mildew
/ˈmɪldjuː/ (bre, ipa) · /ˈmɪlduː/ (ame, ipa) · /ˈmil-ˌdü -ˌdyü/ (ame, mw)
mildew — noun
1. A thin layer of tiny fungus, often white, grey, or greenish in colour, that form
A thin layer of tiny fungus, often white, grey, or greenish in colour, that forms on damp surfaces such as plant leaves, fabric, paper, or bathroom walls when the air stays warm and wet for too long.
Yasmin scrubbed the mildew off the shower curtain with a vinegar solution.
common collocation: scrub / clean off mildew
After the flood, mildew spread across every wooden beam in Putri's basement.
collocation: mildew spreads / forms on damp surfaces
The grape farmer lost half the harvest to mildew during that rainy summer.
Imran noticed grey mildew along the spine of the old library books.
There was a strong smell of mildew in the cottage we rented near the lake.
用法筆記
Usually uncountable; speakers refer to a patch or layer rather than counting individual instances. Common subject of verbs like 'grow', 'spread', 'form', and common object of 'clean', 'wipe', 'remove'.
常見錯誤
mildew — verb
- mildewpresent simple I / you / we / they
- mildews3rd person singular
- mildewing-ing form
- mildewedpast simple
1. If cloth, paper, or another damp item mildews, it develops a layer of fungus and
If cloth, paper, or another damp item mildews, it develops a layer of fungus and spoils because it has been left too long in warm, wet conditions.
The cotton sheets mildewed in the suitcase after Shirin left them packed for a month.
intransitive pattern: [item] + mildews + [time / location]
Old photographs will mildew quickly if you store them in a damp garage.
future / conditional pattern with damp-storage cause
Several library books mildewed during the long power cut last August.
Renata threw away the canvas tent because it had mildewed in the rain.
用法筆記
Subject is typically an absorbent, organic item (fabric, paper, leather, wood) left in damp conditions. Often appears in the perfect tenses ('has mildewed') to describe a finished state of spoilage.
常見錯誤
2. To cause something — usually fabric, paper, or stored produce — to be spoiled by
To cause something — usually fabric, paper, or stored produce — to be spoiled by a layer of fungus.
Persistent damp had mildewed the silk curtains in Chiara's grandmother's parlour.
transitive pattern: damp / moisture as subject mildewing fabric
A leaking pipe slowly mildewed every cardboard box stored in the cellar.
Sea air can mildew leather shoes within weeks if you do not air them out.
The humid summer mildewed most of the paperback novels on Noa's bookshelf.
文法句型
[damp / fungus] + mildews + [object]
用法筆記
Distinguish from sense 1: here the subject is the cause (damp, humidity, a leak) and the affected item is the object. The intransitive sense 1 puts the affected item itself in subject position.