fence
fence — noun
1. a flat upright barrier made from wood, metal, or wire that marks the edge of a p
a flat upright barrier made from wood, metal, or wire that marks the edge of a piece of land, or stops people or animals from going into or out of an area.
The farmer built a wooden fence around the vegetable garden to keep the deer out.
collocation: wooden fence / build a fence
Sayaka climbed over the fence to get her ball back from the neighbour's yard.
verb phrase: climb over a fence
A tall iron fence separates the school playground from the busy main road.
The children sat on the fence and watched the horses in the nearby field.
Ramón painted the white fence along the front of the house last spring.
用法筆記
Often used in compounds: garden fence, wire fence, boundary fence. Unlike a wall, a fence is not made of stone or brick and is usually see-through.
常見錯誤
2. a person who makes money by buying and selling items that have been stolen.
a person who makes money by buying and selling items that have been stolen.
The police arrested the fence who had been selling stolen jewellery for years.
register: informal criminal slang
Padma realised the shop was a fence when she spotted her camera on police records.
Detectives followed the stolen paintings until they reached a well-known fence in the city.
The thief sold the phones to a local fence for a fraction of their value.
- receiver
the formal legal term for someone who buys stolen property
- dealer in stolen goods
descriptive and more neutral, not slang
用法筆記
Slang term used in criminal contexts. In formal or legal language, 'receiver of stolen goods' is preferred.
常見錯誤
fence — verb
1. to take part in a sport where two competitors use thin swords called foils to tr
to take part in a sport where two competitors use thin swords called foils to try to score points by touching each other.
Dario has been fencing since he was twelve and has won three national medals.
verb pattern: has been fencing (present perfect continuous)
The two athletes fenced for nearly an hour before the match was finally decided.
Megan took up fencing at the local club to improve her speed and balance.
At the world championships, the team fenced against opponents from more than twenty different countries.
文法句型
fence against someone
用法筆記
Intransitive only — you do not fence someone as an object. The noun 'fencing' is more common than the verb in everyday use.
常見錯誤
2. to put a fence around a piece of land or an area, usually to mark where it ends
to put a fence around a piece of land or an area, usually to mark where it ends or to control who or what can go in or out.
The farmer fenced the pasture to stop the sheep from wandering onto the road.
standard transitive use
Iris fenced off the back garden so that the children could play safely.
phrasal: fence off an area
The construction site was fenced to keep the public away from the dangerous equipment.
Soraya plans to fence the vegetable patch to protect it from the rabbits.
文法句型
fence something off
fence something in
用法筆記
Usually used with a place or area as the object. The particle 'off' emphasises separation ('fence off a dangerous area'), while 'in' keeps things inside ('fence in the chickens').
常見錯誤
3. to buy and sell things that have been stolen, especially as a regular way of mak
to buy and sell things that have been stolen, especially as a regular way of making money.
The shopkeeper was arrested for fencing stolen electronics from warehouse robberies.
pattern: fencing stolen [goods]
Brandon was accused of fencing the designer handbags that had been taken in the burglary.
Police believe the antiques dealer had been fencing stolen art for more than a decade.
The gang fenced the stolen cars through a network of small independent garages.
- sell stolen goods
descriptive phrase without the slang register
文法句型
fence something (stolen goods)
用法筆記
Highly informal criminal slang. In formal writing, use 'handle stolen goods' or 'deal in stolen property' instead.