单词 | to chip away |
释义 | > as lemmasto chip away to chip away 1. transitive. To cut at (something) with continuous chipping strokes; to make (something) smaller by gradually and repeatedly cutting or breaking off small fragments from it. Also figurative: to weaken (something) by gradual and relentless action. ΚΠ ?c1400 ( H. Daniel Liber Uricrisiarum (Royal 17 D.i) (2020) iii. xii. f. 100 (MED) Whiche sekenesse is causede þorogh scharphede and exces of vnkynde hete in the lendes and þerabouten, dissoluand & wastand þe substance of hem, & clippend and chippand awaie þe smale partis of hem. 1751 J. Roche Moravian Heresy App. ii. 290 It is taking Shelter under the Shade whilst we chip away the Root by Degrees. 1847 C. Winston Anc. Glass Painting I. 27 The pieces of glass were..reduced to the exact shape required, by chipping away their edges with an iron hook. 1905 Times 3 Jan. 12/1 The repeated attempts of private members and others to chip away the buttresses of the Poor Law. 1994 Sports Afield Sept. 123/1 Grizzly habitat is constantly being chipped away by industrial tourism and ranchette development on the edges of Yellowstone. 2010 Sentinel (Stoke-on-Trent) (Nexis) 20 May 34 Use a screwdriver to chip away bubbled paint, and then scrape with a wire brush. 2. intransitive. To make something smaller by gradually and repeatedly cutting or breaking off small fragments from it; to cut at something with continuous chipping strokes. Also figurative: to weaken something by gradual and relentless action. ΚΠ 1803 Monthly Rev. Oct. 138 I was chipping away with bits of crust, or trifling with my teaspoon. 1807 J. Beresford Miseries Human Life II. xx. 250 After chipping away at random, a little longer, with the same success, you give up the game. 1880 A. A. Hayes New Colorado (1881) vii. 103 An expert..was chipping away at the wall with a little hammer. 1941 G. Orwell in I. Hamilton Penguin Bk. 20th-Cent. Ess. (1999) 127 All through the critical years many left-wingers were chipping away at English morale. 2008 K. Miller Same Earth (2009) 20 All day they chipped away at the blocks of ice. < as lemmas |
随便看 |
|
英语词典包含1132095条英英释义在线翻译词条,基本涵盖了全部常用单词的英英翻译及用法,是英语学习的有利工具。