knob

/nɒb/ (bre, ipa) · /nɑːb/ (ame, ipa) · /ˈnäb/ (ame, mw)

knob — 名詞

  • knobsingular
  • knobsplural

1. a small ball-shaped piece sticking out from a machine, radio, or oven that you t

1.名詞B1
釋義

圓鈕；旋鈕

可旋轉或抓握的圓形控制部件

a small ball-shaped piece sticking out from a machine, radio, or oven that you twist with your fingers to change a setting; also the round piece fixed onto a door or drawer that you grip to pull it open.

例句

Amihan turned the oven knob to two hundred degrees and slid in the tray of biscuits.

Amihan 把烤箱旋鈕轉到兩百度，再把那盤餅乾推進去。

collocation: turn the knob

The brass door knob felt cold under Defne's hand as she stepped into the silent hallway.

Defne 走進靜悄悄的走廊時，那顆銅製的門把摸起來冰冰的。

compound: door knob

同義詞
  • handle

    broader — any grip on a door, drawer, or tool; a knob is specifically round

  • dial

    a flat round control with numbers around it; a knob is the gripping part you turn

  • switch

    usually flicks between on and off; a knob usually rotates through many settings

用法筆記

Often appears in compounds like 'door knob', 'drawer knob', 'volume knob', 'control knob'. Distinguish from sense 2: this sense is always something a person grips or turns; sense 2 is just a bump that no one operates.

常見錯誤

❌I pulled the knob of the bus to stop it.
✅I pushed the button to stop the bus.
💡buses have buttons, not knobs; knobs are small round parts that you twist or pull.

2. a ball-shaped bump or swelling that rises from where one thing meets another — f

2.名詞B2
釋義

圓凸；圓塊

表面或末端凸出的圓形隆起物

a ball-shaped bump or swelling that rises from where one thing meets another — for example, the wooden ball on the tip of a walking stick, or a bony lump where a tree branch has been cut off.

例句

The walking stick had a polished wooden knob carved into the shape of a small owl's head.

那根拐杖的頂端有一顆磨亮的木製圓凸，雕成小貓頭鷹的樣子。

collocation: wooden knob

Jude ran a finger along the rough knob on the old oak tree where a branch had broken off.

Jude 用手指撫摸著那棵老橡樹上樹枝斷裂處粗糙的圓凸。

scene: lump on a tree

同義詞
  • lump

    more general; any irregular mass, not necessarily round

  • bump

    any raised area on a surface; a knob is more clearly ball-shaped

  • protuberance

    formal, often medical or scientific

反義詞
  • dent

    an inward hollow, opposite of an outward lump

用法筆記

Subject is usually a surface or an object that ends in this rounded shape. Distinguish from sense 1: a sense-2 knob is decorative or structural; nobody turns it.

3. a small ball-sized piece of a soft solid food, used most often when talking abou

3.名詞C1
釋義

一小塊

一小球的奶油或薑等軟固體

a small ball-sized piece of a soft solid food, used most often when talking about butter that you add to a hot pan or a finished dish.

例句

Diya dropped a knob of butter into the hot pan and watched it melt around the onions.

Diya 把一小塊奶油丟進熱鍋裡，看著它在洋蔥旁邊融化。

pattern: a knob of butter into a pan

Stir a generous knob of butter into the mashed potatoes just before you serve them.

上桌前把一大塊奶油拌進馬鈴薯泥裡。

pattern: stir a knob of butter into [food]

同義詞
  • pat

    almost a synonym for butter, more common in American English

  • lump

    works for ginger or butter but sounds less specific

  • dollop

    for soft liquids like cream or yogurt; knob is for firmer solids

文法句型

a knob of [butter/ginger]

用法筆記

Almost always 'a knob of butter' (or sometimes ginger); the pattern is 'a knob of + soft solid'. Common in British recipes and cooking shows; American recipes usually say 'a pat of butter' or 'a tablespoon of butter' instead.

常見錯誤

❌Add a knob of sugar to the bowl.
✅Add a spoonful of sugar to the bowl.
💡sugar is not soft enough to form a 'knob'; use this sense only for soft solids like butter or fresh ginger.

4. a rude British slang word for the male sex organ.

4.名詞C1
釋義

屌（粗俗）

英式粗俗俚語，指男性生殖器

a rude British slang word for the male sex organ.

例句

The teenagers were sent home after one of them drew a knob on the school wall in chalk.

那群青少年被遣送回家，因為其中一人用粉筆在校牆上畫了一根屌。

scene: graffiti slang

Talia hated the way the boys at the back of the bus kept making knob jokes the whole ride.

Talia 很討厭公車後座那群男生整趟車程一直在開那種黃色玩笑。

collocation: knob jokes (slang)

同義詞
  • willy

    British, childish and softer than 'knob'

  • dick

    more common general-English slang, equally rude

用法筆記

Rude / taboo slang in British English; avoid in writing and in any formal or polite setting. The fixed phrase 'knob jokes' (cheap jokes about male genitals) is the most common everyday collocation a learner will hear.

5. a rude British slang word that you call a man (or rarely a woman) when you think

5.名詞C1
釋義

蠢蛋；混蛋

英式粗俗俚語，罵人愚蠢或討人厭

a rude British slang word that you call a man (or rarely a woman) when you think he has behaved in a stupid, annoying, or unpleasant way.

例句

Don't be such a knob, Christopher — Nkechi already told you the back seat was saved for an elderly lady.

Christopher，別這麼白目——Nkechi 早就跟你說後座要留給一位年長的女士。

pattern: don't be such a knob

Élise muttered that the man who cut in front of the queue at the bakery was a complete knob.

Élise 嘟囔著說，那個在麵包店插隊的男人真是個徹頭徹尾的混蛋。

pattern: a complete knob

同義詞
  • idiot

    neutral insult, far less offensive than 'knob'

  • prat

    British slang of similar register but slightly milder

  • jerk

    American equivalent for a rude, selfish man

用法筆記

Rude British slang directed at people, almost always men. Less harsh than 'wanker' but still offensive — avoid in any polite or written setting. Often appears in fixed templates like 'don't be a knob', 'such a knob', 'a complete knob'.

常見錯誤

❌My grandmother is a knob.
✅My grandmother is being unreasonable.
💡'knob' is rude slang for men acting stupidly; never use it about elderly relatives or in respectful contexts.