cog
/kɒɡ/ (bre, ipa) · [kˈɔɡ] /kɑːɡ/ (ame, ipa) · [kˈɔɡ] /ˈkäg/ (ame, mw)
cog — 名詞
- cogsingular
- cogsplural
1. any of the small tooth-shaped pieces that stick out from a wheel's rim and lock
齒輪齒
齒輪邊緣突出的單一齒
any of the small tooth-shaped pieces that stick out from a wheel's rim and lock into the matching pieces on a neighbouring wheel, so that turning one wheel makes the other turn too
Feng noticed that one cog on the old mill wheel had snapped off during the storm.
Feng 發現古老磨坊輪上有一個齒輪齒在風暴中斷掉了。
cog on [wheel] — countable, locating the part
The watchmaker carefully polished each tiny cog before fitting it back into the antique brass clock.
鐘錶匠仔細地把每一個小齒輪齒擦亮，再裝回那座古董黃銅時鐘裡。
Maeve showed her students how the cogs of two gears press together to turn the bicycle chain.
Maeve 向學生示範兩個齒輪上的齒輪齒如何互相咬合，帶動腳踏車鏈條。
A single chipped cog can stop a large factory machine from running smoothly for hours.
只要有一個齒輪齒缺了角，整座工廠的大型機器就可能好幾個小時無法順利運轉。
- tooth
the general everyday word; cog is the specific gear-wheel term used by engineers
- gear tooth
two-word technical synonym used in machinery and engineering writing
文法句型
cog on/of [wheel|gear]
用法筆記
Distinguish from sense 2: this sense names ONE tooth on the rim, not the whole toothed wheel. Often plural when describing what makes a mechanism work.
常見錯誤
2. a wheel whose rim is lined with small tooth-shapes so it can grip and turn anoth
齒輪
邊緣有齒的傳動輪
a wheel whose rim is lined with small tooth-shapes so it can grip and turn another similar wheel inside a machine
Christopher oiled the rusted cog at the heart of his grandfather's old printing press.
Christopher 為祖父那台老印刷機核心的生鏽齒輪上了油。
Tariq watched two iron cogs spin against each other inside the windmill's wooden housing.
Tariq 看著兩個鐵製齒輪在風車木造機殼裡互相咬合轉動。
cogs spin / mesh — typical verb collocation
The engineers replaced a worn cog that had been driving the conveyor belt for thirty years.
工程師把那個帶動輸送帶三十年、已經磨損的齒輪換掉了。
Andrés could hear the cogs grinding loudly whenever he lifted the heavy steel shutter.
Andrés 每次拉起那扇沉重的鐵捲門，就會聽見齒輪大聲地嘎吱作響。
文法句型
the cogs of [machine]
用法筆記
Distinguish from sense 1: this sense names the whole toothed wheel. In modern English the longer word 'cogwheel' is more common; plain 'cog' for the wheel is more typical in older or technical writing.
3. someone or something whose work matters to a big company, machine, or system, ev
小螺絲釘
大組織中地位低但仍重要的人
someone or something whose work matters to a big company, machine, or system, even though their role is small and they could be replaced fairly easily
After twenty years at the bank, Tamar still felt like a cog in a giant corporate machine.
在銀行待了二十年，Tamar 仍然覺得自己只是龐大企業機器裡的一顆小螺絲釘。
a cog in [a system] — fixed pattern
Rohan refused to be just another cog in the factory; he wanted his own ideas to be heard.
Rohan 拒絕只當工廠裡另一顆小螺絲釘，他希望自己的想法能被聽見。
just a/another cog — diminishing self-description
Every nurse on the night shift is a vital cog in keeping the hospital running until morning.
夜班的每一位護理師，都是讓醫院撐到天亮的重要小螺絲釘。
Sari described herself as a small cog in the city's enormous transport network.
Sari 形容自己只是這座城市龐大交通網絡裡的一顆小螺絲釘。
- pawn
stresses being used by more powerful people; cog stresses being one replaceable piece
- small fish
informal; emphasises low rank rather than mechanical role
- underling
focuses on rank below a boss, not on being part of a system
- leader
a cog follows the system; a leader directs it
- key player
stresses irreplaceable importance, the opposite of a cog's replaceability
文法句型
a cog in [larger system]
just a cog
用法筆記
Frequently used with a negative or self-deprecating tone, complaining that one feels replaceable. The phrase 'a cog in the machine' is so common it is almost fixed.
常見錯誤
cog — 動詞
- cogpresent simple I / you / we / they
- cogs3rd person singular
- cogging-ing form
- coggedpast simple
1. to secretly control how dice land when gambling, so that you win unfairly
做手腳
賭博時偷偷控制骰子點數
to secretly control how dice land when gambling, so that you win unfairly
In the old tavern story, Nia caught a stranger cogging the dice with weighted edges.
在那則老酒館故事裡，Nia 抓到一個陌生人用加了重量的骰子做手腳。
cog + [the] dice — fixed object
The card-room rules warned that any player caught cogging the dice would be banned for life.
賭場規矩寫明，任何玩家被抓到對骰子做手腳，將永久禁止入場。
Meera read about Tudor gamblers who used to cog dice with hidden lead on one face.
Meera 讀到都鐸時期的賭徒會在骰子的某一面藏鉛塊做手腳。
Even the sharpest cheats could not cog the dice once Jisoo introduced a glass dicing cup.
Jisoo 引進了玻璃擲骰杯之後，再厲害的老千都沒辦法對骰子做手腳了。
文法句型
cog [the dice]
用法筆記
Almost extinct in modern English; appears mainly in historical novels and older dictionaries. The object is essentially always 'the dice'; you do not say 'cog the cards'.
2. to trick someone by telling them things that are not true, usually to get money
詐騙
以謊言誘使對方上當
to trick someone by telling them things that are not true, usually to get money or property
Bao warned his younger brother not to let the market sellers cog him out of his savings.
Bao 提醒弟弟，不要讓市場上的小販詐騙他、把存款都騙光。
cog [someone] out of [thing] — older pattern
Emre felt that the old merchant had cogged him with a smooth story about rare silver coins.
Emre 覺得那個老商人用一套講得很順的稀有銀幣故事詐騙了他。
In the Victorian novel, Min realises the lawyer has cogged the whole family for years.
在那本維多利亞時代的小說中，Min 發現那位律師多年來一直在詐騙整個家族。
Nicholas swore that no charming stranger would ever cog him again after the earlier fraud.
經歷過上次的詐騙之後，Nicholas 發誓再也不會被任何花言巧語的陌生人詐騙了。
- undeceive
rare formal opposite — to open someone's eyes to the truth
文法句型
cog [person]
cog [person] out of [thing]
用法筆記
Now archaic; almost never used in modern speech or writing. Distinguish from sense 3: this sense is about plain lies; sense 3 is about sugary praise used to get a favour.
3. to get something from someone by praising them in a fake or sugary way
甜言哄騙
用奉承話換取好處
to get something from someone by praising them in a fake or sugary way
The young courtier tried to cog the queen with poems comparing her eyes to morning stars.
那位年輕的侍臣試圖用把女王雙眼比作晨星的詩來甜言哄騙她。
cog [person] with [flattery]
Ezra noticed how the salesman cogged the elderly couple with endless compliments about their garden.
Ezra 注意到那位推銷員用對花園不停的稱讚甜言哄騙那對年長夫妻。
In the old play, the servant cogs his master into raising his weekly wages by half a crown.
在那齣老戲裡，僕人甜言哄騙主人，把自己每週的工錢加了半克朗。
Talia laughed when she realised the politician was simply cogging the crowd with empty praise.
Talia 發現那位政治人物只是用空泛的讚美在甜言哄騙群眾，忍不住笑了出來。
文法句型
cog [person] into [doing something]
用法筆記
Distinguish from sense 2: cogging here is buttering someone up to get a favour, whereas sense 2 is straight lying. Now archaic.
4. to fix two pieces of wood together by carving a small projection on one piece th
榫接
以榫頭嵌入榫眼接合木材
to fix two pieces of wood together by carving a small projection on one piece that slots tightly into a hole cut in the other
Folake watched the carpenter cog the heavy oak beams without using a single iron nail.
Folake 看著那位木匠完全不用任何鐵釘，就把厚重的橡木大樑榫接起來。
The old barn was built by cogging long pine joists into the roof frame above the loft.
那座老穀倉是把長長的松木樑榫接到閣樓上方的屋頂結構裡建起來的。
cogging [timber] into [structure]
Nadia explained how medieval shipwrights would cog two planks together so tightly they kept out water.
Nadia 解釋中世紀造船工人會把兩塊木板緊緊榫接在一起，連水都滲不進去。
Léa learned to cog small blocks of walnut to a heavy workbench during her furniture-making course.
Léa 在傢俱製作課上學會把小塊胡桃木榫接到一張厚重的工作檯上。
文法句型
cog [timber] to [timber]
用法筆記
Specialist carpentry term, almost never used outside woodworking books or museum descriptions. The pieces joined are essentially always heavy timbers, never small parts.
cog — 縮寫
1. a short written form of the word 'cognate', used in language and grammar books t
同源詞縮寫
語言學中 cognate 的書面縮寫
a short written form of the word 'cognate', used in language and grammar books to point out a word that shares the same historical root
In the etymology notes, Vinícius spotted 'cog.' next to the Latin word and traced the root home.
在詞源註解裡，Vinícius 看到拉丁文旁邊寫著「cog.」，便一路追查回去那個字根。
cog. — written abbreviation in technical notes
Sofie told her class that 'cog.' in the margin means the next entry shares a common ancestor.
Sofie 告訴班上同學，頁邊的「cog.」代表下一個詞條與前面共享同一個祖先。
Rachel found 'cog. Lat. caput' written beside the English headword in an old philology textbook.
Rachel 在一本古老的語文學課本裡，看到英文詞條旁寫著「cog. Lat. caput」。
The dictionary used 'cog.' to save space whenever it wanted to flag a related word in another language.
那本字典用「cog.」這個縮寫節省版面，每當想標示另一種語言中的相關詞時就會用到。
- cognate
the full form the abbreviation stands for; used in speech and in non-technical writing
文法句型
cog. + [language] + [word]
用法筆記
Distinguish from the noun and verb above: the abbreviation is a written shorthand, with a full stop, appearing only in specialist linguistics and etymology books. Spoken aloud, readers say 'cognate' in full.