yoke
/jəʊk/ (bre, ipa) · [jˈok] /jəʊk/ (ame, ipa) · [jˈok] /ˈyōk How to pronounce yoke (audio)/ (ame, mw) · [jˈok] /joʊk/ (ame, ipa)
yoke — 名詞
- yokesingular
- yokesplural
1. a curved wooden bar fixed across two working animals so they can pull a cart or
牛軛
套在兩頭牲口頸上的木架
a curved wooden bar fixed across two working animals so they can pull a cart or other heavy load together.
The farmer lifted the yoke onto the oxen before sunrise.
那位農夫在日出前把牛軛抬到那兩頭牛的頸上。
lift a yoke onto working animals
A cracked yoke made the cart shake on the muddy road.
一道裂開的牛軛讓那輛車在泥路上晃個不停。
Workers hung the yoke on a nail beside the stable door.
工人們把那道牛軛掛在馬廄門邊的釘子上。
Without a yoke, the two bulls could not pull evenly.
沒有牛軛，那兩頭公牛就無法平均用力拉。
用法筆記
This sense is used for the wooden bar itself, not for the two animals as a team. Distinguish from sense 6, which names the pair of animals joined for work.
常見錯誤
2. a force or tie that keeps people under control or makes life hard to bear.
枷鎖
使人受制的控制或重擔
a force or tie that keeps people under control or makes life hard to bear.
Many families wanted to throw off the yoke of foreign rule.
許多家庭都想擺脫外來統治的枷鎖。
throw off the yoke of [power]
Debt became a yoke that kept the shop owner awake.
債務成了枷鎖，讓那位店主整夜睡不著。
For years, fear was a yoke on the workers' daily lives.
多年來，恐懼一直是壓在工人日常生活上的枷鎖。
She spoke about marriage as a yoke, not a partnership.
她談到婚姻時，把它說成是枷鎖，而不是夥伴關係。
- freedom
emphasizes release from control or pressure
用法筆記
This figurative sense usually appears in writing about power, duty, or a relationship that feels oppressive. Distinguish from sense 1, which refers to the actual farm tool.
常見錯誤
3. the shaped upper section of a dress, skirt, or similar garment that supports the
衣肩片
連接上身與下擺的裁片
the shaped upper section of a dress, skirt, or similar garment that supports the fuller cloth below it.
The dress has a blue yoke above the loose white skirt.
那件洋裝在寬鬆白裙上方有一片藍色衣肩片。
yoke as the fitted top section of clothing
Emma sewed lace along the yoke of the nightgown.
Emma 把蕾絲縫在那件睡袍的衣肩片上。
The tailor cut a round yoke for the child's party dress.
那位裁縫替孩子的派對洋裝裁了一片圓形衣肩片。
A dark yoke gave the plain blouse a sharper shape.
深色衣肩片讓那件素色襯衫更有線條。
用法筆記
This sense belongs to sewing and clothing design. It often refers to the fitted part near the shoulders, but some garments also have a yoke at the waist or hips.
4. an informal word for an object when you cannot recall or do not know its real na
那玩意
忘了名稱時隨口指的東西
an informal word for an object when you cannot recall or do not know its real name.
Pass me that plastic yoke beside the sink, please.
請把水槽旁邊那個塑膠玩意遞給我。
informal substitute for an unknown object name
Ravi fixed the yoke under the chair without knowing its real name.
Ravi 把椅子底下那個玩意修好了，卻不知道它真正叫什麼。
What is that yoke on the back of the bike?
腳踏車後面那個玩意是什麼？
The box came with a small metal yoke for the wall.
盒子裡附了一個裝牆用的小金屬玩意。
- thing
the most general everyday placeholder
- thingamajig
more playful and longer than the short informal 'yoke'
- widget
often used jokingly for a small device or unnamed part
用法筆記
Use this only in informal speech when the exact object name is missing or forgotten. It is not the same as the literal farm or clothing senses above.
常見錯誤
5. a wooden carrying frame worn across the shoulders with a balanced load hanging f
扁擔
肩挑兩端重物的木架
a wooden carrying frame worn across the shoulders with a balanced load hanging from each side.
The porter balanced two water buckets on a wooden yoke.
那位搬運工把兩桶水穩穩掛在木扁擔上。
carry two balanced loads on a yoke
Grandfather carried rice seedlings home with a yoke.
祖父用扁擔把稻苗挑回家。
The yoke dug into Lin's shoulders on the long climb.
那根扁擔在長長的爬坡途中壓進了 Lin 的肩膀。
At the museum, visitors tried lifting a bamboo yoke.
在博物館裡，訪客試著抬起一根竹扁擔。
- shoulder pole
describes the same carrying idea in a more transparent way
- carrying pole
general term that does not always imply the shaped shoulder fit
用法筆記
This is a carrying tool for a person, not the bar used on two animals in sense 1. It is especially associated with buckets or baskets hanging from both ends.
6. two work animals treated as one team because they are harnessed side by side.
一對役畜
成對套軛工作的牲口
two work animals treated as one team because they are harnessed side by side.
One yoke of oxen pulled the stones up the hill.
一對役畜把那些石頭拉上山坡。
one yoke of oxen = one working pair
The farmer bought another yoke of bulls for spring work.
那位農夫又買了一對役畜來做春耕。
A yoke of oxen hauled the wagon through the wet field.
一對役畜把那輛車拖過了濕地。
Each yoke of oxen rested after pulling three logs.
每一對役畜拉完三根木頭後都休息了一會兒。
用法筆記
This sense counts the animals as a unit. Distinguish from sense 1, which refers to the wooden bar used to join them.
yoke — 動詞
- yokepresent simple I / you / we / they
- yokes3rd person singular
- yoking-ing form
- yokedpast simple
1. to fasten working animals together with a wooden bar so they can pull something
套軛
用軛把牲口連成一對
to fasten working animals together with a wooden bar so they can pull something as a pair.
Before noon, the men yoked the oxen to the wagon.
中午前，那些人把牛套軛到車上。
yoke + animals + to [vehicle]
They yoked the two mules together for the steep climb.
他們把那兩頭騾子套軛在一起，好爬上陡坡。
yoke two animals together
A farmhand yoked the cattle and checked the straps.
一名農場工人把牛套軛後，又檢查了皮帶。
The boys learned how to yoke buffalo for field work.
那些男孩學著怎麼替水牛套軛，好下田工作。
- unharness
removes the working gear after use
文法句型
yoke + animals + to [vehicle/load]
yoke + two animals together
用法筆記
This verb is mostly used in farming or historical contexts. It normally takes the animals as the object, and it often adds the load or vehicle after 'to'.
常見錯誤
2. to link people, ideas, or things closely together, often so they must act as one
連結
把人或事物綁成一體
to link people, ideas, or things closely together, often so they must act as one.
The plan yokes higher wages to longer training hours.
這項計畫把更高的工資連結到更長的訓練時數。
yoke A to B
The novel yokes family history with political change.
那本小說把家族歷史和政治變遷連結在一起。
yoke A with B
Leila refused to be yoked to a job she hated.
Leila 拒絕被連結在一份自己討厭的工作上。
Cheap fame is often yoked with shallow online praise.
廉價名聲往往和膚淺的網路吹捧連結在一起。
文法句型
yoke + noun + to + noun
yoke + noun + with + noun
be yoked to + noun
用法筆記
This figurative sense often appears in writing about politics, ideas, or relationships that become tightly connected. In passive form, it can suggest an unwanted tie or obligation.