silos
silos — 名詞
- silossingular
- silosesplural
1. A tall round building made of concrete or metal, built on a farm to keep grain o
穀倉
農場儲存穀物或飼料的圓柱塔
A tall round building made of concrete or metal, built on a farm to keep grain or animal feed dry and safe from pests.
The farmer stored this year's wheat harvest in the new concrete silo.
農夫把今年收成的小麥存放在新建的混凝土穀倉裡。
stored + in + silo (storage collocation)
Caleb climbed the ladder to check the grain level inside the metal silo.
Caleb 爬上梯子，檢查金屬穀倉裡的穀物存量。
A row of white silos behind the barn held corn for the cows.
一排白色筒倉矗立在穀倉後方，每個都裝滿了餵牛的玉米。
During the storm, the silo's roof kept the animal feed completely dry.
暴風雨期間，穀倉的屋頂讓動物飼料保持完全乾燥。
- storage bin
a more general term; can be any container, not necessarily tall or cylindrical
- granary
a building or room for storing grain; less specific than a silo
用法筆記
In American English, 'silo' is the standard term for any tall farm storage tower. The contents are usually grain (wheat, corn, oats) or silage (fermented grass used as winter cattle feed).
常見錯誤
2. An underground concrete chamber built to hold a long-range missile and protect i
飛彈發射井
地下的飛彈儲存與發射設施
An underground concrete chamber built to hold a long-range missile and protect it until it is launched.
The missile silo was hidden beneath a flat patch of desert.
那座飛彈發射井隱藏在沙漠中的一片平地下方。
hidden beneath [ground description]
Tara toured an old missile silo that was now a museum.
Tara 參觀了一座改建為博物館的舊飛彈發射井。
Each underground silo could launch a nuclear missile within minutes of receiving the order.
每個地下發射井都能在接到命令後數分鐘內發射核子飛彈。
Engineers checked the ventilation system inside the missile silo every morning.
工程師每天早上檢查飛彈發射井內的通風系統。
- launch facility
a broader term that includes above-ground launch pads and control centers
- missile bunker
emphasises protection more than the launch function
用法筆記
Frequently encountered in historical and political contexts about the Cold War, where the US and Soviet Union maintained hundreds of nuclear missile silos. The term is rarely used for modern mobile missile systems.
3. A group or department within a company or institution that works separately from
孤島
組織內不與其他部門交流的孤立單位
A group or department within a company or institution that works separately from other groups, rarely sharing information or coordinating with them.
The sales and marketing teams operate in separate silos and rarely exchange ideas.
業務部和行銷部各自運作如孤島，很少交流想法。
operate in separate silos — business metaphor pattern
Jenna believes the company's silos are hurting its ability to innovate quickly.
Jenna 認為公司的各部門孤島正損害其快速創新的能力。
Breaking down silos between departments was the CEO's top priority last year.
打破部門之間的孤島是執行長去年的首要任務。
A silo mentality prevents the hospital's emergency unit from coordinating with the pharmacy.
孤島心態導致醫院的急診室無法與藥局協調合作。
Tunde noticed the research team worked in a silo, unaware of the product group's experiments.
Tunde 注意到研究團隊像一座孤島，對產品部門的實驗一無所知。
- compartment
similar idea but neutral; lacks the negative connotation of isolation
- bubble
adds a sense of being cut off from outside reality; more informal
- echo chamber
focuses on how a group only hears ideas it already agrees with
用法筆記
Usually plural ('silos') in this sense, referring to multiple isolated groups within an organisation. The common fixed phrase 'silo mentality' describes the attitude that causes this behaviour.
常見錯誤
silos — 動詞
- silospresent simple I / you / we / they
- siloses3rd person singular
- silosing-ing form
- silosedpast simple
1. To separate a group, department, or set of information from others so that they
隔離
使部門或資訊彼此隔絕
To separate a group, department, or set of information from others so that they cannot communicate, cooperate, or share easily.
The company siloed its customer data into five separate databases that could not exchange information.
該公司將客戶資料隔離在五個無法互通的獨立資料庫中。
silo + into + [subdivisions]
Sofie warned that siloing designers from developers would create a confusing product.
Sofie 警告，將設計團隊與開發人員隔離會導致產品令人困惑。
silo + [group] + from + [other group]
When departments are siloed, employees waste time repeating work that was already done elsewhere.
當各部門被隔離開來，員工就會浪費時間重複做其他部門已經做過的工作。
Henry argued that siloing research by subject made it harder for scientists to share findings.
Henry 認為，按學科隔離研究只會讓科學家更難分享重要發現。
The new policy siloed each regional office, stopping them from accessing the central database.
新政策把每個地區辦公室隔離開來，使它們無法存取中央資料庫。
- isolate
more general; does not imply an organisational structure
- compartmentalise
often positive in contexts like project management (dividing work logically)
- segment
neutral; describes division without necessarily implying negative consequences
文法句型
silo + noun phrase
be siloed + into + noun phrase
用法筆記
This verb is a modern business metaphor derived from the organisational noun sense. It appears most often in the passive ('are siloed') or as the gerund ('siloing'). Its literal meaning — storing grain in a silo — is very rare and normally not used.