sheets
sheets — idiom
1. a way to describe very heavy rain that looks like a wall or curtain of water fal
a way to describe very heavy rain that looks like a wall or curtain of water falling from the sky, making it hard to see or move through.
Drivers pulled off the road when sheets of rain made the highway invisible.
collocation: sheets of rain + make + visibility issue
Sheets of rain hammered the farmhouse roof, keeping everyone awake.
The rescuers could not reach the village because of relentless sheets of rain.
Omar could not see the street signs through the sheets of rain at dusk.
Sheets of rain flooded the market stalls within minutes of the storm arriving.
文法句型
sheets of + noun (rain, water)
用法筆記
Only used in the plural form 'sheets' preceded by a determiner ('the', 'of', 'in') — never 'a sheet of rain' for the same idiomatic effect.
常見錯誤
sheets — noun
1. a broad, thin, flat piece of a material such as cloth (used especially on a bed)
a broad, thin, flat piece of a material such as cloth (used especially on a bed), paper, glass, metal, or a wide layer of something like ice or fire.
Mei-Lin changed the sheets on her bed every Sunday morning.
plural 'sheets' for bed linen
The artist spread a large sheet of paper across the table and began to draw.
a sheet of + paper for a flat piece
A thin sheet of ice covered the schoolyard puddles after the cold night.
The blacksmith hammered the red-hot metal into a flat, smooth sheet.
A sheet of flame shot up when the fuel tank exploded in the garage.
文法句型
a sheet of + material (paper, glass, metal, ice)
sheets (bed linen)
用法筆記
When referring to bed linen, the plural 'sheets' is the usual form (a 'sheet' is one piece, but they are sold and used in pairs — a fitted sheet and a flat sheet). For other materials, use 'a sheet of [material]'.
常見錯誤
2. on a sailing vessel, a line fastened to the lower corner of a sail that lets sai
on a sailing vessel, a line fastened to the lower corner of a sail that lets sailors adjust how much wind the sail catches, steering the boat.
The sailor pulled hard on the sheet to turn the sail towards the wind.
nautical: pull on the sheet to control sail
During the storm one of the sheets snapped, and the sail started flapping wildly.
Niran pulled the starboard sheet tight to stop the sail from flapping.
The captain shouted at the crew to secure the main sheet before the wind changed.
Diya wrapped the sheet around the cleat so the sail would not move.
文法句型
pull on the sheet
sheet + verb (controls, adjusts, snaps)
用法筆記
This is a specialised nautical term. Learners are unlikely to encounter it outside sailing contexts or literature about the sea. Distinguish from 'sail' (the fabric) — a 'sheet' is the line or rope that controls the sail.
sheets — verb
- sheetspresent simple I / you / we / they
- sheetses3rd person singular
- sheetsing-ing form
- sheetsedpast simple
1. when rain comes down in extremely large, forceful amounts that look like a conti
when rain comes down in extremely large, forceful amounts that look like a continuous wall or curtain of water.
It had been sheeting down all morning, so the school sports day was cancelled.
progressive: sheeting down for continuous rain
Rain sheeted against the windows of the café while the customers drank tea.
It was sheeting so hard that Brooke stayed in the office for lunch.
Rain sheeted off the roof of the bus shelter, soaking everyone waiting below.
Rain had been sheeting for hours by the time Yasmin reached the station.
- pour
more common in everyday speech; 'pour' does not suggest the wall-like visual image that 'sheet' does
- bucket down
informal British idiom meaning the same thing but without the visual image
文法句型
it + is/was sheeting + adverb (down, against windows)
用法筆記
Almost always used in the continuous/progressive form ('it is sheeting down', 'rain was sheeting against the glass'). This sense is primarily British English and somewhat literary — in everyday speech most speakers say 'it's pouring'.
2. when a substance spreads out across a surface in a wide, even, flat mass — like
when a substance spreads out across a surface in a wide, even, flat mass — like liquid flowing across the ground or sand cascading down a slope.
Water sheeted across the windscreen, and Nadia could barely see the road ahead.
intransitive: sheet across/over a surface
Hot lava sheeted down the volcano slope, burning every tree in its path.
Grain sheeted out of the torn sack and spread across the barn floor.
Water sheeted over the rocks in the river, making them dangerously slippery.
Sand sheeted across the desert road, so Ramón stopped the jeep several times.
文法句型
+ preposition (across, over, down) + place
用法筆記
This sense overlaps with sense 1 (rain), but applies more broadly to any substance — water, lava, sand, light — that moves in a wide, thin layer. It is less common than the rain-specific sense.
3. to cover something completely by wrapping or laying a flat material over it, lik
to cover something completely by wrapping or laying a flat material over it, like putting a protective sheet on furniture or a body.
Before the painters arrived, Vikram sheeted the furniture with heavy plastic covers.
transitive: sheet furniture with plastic
The nurse gently sheeted the patient's body with a clean white cloth.
Abigail sheeted the antique mirror with a soft cloth before the renovation.
The gardener sheeted the greenhouse with thick plastic for the winter.
Bao sheeted the freshly painted floor with old newspaper to keep it clean.
文法句型
sheet + object + with/in + material
用法筆記
Often used in the passive or with a 'with' phrase. This sense is less common in everyday speech — 'cover with a sheet' is more frequent than the verb 'sheet'.
4. to put clean sheets on a bed; to provide a bed with sheets.
to put clean sheets on a bed; to provide a bed with sheets.
The hotel staff sheet each bed with two layers of fresh cotton linen.
transitive: sheet + bed + with + linen type
The housekeeper sheeted all twenty guest rooms before the tour group arrived.
Sofie sheets her bed with fresh linen every Thursday without fail.
Each cabin at the resort is sheeted with white cotton that smells of lavender.
The summer worker learned how to sheet thirty beds in under an hour.
- make the bed
more general — includes arranging blankets and pillows, not just putting on sheets
文法句型
sheet + a bed
sheet + bed + with + linen
用法筆記
This is a formal or specialised sense used mostly in hotel and hospitality contexts. In everyday English, speakers say 'make the bed' or 'put fresh sheets on the bed' instead.
5. to shape or press a raw material such as metal, glass, dough, or plastic into a
to shape or press a raw material such as metal, glass, dough, or plastic into a flat, thin, even layer.
The factory sheets molten glass into perfect flat panels for windows.
technical: sheet glass into panels
The dough is sheeted into thin layers before being cut into noodles by the machine.
passive: be sheeted into layers
Eve watched the machine sheet the warm dough into flat circles for the bakery.
This steel is sheeted into thin coils that car manufacturers use for body panels.
The factory sheets recycled plastic into wide boards used for outdoor furniture.
文法句型
sheet + material + into + form
be sheeted + into/onto
用法筆記
Primarily used in industrial and manufacturing contexts. The noun form 'sheeting' (as in 'plastic sheeting' or 'metal sheeting') is more common than the verb when referring to materials available in flat layers.