wean
wean — 動詞
- weanpresent simple I / you / we / they
- weanshe / she / it
- weanedpast simple
- weaning-ing form
1. to help an infant move from a diet of breast milk or formula to eating solid foo
斷奶
讓嬰兒或動物停止喝母乳
to help an infant move from a diet of breast milk or formula to eating solid food, by reducing milk feeds slowly until the baby or young creature no longer nurses from its mother
Nora weaned her son at around six months when he started eating solid food.
Nora 在兒子大約六個月大、開始吃固體食物時，替他斷了奶。
wean + direct object (baby/animal)
The farm workers weaned the calves by separating them from their mothers at eight weeks.
農場工人讓小牛在八週大時與母牛分開，替牠們斷奶。
passive: be weaned from + age
Anna slowly weaned the kitten off milk by mixing it with soft food each day.
Anna 每天把奶粉混入軟食中，讓小貓逐漸脫離母乳。
wean + object + off + noun
Many parents find weaning hard because of the strong emotional tie with their baby.
許多父母覺得替孩子斷奶很難，因為親子之間的情感連結很深。
Puppies are usually weaned by eight weeks and ready for a new home.
小狗通常在八週大時斷奶，準備好去新家。
passive: be weaned by + age
- wean a baby
- wean a puppy
- wean off breast milk
- wean from the bottle
- wean onto solid food
- gradually wean
- wean early/late
- transition
more general and neutral; 'transition a baby to solid food' sounds less emotional than 'wean'
- stop nursing
describes the action from the mother's perspective rather than the baby's
- nurse
to feed a baby from the breast; the opposite action
- breastfeed
the ongoing feeding that weaning brings to an end
文法句型
wean + baby/animal + from + noun
be weaned + onto + noun
用法筆記
Frequently used in the passive ('the baby was weaned at six months'). The preposition 'onto' introduces the new food (e.g., 'weaned onto solid food'), while 'off' emphasises removing the old food ('weaned off breast milk').
常見錯誤
❌ 'I weaned my baby from breastfeeding last week.' (correct but more natural: 'I weaned my baby off breast milk last week.') — 'wean off' is the more common phrasal pattern.
2. to make someone gradually stop depending on something they are addicted to or ha
戒除；脫離
逐漸擺脫依賴或習慣
to make someone gradually stop depending on something they are addicted to or have a strong habit for — for example, a drug, a bad habit, or a harmful system
The government wants to wean the country off fossil fuels with solar panel tax breaks.
政府希望藉由太陽能板稅務優惠，讓國家逐漸減少對化石燃料的依賴。
wean + country + off + fossil fuels (abstract dependence)
Hana's doctor helped her gradually wean herself from sleeping pills over two months.
Hana 的醫生幫她在兩個月內逐漸減量，戒掉了安眠藥。
wean + reflexive pronoun + from + noun
Bilal weaned the sales team away from their old software with weekly training sessions.
Bilal 每週舉辦培訓課程，讓銷售團隊逐漸脫離舊的軟體。
wean + away from (common extension)
Felipe was weaned on classic rock music that his father played every morning.
Felipe 從小聽經典搖滾樂長大，因為他父親每天早上都放。
be weaned on + noun (raised with)
The clinic runs a programme to wean patients off nicotine patches within twelve weeks.
該診所推行一項計畫，幫助病人在十二週內逐漸停止使用尼古丁貼片。
- wean someone off drugs
- wean from dependence
- wean away from
- wean on (formative exposure)
- gradually wean
- wean patients
- wean the economy
文法句型
wean + someone/something + from + noun
wean + someone/something + off + noun
be weaned + on + noun
用法筆記
The object is something the subject has grown dependent on — a substance, a habit, a system. 'Wean off' is the most frequent pattern in figurative use; 'wean from' sounds slightly more formal. 'Be weaned on' is a fixed expression meaning 'to be raised or strongly influenced by something from an early age' and is NOT negative — it describes formative exposure.
常見錯誤
wean from
phrasal verbto gradually stop someone from depending on something, especially a habit or substance they have become attached to
使逐漸戒除…；使脫離對…的依賴
The rehabilitation centre helped Kabir wean himself from a ten-year smoking habit over six months.
wean off
phrasal verbto help someone gradually reduce and eventually stop using something they depend on, such as a drug or an unhealthy food
使逐漸停止（藥物、壞習慣等）
The doctor lowered the dose each month to wean Ryan off the strong painkillers.
wean on
phrasal verbto introduce someone to something from a very young age so that it becomes a familiar and natural part of their life
從幼年就接觸（某事物）；在…薰陶下長大
Obi was weaned on folk tales told by his grandmother every night before bed.
wean — 名詞
- weansingular
- weansplural
1. a child or young person — used mainly in Scotland and Ireland as a friendly, eve
小孩
蘇格蘭／愛爾蘭方言，指小孩
a child or young person — used mainly in Scotland and Ireland as a friendly, everyday term
There is no point buying food that the weans will not eat, she said.
她說，花錢買小孩不愛吃的食物根本沒意義。
Granda took the three weans to the park after school while their mother worked.
Granda 放學後帶三個小孩去公園玩，讓媽媽安心上班。
Scottish colloquial noun 'weans'
The neighbour's weans are always playing football in the street until dark.
鄰居家的小孩總是在街上踢足球踢到天黑。
When she asked the weans what they wanted for tea, they all shouted 'pizza!'
她問孩子們晚餐想吃什麼，他們全喊「披薩！」
- wee weans
- the weans
- young weans
用法筆記
This is a dialect noun, not used in standard English outside Scotland and parts of Ireland. The plural is 'weans'. It is warm and informal — similar to 'wee one' or 'little one' in tone. Most learners only need to recognise this word when reading Scottish or Irish texts.