barometer

/bəˈrɒmɪtə(r)/ (bre, ipa) · /bəˈrɑːmɪtər/ (ame, ipa) · /bə-ˈrä-mə-tər/ (ame, mw)

barometer — 名詞

  • barometersingular
  • barometersplural

1. a small tool that reads the weight of the air around us so people can guess whet

1.名詞C1
釋義

氣壓計

測量大氣壓力以預測天氣的儀器

a small tool that reads the weight of the air around us so people can guess whether rain or fair skies are coming.

例句

Kenji glanced at the brass barometer in the hall before suggesting an umbrella.

Kenji 在建議帶傘前，先看了一眼門廳裡那座銅製氣壓計。

collocation: glance at / check the barometer

The old barometer on the kitchen wall is dropping fast, so a storm is probably near.

廚房牆上那座舊氣壓計的指針快速下降，暴風雨大概快來了。

pattern: barometer + is dropping / is rising

同義詞
  • aneroid

    technical term for a barometer that uses a sealed metal box instead of liquid mercury

  • weather glass

    older, informal name for a household barometer, mostly in British use

文法句型

a barometer (+ shows / reads / falls / rises)

用法筆記

Subject is usually the device itself ('the barometer shows / falls / rises') or a person checking it ('check / read / tap the barometer'). The reading is described with 'high' or 'low', not 'big' or 'small'.

常見錯誤

❌The barometer is big today.
✅The barometer is high today.
💡air-pressure readings are 'high' or 'low', not 'big' or 'small'.
❌I saw the barometer of the weather on TV.
✅I saw the weather forecast on TV.
💡a barometer is the tool itself, not the forecast or report.

2. anything you can watch closely — a result, a number, a group of people — to see

2.名詞C1
釋義

晴雨表；指標

可看出趨勢或人心變化的指標

anything you can watch closely — a result, a number, a group of people — to see how an idea, feeling, or wider situation is shifting over time.

例句

Local bakery sales have long been a barometer of how confident families feel about money.

本地麵包店的銷售長期以來就是家庭對金錢信心程度的晴雨表。

pattern: a barometer of + abstract noun (confidence / mood / opinion)

Baraka believes the number of bicycles in the city is a useful barometer of public health.

Baraka 認為，市區腳踏車的數量是公共健康狀況很有用的指標。

collocation: a useful / reliable / good barometer of

同義詞
  • indicator

    more neutral and far more common; 'barometer' adds the sense of moment-to-moment change

  • gauge

    stresses careful measurement; 'barometer' stresses sensitivity to shifts

  • bellwether

    narrower — a single leading example that predicts what others will do

文法句型

a barometer of [something abstract]

用法筆記

Almost always followed by 'of' + an abstract noun (opinion, mood, confidence, change). Often paired with verbs like 'act as', 'serve as', 'become', or 'use as'. Distinguish from sense 1 by the absence of any physical device — here the 'barometer' is whatever data or behaviour reveals a trend.

常見錯誤

❌House prices are a barometer for the economy.
✅House prices are a barometer of the economy.
💡this sense takes 'of', not 'for'.
❌Her smile was a barometer of happiness.
✅Her smile showed her happiness.
💡'barometer' fits group trends or wider situations, not one person's feelings at one moment.