mac

mac — noun

1. a coat made from waterproof material that you wear to stay dry when it rains

1.名詞B1
釋義

a coat made from waterproof material that you wear to stay dry when it rains

例句

Zola wore her old mac on the rainy walk to school.

countable noun with possessive 'her'

Ilan took his mac when the sky turned dark and cloudy.

同義詞
  • mackintosh

    the original full form of the word, less common in daily conversation

  • raincoat

    a general term for any waterproof coat; 'mac' specifically refers to a lighter, typically knee-length style

文法句型

a/the + mac

possessive + mac

用法筆記

More common in British English than American English. The full form 'mackintosh' is used less often in everyday speech.

常見錯誤

❌Take your mac with you in the summer.
✅Take your mac with you in case it rains.
💡'mac' is for rain protection; using it for general sun weather sounds odd.

2. a casual way to call out to a male stranger whose name you have not been told

2.名詞B2
釋義

a casual way to call out to a male stranger whose name you have not been told

例句

Hey, mac, do you know what time the next bus arrives?

interjection 'hey' + address term in sentence-initial position

Watch where you are going, mac, the old man said with a frown.

address term in sentence-final position

同義詞
  • buddy

    equally informal but more common in American English

  • mate

    common in British and Australian English for addressing a stranger

文法句型

used at the start or end of a spoken sentence

用法筆記

Considered old-fashioned by many younger speakers. Can sound rude or overly familiar depending on tone. Typically used only by men addressing other men in informal settings.

常見錯誤

❌Excuse me, mac, can you tell me where the library is?' (in formal context)
✅Use 'Excuse me, sir' in polite or formal situations.
💡'mac' is too casual for polite requests.

3. a brand of personal computer made by Apple that uses the macOS operating system

3.名詞B1
釋義

a brand of personal computer made by Apple that uses the macOS operating system

例句

Quan uses a Mac for editing videos at his design studio.

indefinite article 'a' before brand name

The new Mac weighs much less than the old desktop model.

同義詞
反義詞
  • PC

    a computer running Windows rather than macOS

文法句型

a/the + Mac

Mac + noun (modifier)

possessive + Mac

用法筆記

Usually capitalised as a brand name. Frequently shortened further in compounds like 'MacBook', 'Mac mini'. Can be used as a countable noun (one Mac, two Macs).

常見錯誤

❌I bought a new mac yesterday with the Apple logo.
✅I bought a new Mac yesterday with the Apple logo.
💡The computer sense should be capitalised 'Mac' to distinguish it from the raincoat.