tier

/tɪə(r)/ (bre, ipa) · /tɪr/ (ame, ipa) · /ˈtir/ (ame, mw) · /tɪər/ (bre, ipa)

tier — 名詞

  • tiersingular
  • tiersplural

1. A flat area or row that sits above or below another similar area, forming a step

1.名詞B1
釋義

層；排

層層疊放的結構

A flat area or row that sits above or below another similar area, forming a stepped structure — for example, the seating sections of a sports stadium or the levels of a multi-layered cake.

例句

From the top tier of the stadium, Omar could see the whole football field clearly.

Omar 從體育場最上層的座位區可以清楚看到整個足球場。

collocation: top tier / bottom tier

The wedding cake had three tiers, each decorated with tiny sugar flowers.

那個結婚蛋糕有三層，每一層都裝飾著小小的糖花。

collocation: three tiers / multi-tiered

同義詞
  • layer

    more general — a single sheet or thickness; a tier is a layer within a stepped stack

  • row

    focuses on the horizontal line; lacks the vertical stacking idea of a tier

  • level

    can be physical or abstract; tier is more specific to stepped arrangements

文法句型

tier of + noun

in tiers

用法筆記

Often describes physical structures with a visible stepped or stacked arrangement, such as seating in theatres, layers of a cake, or shelves on a wall.

常見錯誤

❌The cake had three tires.
✅The cake had three tiers.
💡'tire' and 'tier' sound the same but 'tire' means a wheel covering, not a cake layer.

2. A position within a system that ranks people or things by importance, quality, o

2.名詞B1
釋義

等級；級別

依重要性或品質劃分的級別

A position within a system that ranks people or things by importance, quality, or status — for example, the highest tier of customer service offered only to premium members.

例句

The company offers three tiers of insurance: basic, standard, and premium.

這家公司提供三種等級的保險：基本型、標準型和頂級型。

collocation: tier of [service/product]

Only top-tier universities are invited to join the research partnership with Nadia's lab.

只有頂尖等級的大學才受邀加入 Nadia 實驗室的研究合作計畫。

compound modifier: top-tier

同義詞
  • level

    broader and more neutral; tier suggests a formal, layered system of multiple discrete bands

  • rank

    focuses on official position within a hierarchy, especially military or organisational

  • grade

    used for quality-based classification, especially in education (exam grade) and product standards

文法句型

top-tier / first-tier + noun

tier of + noun

用法筆記

Very common in business, education, and service contexts for describing different grades of quality, access, or status within a formal ranking system.

常見錯誤

❌This is a top tier service quality.
✅This is a top-tier service.
💡When used as a compound adjective before a noun, hyphenate 'top-tier'.

tier — 動詞