cable
cable — noun
1. a long line made up of one or more wires inside a plastic or rubber cover, used
a long line made up of one or more wires inside a plastic or rubber cover, used to carry electricity or to send phone, TV, or internet signals from one place to another.
Marcus tripped over the laptop cable and pulled the charger out of the wall.
everyday object: laptop / charger cable
The engineers ran a thick black cable from the generator to the kitchen.
pattern: run a cable from X to Y
A loose cable behind the TV was making the picture flicker every few minutes.
Workers in orange vests buried the new internet cables along the side of our street.
Lina labelled each cable with white tape so she could find the right one later.
文法句型
a cable for/to + noun
run a cable from X to Y
用法筆記
Often appears with a modifier that names what the cable carries: power cable, phone cable, network cable, USB cable. The plural cables is common when more than one wire runs together.
常見錯誤
2. a heavy rope made by twisting many strands of steel wire or strong fibre togethe
a heavy rope made by twisting many strands of steel wire or strong fibre together, used to hold up bridges, lift heavy loads, or anchor large ships.
Each tower of the Golden Gate Bridge holds up two huge steel cables.
collocation: steel cable
The ship's anchor hung from a thick cable that ran down into the dark water.
One of the cables on the old crane snapped, and the load crashed onto the ground.
Workers tightened the cables holding the temporary stage in place before the concert.
The lift was suspended by four strong cables, each tested every six months.
文法句型
a cable of + material
be held up by cables
用法筆記
Distinguish from sense 1: this cable is a load-bearing rope, not an electrical conductor. The subject context is engineering, ships, or heavy lifting; the typical material word is 'steel' rather than 'copper'.
常見錯誤
3. a way of paying for many TV channels that arrive at your home through a wire und
a way of paying for many TV channels that arrive at your home through a wire under the street, instead of through an antenna on the roof or through the internet.
Grandma still pays for cable so she can watch her cooking shows every afternoon.
pattern: pay for cable
The football match is only available on cable, not on regular TV.
pattern: on cable (preposition)
After the family moved to the countryside, they could not get cable in their new house.
Many young people in Taipei have cancelled cable and watch everything through streaming apps instead.
Our cable went out during the storm, so the children played board games by candlelight.
- broadcast TV
free channels sent through the air rather than through a wire
- streaming
newer alternative that uses the internet instead of a cable connection
文法句型
on cable
have cable
get cable
用法筆記
Uncountable — never use 'a cable' or 'cables' in this sense. Distinguish from sense 1: in sense 1 a cable is the physical wire; here, cable is the paid TV service that uses such wires. Often shortened from 'cable TV' or 'cable television'.
常見錯誤
4. a short written message that, before email and mobile phones, was sent very quic
a short written message that, before email and mobile phones, was sent very quickly across the sea using electrical signals, then printed out and delivered to the person who received it.
In 1942 my grandfather sent a cable to his mother in Lisbon to say he was safe.
pattern: send a cable to + person
The journalist filed her story by cable from a small post office in Hong Kong.
collocation: file a story by cable
A short cable arrived from London with the news that the deal had been signed.
The embassy received an urgent cable warning of a coming storm.
Old cables in the museum showed how diplomats kept in touch before the telephone became common.
文法句型
send a cable to + person
receive a cable from + person
用法筆記
Old-fashioned in everyday English; you will mostly meet this sense in history books, novels set before about 1980, and diplomatic writing. In modern contexts, prefer 'email', 'message', or 'telegram'.
常見錯誤
cable — verb
1. to fit a building, street, or whole town with the wires that are needed for TV,
to fit a building, street, or whole town with the wires that are needed for TV, telephone, or internet service to reach it.
The town council voted to cable every village in the valley by the end of next year.
pattern: cable + place
Our neighbourhood was finally cabled for high-speed internet last spring.
passive pattern: be cabled for + service
Workers in yellow helmets are cabling the new housing estate this week.
Older parts of the city have not been cabled yet, so people there still use mobile data.
文法句型
cable + place
be cabled for + service
用法筆記
Frequently passive: 'X was cabled for Y'. The subject of the active form is usually a company or local authority, not an individual. Distinguish from verb sense 2: this sense is about putting cables into the ground; sense 2 is about sending a written message.
常見錯誤
2. to contact someone in another country quickly by sending a short electrical mess
to contact someone in another country quickly by sending a short electrical message that is then printed out for them — the way people did before the internet.
Sarah cabled her parents from Buenos Aires to say her ship had arrived safely.
pattern: cable + somebody + (message)
The reporter cabled the news of the king's death back to the London office within an hour.
Our great-grandfather cabled that he would arrive in New York on the next steamship.
During the war, soldiers could only cable home twice a month because of strict rules.
文法句型
cable + somebody + (message)
cable that + clause
cable from + place
用法筆記
Old-fashioned; modern English uses 'email', 'text', or 'message' instead. You will mostly meet this verb in novels, biographies, and history writing about the late 19th and early 20th century.