母地把它拼了出来。
c)WRITEto write a word in its complete form instead of using an abbreviation 全部拼出,全部写出〔某个单词,而不用缩写〕
Examples from the Corpus
spell out• If at all unsure, ask caller to spell it out. 3.• The Minister has a responsibility to spell that out.• Worse still, he/she perhaps never articulates them at all unless he/she expects to have to spell them out.• I spelled them out for you, and you agreed.• We needn't spell the five out here, or even understand them.• He knew he had to spell their future out to her - it was only fair.• Should she spell it out to him, or would that fatally overplay her hand?• With people we know, rather than spell everything out, we rely on sharedunderstandings to facilitate the problem of communicating.
spell• "B-O-O-K" spells "book."• He always spells his name for secretaries.• Gray also published a book by the same title in which he managed to spell Jon Swain's name incorrectly.• The scale of the catastrophe was spelled out by one speaker after another.• This argument is spelled out in detail in Chapter 19.• These can be spelled out pretty easily on a resume, but the new qualifications can not.• Some deaf children are, however, very proficient at signlanguage and they can also spell out words using finger spelling.• And your last name is Aitchson? Could your spell that out for me please?• No one thinks this could spell the closure of the firm, but things could be better.• Out-of-townretaildevelopments often spell the death of independent high streetshops.• These new rulesspell the end of jobs as we have known them.• That spellstrouble for the individual, the team, and, perhaps most important, the client.• I've never been able to spell very well in English.• In American English, 'organize' is always spelled with a 'z'.• "How do you spell your name?" "S-M-I-T-H."• How do you spell your surname?
spell2 ●○○ noun [countableC]
1MAGICa piece of magic that someone does, or the special words or ceremonies used in doing it 魔法;符咒,咒语
a magic spell
魔咒
put/cast a spell on somebody (=do a piece of magic to change someone) 对某人施魔法
The kiss of the prince broke the spell (=stopped the magic from working).
王子的吻解除了魔咒。
be under a spell
The whole town seemed to be under a spell.
整个小镇都像中了魔法似的。
2PERIOD OF TIMEa period of a particular kind of activity, weather, illness etc, usually a short period 〔某种活动、天气、疾病等的〕一段时间〔通常时间较短〕
brief/short spell
After a brief spell in the army, I returned to teaching.
我在部队里待了一阵子,又回来教书了。
spell of
a spell of bad luck
一段倒霉的日子
cold/wet/dry spell
Water the young plants carefully during dry spells.
干燥无雨的时候要细心地给幼苗浇水。
a day of sunny spells and scattered showers
间晴且有零星阵雨的一天
He began to suffer from dizzy spells.
他开始一阵阵头晕。
3EFFECT/INFLUENCEa power that attracts, interests, and influences you very strongly 吸引力,魅力;迷惑力
fall/come/be under a spell
I fell under the spell of her charm.
我被她的魅力迷倒了。
an ancient city that still casts its spell over travellers
对旅游者依然具有魔力的一座古城
4break the spellto make someone stop paying all their attention to something, or to make a time stop feeling special (使)停止着魔状态,(使)走出入迷状态
He lay still, not wanting to break the spell.
他静静地躺着,不想结束这魔幻般的美妙时刻。
Examples from the Corpus
break the spell• Only a kiss could break the spell.• The tiny sound of distressbroke the spell and spurredGrant into action.• Mrs Fanning had broken the spell of the wild and beautifuldancers.• Stepping off a chair with a rope around his neck and hanging there for a minute had broken the spell.• I feared my own words might break the spell of normalcy.• The kiss of the princebreaks the spell of narcissism and awakens a womanhood which up to then has remained undeveloped.• He smiled at her and, in offering her reassurance, broke the spell that held them.• No more than usual, was the answer, but at last it was enough to break the spell.• And if she took Johnny into the cottage, might this in some way break the spell and spoil the magic?
nCOLLOCATIONS – Meaning 1: a piece of magic that someone does, or the special words or ceremonies used in doing it
adjectives
a magic spell
She found an ancient book of magic spells.
an evil spell
The people still believe in evil spells.
verbs
cast a spell (on somebody) (=do some magic)
Suddenly everyone froze, as if a wizard had cast a spell on them.
weave a spell (=do some magic)
She wove a spell, so that he slept forever and never grew old.
put a spell on somebody (=make magic affect someone)
The fairy put a terrible spell on the princess.
break a spell (=end the effect of some magic)
No one knew how to break the spell.
nCOLLOCATIONS – Meaning 2: a period of a particular kind of activity, weather, illness etc, usually a short period
adjectives
a brief/short spell
After a brief spell in a florist's shop, she became a hairdresser.
a long/prolonged spell
We have just had a long spell of unusually dry weather.
a dry/wet spell
Keep fuchsias well watered during prolonged dry spells in summer.
a cold/warm/hot spell
There was a very cold spell in late November.
sunny spells
Tuesday will be dry with sunny spells.
a dizzy/fainting spell (=one when you feel unable to stand steadily and your head feels unclear)
She must have had a dizzy spell and fallen.
a good/bad spell
The team had some good spells during the match.
a quiet spell (=when not much is happening)
We've had quite a quiet spell at work recently.
Examples from the Corpus
spell• The LilacFairycast a spell that sent Aurora to sleep.• We are just here for a spell and pass on.• He's had a spell of bad luck recently.• Pick a spell of dry weather and travel light: you could be pleasantly surprised.• When the old man was angry, he threatened to put a spell on the wholetribe.• Carmelina knew that the bird was really the handsomeprince under a spell from the wickedwitch.• After a briefspell in the army, I returned to teaching.• A black witch, castingspells from her hiding-place in the corner.• We had another coldspell last week.• I've had a few dizzyspells lately.• And in there is the Robemaker's cache of enchantments ... The stockroom of spells ... The necromancer's treasure-house.• I thought that, if we were to meet again, he would remove the spell that he had cast over me.• They were not among the famous and the sought-after who gathered under the spell of the White City.• As a leading suffragette, she endured the first of two spells in Holloway gaol in 1907.
be under a spell• It was as though I had no will of my own at the time and was under a spell.• The staffare under a spell.
dizzy spells• After Allitt moved out of the Jobsons' home, his dizzy spells, craving for chocolate and suddencollapses had stopped.• The dizzy spells were increasing in frequency.• If they are arthritic, their sight is poor, or they are subject to dizzy spells they may trip over the flex.
fall/come/be under a spell• It was as though I had no will of my own at the time and was under a spell.• The staff are under a spell.
Originspell1
(1200-1300)Old Frenchespeller
spell2
1. Old English“talk, story”
2. (1600-1700)spell“to take the place of another”((11-21 centuries)), from Old Englishspelian