fray
fray — 動詞
- fraypresent simple I / you / we / they
- frayshe / she / it
- frayedpast simple
- fraying-ing form
1. when fabric, a rug, or rope becomes worn so that its woven strands gradually pul
磨損；脫線
布料或繩索邊緣的線散開
when fabric, a rug, or rope becomes worn so that its woven strands gradually pull apart along an exposed border — typically after long rubbing or washing.
The cuffs of Min's old denim jacket were beginning to fray.
Min 那件舊牛仔外套的袖口開始磨損脫線了。
intransitive: [cloth] frays
Years of dragging across the deck had frayed the climbing rope.
在甲板上拖了好幾年，那條攀岩繩已經磨損了。
transitive: [friction] frays [rope]
Adina noticed the carpet had frayed badly near the front door.
Adina 注意到大門口附近的地毯磨損得很嚴重。
collocation: fray badly / at the edge
The flag above the school gate had frayed into thin strips after a stormy winter.
校門上方的旗子在一個風雨頻仍的冬季後，已經磨損成一條條的細布。
fray into [shreds/strips]
- fray at the edges
- frayed cuffs / hem / collar
- fray badly
文法句型
[cloth/rope] frays
[friction] frays [cloth/rope]
用法筆記
Subject is almost always a fabric or rope item; figurative subjects like 'edges of a deal' (= the deal is breaking down) are common in journalism.
常見錯誤
2. for people's patience, nerves, or tempers to slowly wear down during a stressful
失去耐性
情緒在壓力下逐漸失控
for people's patience, nerves, or tempers to slowly wear down during a stressful situation, so that they start to get angry or upset more easily.
After three hours stuck in traffic, Zayd's nerves were starting to fray.
塞在車陣裡三個小時後，Zayd 的神經開始繃不住了。
[someone's] nerves fray (intransitive)
Tempers frayed during the long meeting about the school budget.
在那場討論校園預算的冗長會議中，大家都失去了耐性。
tempers fray (typical collocation)
The constant delays at the airport frayed everyone's patience.
機場一再延誤，把每個人的耐性都磨光了。
[delays] fray [someone's] patience (transitive)
Soraya could feel her temper fraying as the children argued over the same toy again.
Soraya 看著孩子們又為同一個玩具吵起來，感覺自己快要失去耐性了。
feel [one's] temper fraying
- nerves fray
- tempers fray
- fray someone's patience
- frayed nerves
文法句型
[nerves/tempers/patience] fray
[stressful thing] frays [nerves/tempers]
用法筆記
Subject is typically an abstract noun for emotional control: 'nerves', 'tempers', 'patience'. Distinguish from sense 1 by the subject — physical cloth vs. inner state.
常見錯誤
fray — 名詞
1. a lively and often disorderly contest, fight, or argument — frequently used in t
爭鬥；混戰
熱烈或混亂的競爭、爭執或打鬥
a lively and often disorderly contest, fight, or argument — frequently used in the phrases 'enter the fray' (= join in) and 'stay out of the fray' (= avoid it).
Two more candidates entered the fray a week before the election.
選舉前一週，又有兩位候選人投入這場爭鬥。
enter the fray (join a contest)
Dario stayed out of the fray when his brothers argued about money.
當兄弟們為錢爭吵時，Dario 選擇置身事外。
stay out of the fray (avoid the fight)
The referee jumped into the fray to separate the two players.
裁判衝進混戰中把兩名球員拉開。
jump / leap into the fray
By Friday, three other tech firms had joined the fray over the new contract.
到了星期五，已有另外三家科技公司加入這場合約爭奪戰。
join the fray (enter a competitive contest)
- enter the fray
- join the fray
- stay out of the fray
- leap into the fray
- the political fray
文法句型
enter / join / leap into the fray
stay / keep out of the fray
用法筆記
Almost always appears with a verb of motion ('enter', 'join', 'leap into', 'stay out of') plus 'the fray'. Outside these set phrases it is rare in everyday English.