| 释义 |
count-down, countdown orig. U.S.|ˈkaʊntˌdaʊn|
[f. count n.1 and v. + down adv.]
The action of counting in reverse, from a given number to zero, usually in seconds, to mark the lapse of time before an explosion, the launching of a missile, or the like; also, the period of time preceding such an event or the procedures carried out in that time. Also attrib.
1953News (Birmingham, Alabama) 4 June 1/6 Observers on the mountain were able to hear the count-down on the drop from the control tower. 1953Monsanto Mag. (U.S.) July 4 Time on the range is expressed in minutes before a missile is to be fired. This is called a ‘count down’. 1958Observer 2 Feb. 1/2 The count-down began. At the count of 11 the very top of the rocket started spinning. Two..one..and then the firing command. 1958Times 1 Mar. 6/3 The missile had been on its pad for days before firing, and the actual count-down, the exhaustive last-minute check of all its components, took many hours. 1958‘P. Bryant’ 2 Hours to Doom 61 Brown..turned the face of a count-down clock until the figure eighty-four showed in the..datum window. 1969Times (Suppl.) 3 June p. ii/8 Three astronauts..were doing a simulated countdown for the first manned Apollo flight.
b. transf. and fig.
1959W. K. Richmond Brit. Birds of Prey xiii. 142 Ready, now, for the final count-down. Eight yards, seven, six, five, four..and once again the hawk glanced over its shoulder. 1960Stand IV. 5 The months began the count⁓down to war. 1962Times 29 Nov. 4/1 Excitement is mounting here as the count-down begins for the first Test match on Friday. 1968Listener 15 Aug. 200/2 One by one they step up, receive a countdown and deliver their instant punditry. |