| 释义 |
retractable, a.|rɪˈtræktəb(ə)l|
[f. retract v.1 and v.2 + -able. Cf. OF. and Sp. retractable.]
1. That may be retracted or disavowed.
1620Donne Serm. Wks. 1839 V. 423 Not in finite and retractable speeches, but in fiery tongues.
†2. ? Inclined to be shy or reluctant. Obs.—1
1632Lithgow Trav. x. 426, I set Pen to Paper, drawing from the distaffe of the Retractable Muses, a Poeticall Pamphelet.
3. a. Capable of being drawn in; retractile.
1769Cook 1st Voy. round World i. i, Very sharp talons, which resemble those of a cat, and, like them, were retractable into a sheath of skin. 1920Flight XII. 96/2 As a result of the unfortunate accident..Messrs. Vickers, Ltd., were unable to show their ‘Viking’ flying boat with retractable land undercarriage. 1933Jrnl. R. Aeronaut. Soc. XXXVII. 446 Modern U.S.A. commercial aircraft attain higher speeds by clean design and use of retractable carriages. 1936Ibid. XL. 715 Armament (defensive):..1 machine gun 12·7 calibre in retractable turret firing rear; [etc.]. 1968Miller & Sawers Techn. Devel. Mod. Aviation iii. ii. 54 One can find designs as early as Penaud's in 1871 that were well streamlined and incorporated a retractable undercarriage (first used by du Temple in 1858 on an airplane that did not fly).
b. Applied to an object which admits the retraction of a component part.
1961Lebende Sprachen VI. 103/2 Retractable ball-point pen. 1962A. Nisbett Technique Sound Studio ii. 39 Retractable ball-point pens can be a menace—people will fiddle with them, and produce a sharp, unidentified click every ten or fifteen seconds.
Hence retractaˈbility, capacity for retraction.
1890Med. News LIII. 159 (Cent.), Tannin, which acts on the retractability of the mucous membrane. |