segment
segment — noun
1. a distinct part of a larger thing that can be studied, discussed, or dealt with
a distinct part of a larger thing that can be studied, discussed, or dealt with on its own — such as an age group within a population, a set of customers who share similar buying habits, or a portion of a company's income.
The company focuses on the luxury segment of the car market.
collocation: market segment
Older adults make up the fastest-growing segment of the city's population.
segment + of + population
Vikram divided his report into three main segments so it would be easier to read.
A large segment of young voters said they cared most about education policy.
- whole
the entire thing rather than one of its parts
文法句型
segment + of + noun phrase
用法筆記
Frequently paired with market, population, or audience to label a subgroup within a larger system. The preposition of is almost always used to show what the segment belongs to.
常見錯誤
2. in geometry, any portion of a circle or sphere that is marked off from the main
in geometry, any portion of a circle or sphere that is marked off from the main shape using at least one boundary — such as the region of a circle lying between a chord and its outer arc, or a section of a sphere created by slicing through it with a flat plane.
Camila drew a chord across the circle and shaded the smaller segment.
visual geometry context
Each segment of a sphere has a curved surface and a flat circular base.
The maths problem asked students to find the area of a circular segment with a six-centimetre radius.
Indra drew two parallel planes through the model of a sphere to show its central segment.
- section
less precise; used for any cut part in geometry or diagrams
文法句型
segment + of + circle/sphere
用法筆記
In mathematics, 'segment' of a circle refers specifically to the region bounded by a chord and the arc it cuts off. Distinguish from 'sector', which is bounded by two radii. In everyday English this sense is rare — other senses of segment are far more common.
3. any of the wedge-shaped natural sections inside some fruits, especially citrus f
any of the wedge-shaped natural sections inside some fruits, especially citrus fruits such as oranges, grapefruits, and tangerines.
Isabela peeled the orange and pulled each segment apart carefully.
Each segment of a grapefruit is wrapped in a thin, slightly bitter skin.
natural division of a fruit
The children counted how many segments were inside their tangerines at snack time.
Zola squeezed lemon segments into a glass and added sugar to make lemonade.
文法句型
segment + of + fruit name
常見錯誤
4. a short, self-contained piece of audio or video content that is part of a longer
a short, self-contained piece of audio or video content that is part of a longer broadcast — for instance, a news story inside a TV bulletin, a recipe feature on a morning show, or a topical clip posted on social media.
The news segment about the earthquake lasted just under two minutes.
collocation: news segment
Karim watches the cooking segment of the morning show every weekday.
A short segment of the interview was posted on social media and went viral.
The radio programme has a five-minute segment where listeners call in with questions.
文法句型
segment + of + programme/show
TV segment
news segment
用法筆記
Often combines with the name of the programme type (news segment, cooking segment, comedy segment). Can also refer to video clips shared on platforms like YouTube or TikTok without a surrounding programme.
segment — verb
1. to break a larger thing into clearly separated smaller parts, typically so that
to break a larger thing into clearly separated smaller parts, typically so that each part can be studied, targeted, or handled differently — for example, sorting customers by age group or splitting a video file into short lessons.
The research team segmented the data by age and income level.
segment + data + by + criterion
Sven segmented the video into three short lessons for his online course.
The warehouse floor is segmented into different zones for packing and shipping.
Marketers often segment their audience so they can send more relevant adverts.
文法句型
segment + noun phrase + into + plural noun
be segmented + into
用法筆記
Common in business, marketing, and data analysis contexts. The passive form (be segmented into / be segmented by) is frequent because the focus is usually on the result of the division rather than who did it.