mothball
mothball — 名詞
1. a small round object made of a strong-smelling chemical, placed among clothes to
樟腦丸
防止衣物被蟲蛀的白色化學球
a small round object made of a strong-smelling chemical, placed among clothes to prevent moths from damaging them
Talia opened the suitcase and found a mothball inside, still giving off its strong smell.
Talia 打開手提箱，發現裡面有一顆樟腦丸，仍然散發著濃烈的氣味。
mothball + inside [container]
Felix bought a box of mothballs at the market to protect his winter sweaters.
Felix 在市場買了一盒樟腦丸，用來保護他的冬季毛衣。
plural form: 'a box of mothballs'
The strong smell of mothballs filled the closet where Grandmother kept her wool coats.
祖母放外套的衣櫃裡滿是樟腦丸的刺鼻氣味。
Anya put mothballs in the storage box before packing away her wool hats.
Anya 在收納箱裡放了樟腦丸，然後才把羊毛帽收起來。
- camphor ball
older term; mothballs were originally made of camphor, but modern ones use naphthalene
- naphthalene ball
technical term for the chemical ingredient, rarely used in everyday speech
文法句型
usually used as plural 'mothballs'
用法筆記
Frequently used in the plural form 'mothballs' when referring to the physical objects. The singular 'mothball' describes one individual ball.
常見錯誤
2. a condition in which something is stored away or kept inactive, but is still rea
封存
暫停使用但保留以備日後啟用
a condition in which something is stored away or kept inactive, but is still ready to be used again if needed
The hospital has been kept in mothballs since the new one opened five years ago.
醫院自五年前新院區啟用後就一直處於封存狀態。
phrase: 'kept in mothballs' for long-term inactivity
Omar's idea for an app was put in mothballs when he could not find investors.
Omar 的手機應用程式點子因為找不到投資人而被擱置了。
The navy took the ship out of mothballs and sent it back to sea.
海軍將那艘船從封存狀態中取出，重新派往海上執勤。
Several factories were placed in mothballs during the economic downturn.
有幾間工廠在經濟不景氣期間被暫停運作。
The government took the old railway line out of mothballs and rebuilt it for commuters.
政府將舊鐵路線重新啟用並改建，供通勤族使用。
文法句型
in mothballs
put into mothballs
take out of mothballs
用法筆記
Almost always appears in the fixed prepositional phrases 'in mothballs,' 'put into mothballs,' or 'take out of mothballs.' The noun here is always plural and has no literal connection to chemical mothballs — it is a frozen idiomatic expression.
常見錯誤
mothball — 動詞
- mothballpresent simple I / you / we / they
- mothballs3rd person singular
- mothballing-ing form
- mothballedpast simple
1. to put a project, plan, or piece of equipment aside from active use, keeping it
擱置
暫停計劃或設備的運作
to put a project, plan, or piece of equipment aside from active use, keeping it in a state that allows it to be brought back into operation later if needed
The city council voted to mothball the community centre until more funds become available.
市議會投票決定暫停社區中心的運作，直到獲得更多經費為止。
mothball + [facility] + until + [condition]
Tendai decided to mothball his travel plans after his grandmother fell ill.
Tendai 的祖母生病後，他決定暫緩他的旅行計畫。
The company mothballed the factory and laid off all two hundred workers.
公司將工廠封存，並解僱了全部兩百名員工。
Hyun mothballed his music project when he started an engineering degree three hours away.
Hyun 為了就讀三小時車程外的工程學位，便擱置了他的音樂計畫。
Niran had to mothball his research after the funding for the lab was cut.
Niran 的研究因為實驗室的經費被砍而不得不暫停。
- shelve
suggests setting something aside, possibly permanently, as if putting a book on a shelf
- suspend
more formal; suggests a temporary stop, often with a known or expected end date
- deactivate
more technical; used for equipment, systems, or devices
- archive
used for digital data, records, or information — not for physical equipment
文法句型
mothball + [project / facility / equipment]
用法筆記
Common in passive voice in news reports about government or corporate decisions. The verb implies the possibility of resuming later — if something is stopped permanently, use 'close,' 'shut down,' or 'abandon' instead.