thresher

/ˈthre-shər ˈthra-/ (ame, mw)

thresher — noun

1. A machine used in farming that beats harvested wheat, rice, or other grain plant

1.名詞B2
釋義

A machine used in farming that beats harvested wheat, rice, or other grain plants so that the edible seeds fall loose from the straw and husks.

例句

Old Mr. Tanaka still uses a diesel-powered thresher every autumn to process his rice crop.

collocation: diesel-powered thresher

The museum displays a nineteenth-century thresher that was pulled by horses before tractors became common.

同義詞
  • threshing machine

    A fuller name for the same device, used especially in historical writing.

  • separator

    A broader term; in farming contexts it specifically means the machine that divides grain from straw.

用法筆記

Frequently modified by a century or energy source (e.g., 'nineteenth-century thresher', 'steam-powered thresher'). The word can also refer to a person who threshes by hand, though this usage is now rare.

常見錯誤

❌The farmer drove his thresher through the field to harvest the corn.
✅The farmer drove his combine harvester through the field to harvest the corn.
💡A thresher does not move through the field cutting crops; it processes already-cut grain. A combine cuts and threshes in one machine.

2. A large ocean shark found in warm waters around the world, recognized by its ext

2.名詞B2
釋義

A large ocean shark found in warm waters around the world, recognized by its extremely long upper tail fin which it uses like a whip to herd and stun small fish before feeding.

例句

A scuba diver off the coast of Costa Rica filmed a thresher shark circling a school of sardines.

habitat: warm coastal waters

Thresher sharks are harmless to humans unless provoked, and they rarely approach swimmers.

同義詞
  • thresher shark

    The more precise common name; 'thresher' alone can be ambiguous with the farm machine.

  • fox shark

    An older alternative name, still seen in some historical marine literature.

  • Alopias

    The scientific genus name for thresher sharks.

用法筆記

Often used in the compound form 'thresher shark' to avoid confusion with the farm machine. The species name is 'Alopias' (genus); the long tail accounts for about half the shark's total body length.

常見錯誤

❌A thresher is a small fish that lives in rivers.
✅A thresher is a large shark that lives in warm ocean waters.
💡The thresher is a saltwater shark, not a freshwater fish, and grows to over 4 metres long.