mildew
/ˈmɪldjuː/ (bre, ipa) · /ˈmɪlduː/ (ame, ipa) · /ˈmil-ˌdü -ˌdyü/ (ame, mw)
mildew — 名詞
1. A thin layer of tiny fungus, often white, grey, or greenish in colour, that form
黴菌；白黴
潮濕表面上長出的白色或灰綠色真菌薄層
A thin layer of tiny fungus, often white, grey, or greenish in colour, that forms on damp surfaces such as plant leaves, fabric, paper, or bathroom walls when the air stays warm and wet for too long.
Yasmin scrubbed the mildew off the shower curtain with a vinegar solution.
Yasmin 用醋水把浴簾上的白黴刷掉。
common collocation: scrub / clean off mildew
After the flood, mildew spread across every wooden beam in Putri's basement.
淹水之後，Putri 家地下室每一根木樑上都長出黴菌。
collocation: mildew spreads / forms on damp surfaces
The grape farmer lost half the harvest to mildew during that rainy summer.
那年夏天多雨，葡萄農因為黴害損失了一半的收成。
Imran noticed grey mildew along the spine of the old library books.
Imran 注意到舊圖書館書本書脊上有灰色的黴。
There was a strong smell of mildew in the cottage we rented near the lake.
我們在湖邊租的小屋裡有一股很重的黴味。
用法筆記
Usually uncountable; speakers refer to a patch or layer rather than counting individual instances. Common subject of verbs like 'grow', 'spread', 'form', and common object of 'clean', 'wipe', 'remove'.
常見錯誤
mildew — 動詞
- mildewpresent simple I / you / we / they
- mildews3rd person singular
- mildewing-ing form
- mildewedpast simple
1. If cloth, paper, or another damp item mildews, it develops a layer of fungus and
發黴；長黴
受潮的物品長出黴菌而損壞
If cloth, paper, or another damp item mildews, it develops a layer of fungus and spoils because it has been left too long in warm, wet conditions.
The cotton sheets mildewed in the suitcase after Shirin left them packed for a month.
Shirin 把純棉床單塞在行李箱裡一個月，整批都發黴了。
intransitive pattern: [item] + mildews + [time / location]
Old photographs will mildew quickly if you store them in a damp garage.
舊照片如果放在潮濕的車庫裡，很快就會長黴。
future / conditional pattern with damp-storage cause
Several library books mildewed during the long power cut last August.
去年八月那次長時間停電，圖書館有好幾本書發黴了。
Renata threw away the canvas tent because it had mildewed in the rain.
Renata 把那頂帆布帳篷丟掉，因為它已經淋雨發黴了。
用法筆記
Subject is typically an absorbent, organic item (fabric, paper, leather, wood) left in damp conditions. Often appears in the perfect tenses ('has mildewed') to describe a finished state of spoilage.
常見錯誤
2. To cause something — usually fabric, paper, or stored produce — to be spoiled by
使發黴
潮氣使布料、紙張等長出黴菌而毀損
To cause something — usually fabric, paper, or stored produce — to be spoiled by a layer of fungus.
Persistent damp had mildewed the silk curtains in Chiara's grandmother's parlour.
持續的潮氣把 Chiara 奶奶客廳裡的絲質窗簾都弄發黴了。
transitive pattern: damp / moisture as subject mildewing fabric
A leaking pipe slowly mildewed every cardboard box stored in the cellar.
一處漏水的水管慢慢把地窖裡每個紙箱都弄到發黴。
Sea air can mildew leather shoes within weeks if you do not air them out.
皮鞋若不通風晾曬，海邊的空氣幾週內就能把它們搞到發黴。
The humid summer mildewed most of the paperback novels on Noa's bookshelf.
潮濕的夏天讓 Noa 書架上大部分的平裝小說都發黴了。
文法句型
[damp / fungus] + mildews + [object]
用法筆記
Distinguish from sense 1: here the subject is the cause (damp, humidity, a leak) and the affected item is the object. The intransitive sense 1 puts the affected item itself in subject position.