flag
/flæɡ/ (bre, ipa) · /flæɡ/ (ame, ipa) · /ˈflag also ˈflāg/ (ame, mw)
flag — 名詞
- flagsingular
- flagsplural
1. a square or oblong sheet of fabric marked with a distinctive design, used as the
旗幟；國旗
代表國家或組織的布製標誌
a square or oblong sheet of fabric marked with a distinctive design, used as the official emblem of a country, a group of people, or an organization.
Tariro hung a Japanese flag outside her window during the World Cup.
世界盃期間，Tariro 在窗外掛了一面日本國旗。
flag + of [country]
The stadium was covered with flags from more than two hundred nations.
體育場掛滿了來自兩百多個國家的旗幟。
Soldiers stood at attention while the national flag was raised at dawn.
拂曉升旗時，士兵們立正敬禮。
Every ship in the harbour flew a bright red signal flag for the holiday.
港口裡的每艘船都掛起鮮紅的信號旗來慶祝節日。
The Olympic flag has five coloured rings on a white background.
奧運旗幟的白色背景上有五個彩色圓環。
文法句型
flag + of + country/organization
用法筆記
National flags are often paired with verbs like raise, lower, fly, wave, and fold. Countries also use their flag as a symbol in contexts such as war, diplomacy, and sport.
常見錯誤
2. in American football, a small yellow cloth square that the referee throws onto t
黃旗
美式足球裁判丟出的犯規標示
in American football, a small yellow cloth square that the referee throws onto the field to show that a player has broken a rule.
The referee threw a yellow flag when the defender grabbed the receiver's arm.
防守球員抓住接球員的手臂時，裁判丟出了黃旗。
throw a flag for [violation]
Shanti knew her team would lose yardage when she saw the flag on the grass.
Shanti 看到草地上的黃旗時，就知道自己的球隊要被罰碼數了。
A flag for holding pushes a team back ten yards from the foul spot.
拉人犯規的黃旗會讓球隊從犯規位置後退十碼。
The home crowd booed when a flag halted their team's best play.
黃旗中斷了球隊的最佳攻勢，主場觀眾發出噓聲。
文法句型
throw a flag
flag for + [violation type]
用法筆記
In American football, the yellow penalty flag is a physical cloth. The verb sense (verb/5) describes the official's action of throwing it.
3. something that shows a possible problem, danger, or cause for concern, especiall
警訊；預警
顯示可能出問題的跡象
something that shows a possible problem, danger, or cause for concern, especially before the problem becomes serious.
A sudden drop in sales was a red flag for the company's management team.
銷售額驟降對公司管理團隊來說是個警訊。
red flag — metaphor for a serious warning
Brooke noticed several warning flags in the contract before she signed it.
Brooke 在簽約前注意到合約中有好幾項警示。
Teachers learn to spot flags that may show a child is struggling at home.
老師學習察覺出孩子在家庭方面出現困難的跡象。
The lack of receipts raised a red flag during the tax audit last spring.
去年春季的稅務稽核中，缺少收據這點引起了關注。
- warning sign
more general; less metaphorical than red flag
- indicator
neutral term; can be positive or negative
- alarm bell
stronger; suggests an immediate danger
文法句型
red flag
flag for + [concern]
用法筆記
Red flag is the most common form. It is often used in business, healthcare, and security contexts to describe early indicators of risk.
常見錯誤
4. a flat piece of stone, usually square or rectangular, used to cover floors, path
石板
鋪地面或走道的扁平石塊
a flat piece of stone, usually square or rectangular, used to cover floors, paths, patios, or other outdoor surfaces.
The garden path was made of grey flags that had been there for decades.
花園小徑鋪著灰色石板，這些石板已經在那裡幾十年了。
Dario laid new sandstone flags across the patio behind his house last weekend.
Dario 上週末在自家後院鋪了新砂岩板。
lay + flags — construction collocation
Moss had grown between the old flags in the courtyard of the cathedral.
大教堂庭院裡舊石板的縫隙間長滿了青苔。
The kitchen floor was covered with large uneven flags of local stone.
廚房地板鋪滿了當地石材製成的大塊不平整石板。
- flagstone
the full form; more formal and technical
- paving stone
general term for any stone used in paving
- slab
larger and thicker; used for concrete or stone surfaces
文法句型
flagstone
flag + [stone type]
用法筆記
Often shortened from flagstone. The plural flags is very common when describing paved areas. Not to be confused with the cloth senses.
5. a waterside plant belonging to the iris family, with long sword-shaped leaves an
鳶尾花
葉長如劍、喜濕的鳶尾科植物
a waterside plant belonging to the iris family, with long sword-shaped leaves and showy flowers that are usually yellow, blue, or purple.
Yellow flags grew wild along the edge of the stream behind the old mill.
老磨坊旁的小溪邊長滿了野生黃色鳶尾花。
flag + colour + location (plant sense)
Eleni planted blue flags near the pond in her grandmother's cottage garden.
Eleni 在奶奶的鄉村花園裡，池塘邊種了藍色鳶尾花。
The long green leaves of the flag rose from the damp soil like swords.
鳶尾花長長的綠葉從濕潤的泥土中向上生長，宛如劍刃。
In early summer, purple flags bloom across the marshy area of the nature reserve.
初夏時節，紫色鳶尾花在自然保護區的沼澤地帶盛開。
- iris
the broader botanical category that includes flags
- sweet flag
a related waterside plant (Acorus calamus), not a true iris
用法筆記
This sense is uncommon in everyday conversation. It mainly appears in gardening and nature writing. Yellow flag (Iris pseudacorus) is the most common type mentioned.
flag — 動詞
- flagpresent simple I / you / we / they
- flags3rd person singular
- flagging-ing form
- flaggedpast simple
1. to put a physical or digital mark on something so that it can be found or identi
標記
做記號以便日後辨認或找尋
to put a physical or digital mark on something so that it can be found or identified more easily later among other things.
Hao flagged the important pages in the report with small yellow sticky notes.
Hao 用黃色便利貼在報告的重要頁面上做了標記。
flag + noun + with [tool]
The librarian flagged every book that had not been returned by the due date.
圖書館員把每一本逾期未還的書都標記了出來。
Roya flagged the emails from her manager so she could read them first.
Roya 把主管寄來的電子郵件加上標記，以便優先閱讀。
Brandon flagged the sections of the proposal that still needed revision before the board meeting.
Brandon 把提案中仍需修改的章節標記出來，準備在董事會議上討論。
Each item on the list was flagged as urgent or routine by the assistant.
助理把清單上的每個項目都標記為「緊急」或「例行」。
文法句型
flag + noun phrase + for + purpose
flag + noun phrase + as + category
用法筆記
This sense is about personal organisation — you flag something to help yourself find it later. Distinguish from verb/3, where you flag something to warn others about a problem.
常見錯誤
2. to mark computer data or an item in a system with a true/false value so that it
設定旗標
在資料或系統中設為特定狀態
to mark computer data or an item in a system with a true/false value so that it can be identified, filtered, or processed in a specific way by the program.
The security system flags any file that contains suspicious code for the team to inspect.
安全系統會將含有可疑程式的任何檔案標記出來，交由團隊檢查。
flag + noun + for + [action]
Hyun wrote a script that flags user accounts that have been inactive for six months.
Hyun 寫了一個腳本，用來標記超過六個月未使用的使用者帳號。
The payment system flags transactions over ten thousand dollars for manual review.
付款系統會將超過一萬美元的交易標記出來，進行人工審查。
Each database record is flagged as active or archived by the program.
資料庫中的每筆記錄都由程式標記為「啟用中」或「已封存」。
- tag
can add any type of metadata, not just boolean values
- label
more general; used in both programming and everyday language
- set a flag on
more technical; describes the actual programming operation
文法句型
flag + noun + as + boolean value
flag + noun + for + processing
用法筆記
Closely related to verb/1 in the action of marking, but this sense specifically involves a binary (true/false) or categorical value in a computing context. Frequently passive: items are flagged by the system, not by a person.
3. to tell someone about something important or problematic so that they can take a
警示
向他人通報重要或問題事項
to tell someone about something important or problematic so that they can take action, especially before it becomes a bigger issue.
The school nurse flagged the student's allergy to the new teacher before the class trip.
學校護士在班級旅行前向新老師通報了這位學生的過敏情況。
flag + noun + to + recipient
A neighbour flagged the broken streetlight to the city council after the accident.
事故發生後，一位鄰居向市議會反映路燈損壞的問題。
The audit report flagged several financial problems that needed immediate attention.
稽核報告指出了幾個需要立即處理的財務問題。
Gita flagged that the shipping address was wrong before the package went out.
Gita 在包裹寄出前通報了收件地址有誤的問題。
Users can flag offensive comments on the website for moderators to review.
使用者可以將攻擊性留言標記給網站管理員審查。
文法句型
flag + noun + to + person
flag + noun + for + reason
flag + that-clause
用法筆記
Distinguish from verb/1: flagging a problem (verb/3) means drawing others' attention so they can act; flagging a page (verb/1) is for your own future reference. British English also uses flag up (phrasal verb) for this sense.
常見錯誤
4. to become physically tired, lose strength or energy, or start to decline in qual
減弱；衰退
變得疲倦、無力或不再有效
to become physically tired, lose strength or energy, or start to decline in quality, interest, or effectiveness over time.
Eli's energy began to flag after walking for eight hours under the hot desert sun.
Eli 在熾熱的沙漠陽光下走了八個小時後，體力開始衰退。
Nora's interest in the project flagged when she saw how much paperwork was involved.
Nora 看到專案涉及那麼多文書工作時，興趣就減退了。
subject [interest/enthusiasm/energy] + flag — typical subject pattern
The conversation flagged after everyone ran out of new things to talk about.
大家沒什麼新鮮話題可聊之後，談話就冷了下來。
Public support for the new law flagged as more people learned about the cost.
隨著更多人了解這項新法律的代價，民眾對它的支持度也逐漸下降。
- strengthen
the opposite direction of change
- pick up
informal; to recover lost energy or pace
文法句型
flag + adverb of degree
flag + under + pressure
用法筆記
Intransitive only — you never flag something in this sense. The subject is typically energy, enthusiasm, interest, conversation, spirits, or support. Describes a gradual process, not a sudden stop.
常見錯誤
5. (in sports, especially American football) for an official to raise or throw a fl
判罰
裁判舉旗或丟旗示意犯規
(in sports, especially American football) for an official to raise or throw a flag to signal that a player has broken a rule, or to penalize a player for doing so.
The referee flagged the defender for holding the receiver's jersey during the play.
裁判判防守球員在進攻中拉住接球員的球衣犯規。
flag + player + for + [violation]
The official flagged the runner for starting before the starting gun sounded.
裁判判定跑者在鳴槍前就起跑犯規。
Élise was flagged for a dangerous tackle during the championship semifinal match.
Élise 在冠軍賽準決賽中因危險鏟球而被判罰。
The linesman flagged as soon as the forward passed the last defender.
邊線裁判在前鋒越過最後一名防守球員時立刻舉旗示意。
- penalize
broader; applies to any sport and can mean giving a penalty without using a flag
- call a penalty on
describes the refereeing decision, not specifically the flag gesture
文法句型
flag + player
flag + player + for + violation
flag (no object)
用法筆記
Can be transitive (the official flags the player) or intransitive (the official simply flags, without naming who). In American football, throwing a yellow flag is the physical act; flagging is the official's decision to do so.