fuzz

/fʌz/ (bre, ipa) · [fˈʌz] /fʌz/ (ame, ipa) · [fˈʌz] /ˈfəz/ (ame, mw)

fuzz — noun

1. a thin coat of short, soft hairs or tiny fibres clinging to a surface such as fr

1.名詞C1
釋義

a thin coat of short, soft hairs or tiny fibres clinging to a surface such as fruit skin, cloth, or someone's face

例句

Aarav rubbed the peach against his shirt to wipe off the soft fuzz.

collocation: soft fuzz on a fruit skin

Talia pulled a black sweater out of the dryer covered in pale fuzz.

collocation: covered in fuzz on fabric

同義詞
  • down

    very fine soft hair, often on baby skin or birds

  • fluff

    soft loose fibres, usually from cloth or stuffing rather than skin

  • lint

    small loose threads or fibres shed from fabric, often collected in pockets or dryers

文法句型

a layer of fuzz

fuzz on [surface]

用法筆記

Uncountable; the usual patterns are 'a' + adjective ('a soft fuzz', 'a thick fuzz') or a preposition phrase naming the surface ('fuzz on his cheeks', 'fuzz on the peach').

常見錯誤

❌The cat had three fuzzes on its tail.
✅The cat had some fuzz on its tail.
💡fuzz is uncountable here, so do not pluralise it.
❌I peeled the fuzz from the kiwi.
✅I rubbed the fuzz off the kiwi.
💡fuzz is brushed or rubbed off a surface, not peeled like a skin.

2. an old-fashioned slang term for the police, used in a disrespectful or wary way

2.名詞C2
釋義

an old-fashioned slang term for the police, used in a disrespectful or wary way by people talking about getting caught

例句

Ramon whispered that the fuzz were already parked at the end of the street.

always with 'the'; treated as plural in agreement

Someone had spray-painted "Down with the fuzz" across the bus shelter.

register: informal, rebellious slang

同義詞
  • cops

    still current and mildly informal; much more common today than 'fuzz'

  • pigs

    much ruder and more hostile than 'fuzz'

  • the law

    informal but more neutral, especially in warnings

文法句型

the fuzz

watch out for the fuzz

用法筆記

Always used with the definite article ('the fuzz') and usually followed by a plural verb ('the fuzz are'). It sounds dated rather than current in everyday speech.

常見錯誤

❌A fuzz stopped my car for speeding.
✅A cop stopped my car for speeding.
💡fuzz is not a count noun for one officer.
❌The fuzz is at the door.
✅The fuzz are at the door.
💡this slang term normally takes plural agreement.

3. a blurry patch or fuzzy interference in a picture, screen, or recording that hid

3.名詞C1
釋義

a blurry patch or fuzzy interference in a picture, screen, or recording that hides the details

例句

On the old security tape, Iker's face was just a grey fuzz near the door.

collocation: a grey fuzz on a recording

The photo stayed sharp, but the runners in back became a moving fuzz.

同義詞
  • blur

    the wider and more common word for visual indistinctness

  • haze

    often suggests mist or smoke rather than technical interference

  • static

    specifically audio or video interference noise, not a visual patch

反義詞
  • clarity

    sharp, easy-to-hear detail in image or sound

文法句型

a fuzz on/in [image/screen]

lost in fuzz

用法筆記

Used for something unclear in an image or sound signal, not for fibres on a physical surface. Compared with sense 1, the fuzz is in the recording itself.

常見錯誤

❌The hills appeared as several fuzzes on the horizon.
✅The hills appeared as a hazy fuzz on the horizon.
💡fuzz in this sense is also uncountable.
❌The whole concert was a fuzz of noise that hurt my ears.
✅The whole concert was a blur of noise that hurt my ears.
💡fuzz suggests indistinct interference, not just loud, chaotic sound.

fuzz — verb