polymer

/ˈpɒlɪmə(r)/ (bre, ipa) · /ˈpɑːlɪmər/ (ame, ipa) · /ˈpä-lə-mər/ (ame, mw)

polymer — noun

1. a natural or man-made substance whose molecules are long chains built from many

1.名詞C1
釋義

a natural or man-made substance whose molecules are long chains built from many repeating small units.

例句

Engineers chose a tough polymer for the phone case.

common pattern: polymer for [product]

In class, Ms Chen showed banana DNA as a natural polymer.

collocation: natural polymer

同義詞
  • plastic

    the everyday word for many manufactured polymers used in common products

  • resin

    often narrower and used for a liquid or hard-setting polymer material

  • compound

    a much broader chemistry term that is not specific enough in most learner contexts

用法筆記

Usually countable in scientific or technical writing and often modified by words such as natural, synthetic, or biodegradable. In everyday speech, people more often name the specific material, such as plastic, rubber, or nylon.

常見錯誤

❌This lunch box is made of polymer.
✅This lunch box is made of plastic.
💡for ordinary objects, everyday English usually uses the material name, not the technical word 'polymer'.
❌Nylon is a plastic, not a polymer.
✅Nylon is a polymer, and it is also a kind of plastic.
💡'polymer' is the broader scientific category.