growth ring
growth ring — 名詞
1. one of the circular bands that a tree trunk, bone, or shell forms in a single ye
年輪；生長輪
樹木、貝殼或骨頭每年生長形成的環狀層
one of the circular bands that a tree trunk, bone, or shell forms in a single year of growth; counting the bands shows how old the tree or animal is.
Daniel counted the growth rings on the old oak stump to guess its age.
Daniel 數了老橡樹樹樁上的年輪，來推測它的樹齡。
collocation: count the growth rings to estimate age
Each summer adds a new growth ring just under the tree's bark.
每年夏天，樹皮底下都會長出一圈新的年輪。
The scientist studied the wide growth rings to learn about past rainy years.
那位科學家研究這些寬大的年輪，以了解過去多雨的年份。
Nila found clear growth rings inside the seashell she picked up on the beach.
Nila 在海灘上撿到的貝殼裡，發現了清楚的生長輪。
Foresters use growth rings to tell how fast a forest has been growing.
林務人員利用年輪來判斷森林生長的速度有多快。
- annual ring
the technical synonym; stresses that one ring forms each year
- tree ring
everyday term, used only for trees, not shells or bone
用法筆記
Usually plural — 'growth rings' — because the rings are read as a set to work out age; the singular names just one year's layer.