squirt
squirt — verb
1. to make a liquid come out of a tiny hole quickly in a thin jet
to make a liquid come out of a tiny hole quickly in a thin jet
Henry squirted dish soap into the sink and turned on the hot water.
transitive: squirt + liquid + into + container
Daichi squeezed the orange too hard, and juice squirted all over the counter.
intransitive: liquid squirts out unintentionally
Tara filled the water pistol and squirted a thin stream at the wooden fence.
A thick black liquid squirted out of the broken pipe in the basement.
Gabriela squirted ketchup onto her little brother's hot dog at the barbecue.
文法句型
squirt + liquid + into/onto + container
squirt + out
用法筆記
Frequently used with an adverb or prepositional phrase showing the direction of the liquid (out, into, onto, all over).
常見錯誤
2. to aim a stream of liquid at someone or something, getting them wet
to aim a stream of liquid at someone or something, getting them wet
Baraka squirted his cousin with water from a toy dolphin at the pool.
transitive: squirt + person + with + liquid
The cook squirted the hot frying pan with oil before adding the eggs.
Eliska laughed and squirted a stream of water at the dusty car window.
The children squealed when their uncle squirted them with the spray bottle.
Eitan squirted the rose bushes with soapy water to keep the insects away.
文法句型
squirt + somebody/something + with + liquid
squirt + liquid + at + target
用法筆記
The target is always a person, animal, or object that gets hit by the stream. The instrument (bottle, hose, lemon) is often mentioned with the preposition 'with'.
常見錯誤
squirt — noun
1. a fast jet of liquid produced when a liquid is forced from a small hole
a fast jet of liquid produced when a liquid is forced from a small hole
A squirt of lemon juice made the salad taste much brighter.
collocation: a squirt of [liquid]
Anong added a squirt of hand soap to the basin before washing the dishes.
Chidi gave the dry plant a quick squirt of water from his spray bottle.
A small squirt of oil stopped the rusty hinge from squeaking.
Maeve wiped a squirt of ketchup off the table with a paper towel.
文法句型
a squirt of + liquid
用法筆記
Frequently used in recipes and household instructions to indicate a small, imprecise amount (a squirt of oil, a squirt of lemon).
2. an insulting word for a young person who behaves rudely or without proper respec
an insulting word for a young person who behaves rudely or without proper respect
The old gardener shouted at the little squirt who had stepped on his flowers.
informal: used as an insult for a young person
Some rude squirt threw popcorn at the back of my head during the film.
An angry neighbour complained that a squirt had kicked a ball through her window.
The manager told the mouthy squirt to leave the shop and not come back.
A couple of young squirts were spray-painting graffiti on the empty building.
- brat
similar register and insulting tone, also focuses on bad behaviour
- whippersnapper
old-fashioned, humorous, less harsh insult for a young person
用法筆記
Strongly informal and insulting. Used to express anger or annoyance at a young person's behaviour, never as a neutral description of age. Often preceded by 'little' or 'young'.