ash
ash — noun
1. fine grey dust, sometimes very dark, that you find sitting in a fireplace, ashtr
fine grey dust, sometimes very dark, that you find sitting in a fireplace, ashtray, or stove once the wood, coal, or tobacco inside it has finished burning.
Wren knelt by the fireplace and swept the cold ash into a metal bucket.
uncountable: cold/wet/fine ash
A thin layer of cigarette ash had fallen onto the wooden table.
collocation: cigarette ash
After the bonfire, the children poked sticks into the warm ash to find chestnuts.
Wind carried fine grey ash from the volcano across three nearby villages.
Please don't drop your cigarette ash on my new carpet, Wren.
用法筆記
Almost always uncountable in this sense. Common modifiers describe colour, temperature, or origin: cigarette ash, volcanic ash, fine ash, hot ash. The plural ashes belongs to sense 2 (cremated remains) or to sense 3 of the verb-related fixed phrases.
常見錯誤
2. the powdery remains of someone whose body was burned in a cremation, or of a bui
the powdery remains of someone whose body was burned in a cremation, or of a building, forest, or city wiped out by fire; usually kept in an urn or scattered at a meaningful place.
The family scattered Grandpa's ashes from a small boat off the coast of Penghu.
plural: someone's ashes; collocation: scatter the ashes
Jamal kept his mother's ashes in a small wooden urn on the bookshelf.
collocation: keep the ashes in an urn
Only a pile of ashes remained where the old library had stood.
Grandpa Wei told the family his ashes should be buried beside his wife under the orchid tree.
文法句型
someone's ashes
scatter the ashes
用法筆記
Used in the plural (ashes) when referring to a person's cremated remains or to what is left after a building or city has burned down. Distinguish from sense 1 (uncountable powder from any small fire): you sweep up ash from a fireplace, but you scatter someone's ashes.
常見錯誤
3. a tall deciduous tree, common in European woods, that has smooth grey bark, clus
a tall deciduous tree, common in European woods, that has smooth grey bark, clusters of small green flowers, and seeds that hang in winged bunches.
A row of tall ash trees lined the path from the village to the church.
often 'ash tree' to clarify the meaning
The old ash beside the pond was over two hundred years old.
A disease has killed many ash trees across Britain over the past decade.
We planted a young ash at the bottom of the garden last spring.
用法筆記
Often appears as 'ash tree' in writing to avoid confusion with sense 1 (the burnt powder). The plural is 'ash trees' or 'ashes' (rare and chiefly literary). Distinguish from sense 4, which refers to the wood cut from this tree.
4. the strong, springy, pale-coloured timber cut from the ash tree, prized for furn
the strong, springy, pale-coloured timber cut from the ash tree, prized for furniture, tool handles, hockey sticks, and traditional baseball bats.
The kitchen table was made of solid ash with a clear oil finish.
material noun: made of ash
Renata prefers ash for the handles of her garden tools because it bends without breaking.
Old Mr. Diaz still carves his baseball bats from ash in his small workshop in Brooklyn.
The ash floorboards in Aunt Mei's parlour creaked as the movers wheeled the upright piano inside.
用法筆記
Uncountable, like other timber names (oak, pine, maple). Distinguish from sense 3 (the living tree): a furniture-maker says 'a chair made of ash' (the wood) but plants 'an ash' (the tree). Often paired with verbs like carve, plane, turn, sand.
5. a soft, pale grey shade with no warmth or pink tint, often used to describe pain
a soft, pale grey shade with no warmth or pink tint, often used to describe paint, hair dye, or fabric.
Anaya dyed her hair a cool ash and posted a photo on her blog.
modifier of dye, paint, or finish colour
The bedroom walls were painted a pale ash that matched the linen curtains.
Designers offered the sofa in three shades: charcoal, ash, and cream.
Her ash-blonde hair caught the morning light through the kitchen window.
用法筆記
Most often appears as a compound modifier such as 'ash-blonde', 'ash-grey', or 'ash-brown' rather than as a stand-alone noun. The colour is defined by what it lacks (no red, no warmth) rather than what it contains.
6. the small trophy played for in the long-running Test cricket series between the
the small trophy played for in the long-running Test cricket series between the England and Australia men's teams, traditionally said to hold the burnt remains of a cricket bail.
England won back the Ashes at Lord's in front of a packed crowd.
always capitalised: 'the Ashes'
Captain Smith lifted the Ashes urn above his head while the Sydney crowd roared from the stands.
The first Ashes Test of the summer begins on Thursday at Edgbaston.
Young Ben Stokes scored two centuries in his debut Ashes series and became a hero in every English pub.
用法筆記
Always capitalised and preceded by 'the': the Ashes. Although the trophy itself is small, the word is used both for the urn and for the whole Test series. Common in British and Australian sports writing; unfamiliar to most American readers.
常見錯誤
7. a charity, written as the abbreviation of Action on Smoking & Health, that lobbi
a charity, written as the abbreviation of Action on Smoking & Health, that lobbies governments and the public to cut down tobacco use and protect non-smokers.
ASH welcomed the new ban on smoking in outdoor restaurant seating.
all caps when standing for the organisation
Dr. Hannah Lee, speaking for ASH outside Westminster, urged MPs to back the new tobacco display ban.
ASH has been campaigning against tobacco advertising since the 1970s.
Doctors in the audience applauded when the speaker quoted recent figures from ASH.
用法筆記
Written in all capitals (ASH) to mark it as an abbreviation, which separates it visually from the everyday noun 'ash'. Treated as a singular noun ('ASH says...', 'ASH has called for...').
ash — verb
1. to burn something down completely, so that only powdery residue is left behind.
to burn something down completely, so that only powdery residue is left behind.
The forest fire ashed every wooden cabin along the lake within an hour.
transitive: ash + something burnable
Workers ashed the contaminated paperwork in a controlled incinerator.
The farmer ashed the dry stalks and ploughed the residue back into the soil.
Centuries ago, invading armies ashed entire towns as a warning to neighbours.
- incinerate
the standard formal word; describes deliberate, controlled burning
- cremate
specifically for human or animal bodies in a furnace
文法句型
ash + noun
用法筆記
Rare and slightly formal or technical. Most everyday speakers prefer 'burn down', 'reduce to ashes', or 'incinerate'. Subject is usually fire, an army, or an industrial process; the object is something destroyed beyond recovery.
2. to knock the loose grey tip off a cigarette or cigar with a tap of the finger, u
to knock the loose grey tip off a cigarette or cigar with a tap of the finger, usually into an ashtray.
Renata ashed her cigarette into an empty coffee cup on the porch.
object is usually cigarette/cigar
Please ash your cigar in the tray, not on the new rug.
Jamal ashed his cigarette and blew a thin grey cloud out of the kitchen window.
The actor ashed his prop cigarette between takes and chatted with the crew.
文法句型
ash + cigarette/cigar/joint
用法筆記
Informal and chiefly American. Object is almost always a cigarette, cigar, or joint; the location is usually marked with 'into' or 'in' (into the ashtray, in the tray). Distinguish from verb sense 1 (to burn something to ash) — here, the object is not destroyed; only its tip is removed.