stencil

stencil — noun

1. A stencil is a thin flat piece of plastic, metal, or cardboard that has shapes o

1.名詞B1
釋義

A stencil is a thin flat piece of plastic, metal, or cardboard that has shapes or letters cut through it. You put it against a wall, fabric, or paper and then brush or spray paint across the openings. The paint goes through the cut areas and leaves a copy of the shape on the material underneath.

例句

Brandon cut a leaf shape from cardboard to use as a stencil for art class.

use [object] as a stencil

The teacher handed each student a plastic stencil with the letters of the alphabet.

同義詞
  • template

    Broader term — templates can be digital guides or full-size paper patterns; stencils are always physical sheets with cut-out openings.

  • mask

    Used mainly in spray-painting and screen-printing; a mask typically blocks more area than it reveals.

常見錯誤

I bought a stencil of a flower on my shirt.
I bought a shirt with a stencil of a flower on it.
💡A stencil is the tool used to print a pattern, not the pattern itself; the pattern is on the shirt, not the tool.

2. A mark, image, or piece of text that appears on a surface after paint or ink has

2.名詞B2
釋義

A mark, image, or piece of text that appears on a surface after paint or ink has been applied through a cut-out template and the template has been lifted away.

例句

The walls of the shop were covered with colourful stencils of leaves and vines.

stencil + on [surface] (the finished design)

Tanvi pointed at the stencil above the door — a blue circle with a star inside.

同義詞
  • print

    More general — produced by any printing method; a stencil is a specific kind of print made through a cut-out template.

  • design

    Can refer to any decorative motif drawn by hand; a stencil is always the physical result of printing through a template.

  • pattern

    Often implies repetition; a stencil may be a single image or a repeating motif.

用法筆記

This sense refers to the finished pattern or image, not the tool used to create it. Compare with sense 1 (CUT-OUT TEMPLATE).

stencil — verb