ointment

ointment — noun

1. a thick, greasy paste — often holding a small amount of medicine — that you spre

1.名詞B2
釋義

a thick, greasy paste — often holding a small amount of medicine — that you spread on sore, itchy, or injured skin so it heals faster or stops hurting.

例句

The nurse gave Mei a small tube of antibiotic ointment to put on her cut every night.

antibiotic ointment + apply to a wound

Carlos rubbed cooling ointment into his sunburned shoulders after the day at the beach.

rub ointment into [body part]

同義詞
  • salve

    very close in meaning; slightly old-fashioned, often homemade or herbal

  • balm

    soothing paste, often scented or for lips; less medical than ointment

  • cream

    lighter and water-based; absorbs faster than ointment

  • unguent

    formal or literary; rarely used in everyday speech

文法句型

apply ointment to [body part]

rub ointment on/into [body part]

a tube of ointment

用法筆記

Distinguish from 'cream' and 'lotion': an ointment is the greasiest of the three (oil-based, sits on the skin and lasts longer), a cream is lighter and absorbs faster, and a lotion is the thinnest (water-based, often pourable). Doctors choose ointment when they want the medicine to stay on dry or broken skin.

常見錯誤

❌I put the ointment in my eye.
✅I put the ointment on my eye / in my eye area.
💡for skin, use 'on'; only specially-labelled 'eye ointment' goes near the eyeball, and even then 'apply to the lower eyelid' is more accurate.
❌She applied the ointment to her hair.
✅She applied the conditioner / hair mask to her hair.
💡'ointment' is for skin, not hair.