cirrus

/ˈsɪrəs/ (bre, ipa) · /ˈsɪrəs/ (ame, ipa) · /ˈsir-əs/ (ame, mw)

cirrus — noun

1. a thin, white, feather-shaped cloud made of tiny ice crystals, found far above o

1.名詞C1
釋義

a thin, white, feather-shaped cloud made of tiny ice crystals, found far above ordinary weather systems near the top of the atmosphere.

例句

Wisps of cirrus drifted above the mountains as Haruto packed up his telescope.

concrete: wisps of cirrus

Captain Imani pointed out streaks of cirrus stretching across the morning sky.

collocation: streaks of cirrus

同義詞

文法句型

cirrus + noun (cirrus cloud)

用法筆記

Almost always uncountable, like 'fog' or 'mist'. When a count is needed, writers say 'cirrus clouds' rather than 'a cirrus'. Frequently appears with 'wisps of', 'streaks of', 'bands of'.

常見錯誤

❌I saw a cirrus in the sky.
✅I saw cirrus clouds in the sky.
💡'cirrus' is usually uncountable; use 'cirrus clouds' for the countable form.

2. a long, thin, bendable body part on certain small sea or insect animals — for ex

2.名詞C2
釋義

a long, thin, bendable body part on certain small sea or insect animals — for example, the feeding arms of a barnacle, or the touch-feelers along a sea-lily.

例句

Adaeze watched the barnacle's tiny cirri sweep the water for food.

plural: cirri (Latin plural)

Each crinoid waves dozens of feathery cirri to catch passing plankton.

collocation: feathery cirri

同義詞
  • tendril

    everyday word for a similar thin curling structure, but usually used of plants

  • filament

    more general term for any thin thread-like structure in biology

文法句型

the cirri of [animal]

用法筆記

Almost only found in zoology textbooks and research papers; the plural 'cirri' is far more common than the singular 'cirrus'. Distinguish from sense 1 by context — sense 2 always describes an animal body part, never a cloud.

常見錯誤

❌The barnacle moved its cirruses.
✅The barnacle moved its cirri.
💡keep the Latin plural 'cirri' in scientific writing.