lancet

/ˈlɑːn.sɪt/ (bre, ipa) · [lˈænsət] /ˈlæn.sɪt/ (ame, ipa) · [lˈænsət] /ˈlan(t)-sət/ (ame, mw)

lancet — noun

  • lancetsingular
  • lancetsplural

1. a tiny double-bladed knife with a needle-like tip, used by medical workers to pr

1.名詞C2
釋義

a tiny double-bladed knife with a needle-like tip, used by medical workers to prick the skin for a blood sample or to drain a small swelling

例句

The nurse cleaned Tanvi's fingertip and pricked it with a lancet for the blood test.

instrument-use pattern: prick with a lancet

Dr. Chidi reached for a sterile lancet to drain the small boil on Brandon's neck.

collocation: sterile lancet

同義詞
  • fleam

    old-fashioned term for a similar bleeding tool, mainly historical

  • stylet

    a fine pointed instrument, but typically used to insert a tube or wire, not just to prick

文法句型

a/the lancet

use a lancet to + verb

用法筆記

Subject is usually a medical worker (nurse, doctor, lab technician) or a patient managing their own condition. Common verbs are 'use', 'prick (with)', 'press', 'insert'.

常見錯誤

❌The doctor cut the patient open with a lancet during surgery.
✅The doctor cut the patient open with a scalpel during surgery.
💡a lancet is for tiny pricks or small incisions, not full surgical cuts; use 'scalpel' for that.

2. a thin, high window whose upper end narrows into a sharp Gothic peak, common in

2.名詞C2
釋義

a thin, high window whose upper end narrows into a sharp Gothic peak, common in churches and other buildings designed during the 1200s

例句

Pale morning light fell through the lancets along the north wall of the old cathedral.

architectural context: cathedral windows

Antonia photographed each lancet window of the abbey before the restoration team arrived.

attributive use: lancet window

同義詞
  • ogive

    the pointed arch shape itself, more technical term

  • pointed arch

    plainer everyday phrase for the same architectural feature

反義詞
  • round arch

    the rounded Romanesque style that came before lancet shapes

文法句型

lancet window

lancet arch

a row of lancets

用法筆記

Almost always paired with 'window' or 'arch'. Distinguish from sense 1: this sense never refers to a tool. Found in writing about churches, history, and architecture rather than everyday speech.

常見錯誤

❌Our new flat has lancet windows facing the street.
✅Our new flat has tall pointed windows facing the street.
💡'lancet' suggests medieval Gothic style; using it for any ordinary tall window sounds wrong.

3. a weekly medical magazine from the United Kingdom that prints research and opini

3.名詞C2
釋義

a weekly medical magazine from the United Kingdom that prints research and opinion pieces covering every branch of medicine; the full name is 'The Lancet'

例句

Dr. Liang's study on childhood asthma was published in The Lancet last spring.

collocation: published in The Lancet

A recent paper in The Lancet warns that antibiotic resistance is spreading faster than expected.

typical phrasing: a paper in The Lancet

同義詞
  • BMJ

    another major weekly British medical journal, often cited alongside The Lancet

  • NEJM

    the New England Journal of Medicine, the American counterpart

文法句型

published in The Lancet

a study in The Lancet

用法筆記

Always capitalised and preceded by 'The' — 'in The Lancet', not 'in a Lancet'. Distinguish from sense 1 (the tool, no capital and no 'The'). Common with verbs 'publish in', 'appear in', 'cite', 'report'.

常見錯誤

❌The findings were printed in lancet.
✅The findings were printed in The Lancet.
💡it is a proper noun, so capitalise 'L' and keep 'The'.