hatch

hatch — 動詞

1. when a baby bird, fish, or insect breaks the shell of its egg and comes out; or

1.動詞及物 / 不及物B1
釋義

孵化

卵生動物破殼而出，或使卵孵化

when a baby bird, fish, or insect breaks the shell of its egg and comes out; or when someone helps this happen by keeping the eggs warm

例句

The ducklings **hatched** from their eggs and followed their mother to the pond.

小鴨們一大早就從蛋裡孵出來，然後跟著母鴨去了池塘。

intransitive: hatch from an egg

For her science project, Élise used an incubator to **hatch** chicken eggs in her classroom.

Élise 用一個小型孵蛋器在教室裡孵小雞蛋，作為科學專題作業。

transitive: hatch [eggs] with an incubator

同義詞
  • emerge

    more general — anything can emerge; hatch is specific to eggs

  • incubate

    incubate means keeping eggs warm; hatching is the result of incubation

文法句型

hatch [intransitive] — the egg/chick hatches

hatch [transitive] — the mother/incubator hatches the eggs

用法筆記

The phrasal verb hatch out emphasises the moment of breaking through the shell: 'The chicks hatched out at dawn.' The transitive pattern (hatch eggs) is common when describing human-controlled incubation, while the intransitive pattern is used for the natural process.

常見錯誤

❌The egg cracked and a chick came out.' (avoiding the word 'hatch').
✅The egg cracked and the chick hatched.
💡'hatch' is the specific verb for a baby animal coming out of an egg.

2. to think of and develop a plan or idea, especially one that is kept secret from

2.動詞及物B2
釋義

策劃；密謀

秘密擬定計劃或計謀

to think of and develop a plan or idea, especially one that is kept secret from others

例句

Three students **hatched** a plan to surprise their teacher on the last day of school.

三名學生策劃了一個計劃，要在學期最後一天給老師一個驚喜。

collocation: hatch a plan

The criminals **hatched** a secret scheme to break into the museum vault at midnight.

那些罪犯密謀了一個秘密計劃，要在半夜潛入博物館的保險庫。

collocation: hatch a scheme (often secret or illegal)

同義詞
  • devise

    more neutral and intellectual — less secretive than hatch

  • concoct

    similar level of secrecy; often suggests something clever or cunning

  • plot

    stronger negative tone; implies planning something harmful or illegal

文法句型

hatch + a plan / a scheme / a plot / an idea

用法筆記

This sense of hatch is always followed by the object being planned (a plan, scheme, plot, or idea). It often carries a tone of secrecy or trickery, but can also be used playfully for harmless surprises.

常見錯誤

❌They hatched to escape from prison.
✅They hatched a plan to escape from prison.
💡hatch must take a direct object (a plan, scheme, etc.), not an infinitive.

hatch — 名詞