the system

the system — 慣用語

1. the established authorities and institutions in a society, seen as working toget

1.慣用語B2
釋義

體制

社會中掌控權力的機構與規則體系

the established authorities and institutions in a society, seen as working together to keep their power and control over ordinary people

例句

Imani watched the system ignore families who had lost their homes in the fire.

Imani 眼睜睜看著體制無視那些在火災中失去家園的家庭。

the system + verb: ignores, fails, protects its own

Bilal spent his twenties fighting the system and lost every court case.

Bilal 花了整個二十多歲對抗體制，卻輸掉了每一場官司。

collocation: fight the system

同義詞
  • the establishment

    focuses on the elite people in power rather than the structure itself

  • the powers that be

    more neutral; often used without the critical, anti-authority tone

  • the machine

    informal; emphasizes the impersonal, mechanical nature of large organizations

用法筆記

Always used with the definite article 'the.' Implies the speaker sees the social order as impersonal, rigid, or oppressive. In everyday speech, people often say 'the system' without specifying which system — the meaning is understood from context.

常見錯誤

❌She complained about the system after her laptop crashed.
✅She complained about the system after the government ignored her housing application.
💡The idiomatic 'the system' always refers to social or political power structures, not to technology or machinery.