silos
silos — noun
- silossingular
- silosesplural
1. A tall round building made of concrete or metal, built on a farm to keep grain o
A tall round building made of concrete or metal, built on a farm to keep grain or animal feed dry and safe from pests.
The farmer stored this year's wheat harvest in the new concrete silo.
stored + in + silo (storage collocation)
Caleb climbed the ladder to check the grain level inside the metal silo.
A row of white silos behind the barn held corn for the cows.
During the storm, the silo's roof kept the animal feed completely dry.
- storage bin
a more general term; can be any container, not necessarily tall or cylindrical
- granary
a building or room for storing grain; less specific than a silo
用法筆記
In American English, 'silo' is the standard term for any tall farm storage tower. The contents are usually grain (wheat, corn, oats) or silage (fermented grass used as winter cattle feed).
常見錯誤
2. An underground concrete chamber built to hold a long-range missile and protect i
An underground concrete chamber built to hold a long-range missile and protect it until it is launched.
The missile silo was hidden beneath a flat patch of desert.
hidden beneath [ground description]
Tara toured an old missile silo that was now a museum.
Each underground silo could launch a nuclear missile within minutes of receiving the order.
Engineers checked the ventilation system inside the missile silo every morning.
- launch facility
a broader term that includes above-ground launch pads and control centers
- missile bunker
emphasises protection more than the launch function
用法筆記
Frequently encountered in historical and political contexts about the Cold War, where the US and Soviet Union maintained hundreds of nuclear missile silos. The term is rarely used for modern mobile missile systems.
3. A group or department within a company or institution that works separately from
A group or department within a company or institution that works separately from other groups, rarely sharing information or coordinating with them.
The sales and marketing teams operate in separate silos and rarely exchange ideas.
operate in separate silos — business metaphor pattern
Jenna believes the company's silos are hurting its ability to innovate quickly.
Breaking down silos between departments was the CEO's top priority last year.
A silo mentality prevents the hospital's emergency unit from coordinating with the pharmacy.
Tunde noticed the research team worked in a silo, unaware of the product group's experiments.
- compartment
similar idea but neutral; lacks the negative connotation of isolation
- bubble
adds a sense of being cut off from outside reality; more informal
- echo chamber
focuses on how a group only hears ideas it already agrees with
用法筆記
Usually plural ('silos') in this sense, referring to multiple isolated groups within an organisation. The common fixed phrase 'silo mentality' describes the attitude that causes this behaviour.
常見錯誤
silos — verb
- silospresent simple I / you / we / they
- siloses3rd person singular
- silosing-ing form
- silosedpast simple
1. To separate a group, department, or set of information from others so that they
To separate a group, department, or set of information from others so that they cannot communicate, cooperate, or share easily.
The company siloed its customer data into five separate databases that could not exchange information.
silo + into + [subdivisions]
Sofie warned that siloing designers from developers would create a confusing product.
silo + [group] + from + [other group]
When departments are siloed, employees waste time repeating work that was already done elsewhere.
Henry argued that siloing research by subject made it harder for scientists to share findings.
The new policy siloed each regional office, stopping them from accessing the central database.
- isolate
more general; does not imply an organisational structure
- compartmentalise
often positive in contexts like project management (dividing work logically)
- segment
neutral; describes division without necessarily implying negative consequences
文法句型
silo + noun phrase
be siloed + into + noun phrase
用法筆記
This verb is a modern business metaphor derived from the organisational noun sense. It appears most often in the passive ('are siloed') or as the gerund ('siloing'). Its literal meaning — storing grain in a silo — is very rare and normally not used.