mint
mint — 名詞
1. a green plant with leaves that have a strong cool taste and a fresh smell, used
薄荷
葉片具清涼香氣的芳香植物
a green plant with leaves that have a strong cool taste and a fresh smell, used to add flavour to food, drinks, and products such as toothpaste.
Min added fresh mint leaves to the lemonade for a cool summer drink.
Min 在檸檬水中加入了新鮮薄荷葉，做成清涼的夏日飲料。
collocation: fresh mint / mint leaves
The recipe requires mint sauce to go with the roast lamb.
這道食譜需要薄荷醬來搭配烤羊肉。
collocation: mint sauce
Élise grows mint in a pot on her kitchen windowsill all year round.
Élise 在廚房的窗臺上用花盆種薄荷，一年四季都種。
Peppermint and spearmint are the two most common types of mint found in supermarkets.
胡椒薄荷和綠薄荷是超市中最常見的兩種薄荷。
Ari ordered a cup of hot mint tea after the meal.
Ari 吃完飯後點了一杯熱的薄荷茶。
- peppermint
a specific type of mint with a stronger, more pungent flavour; often used in sweets and teas
- spearmint
the most common culinary mint, milder than peppermint, used in savoury dishes and drinks
文法句型
mint as a countable plant species
mint as an uncountable herb/leaf
2. a small sweet or candy that has a strong cool taste of mint oil, often eaten aft
薄荷糖
帶薄荷味的糖果或點心
a small sweet or candy that has a strong cool taste of mint oil, often eaten after a meal to freshen the breath.
Henry offered me a mint after dinner to freshen my breath.
Henry 飯後給了我一顆薄荷糖讓口氣清新。
The box of chocolates had a soft green mint in the middle.
那盒巧克力中間有一顆綠色軟心薄荷糖。
noun form: a mint (single sweet)
Rachid always keeps a packet of sugar-free mints in his car.
Rachid 車上總是放一包無糖薄荷糖。
Omar sucked on a mint while waiting for the job interview to begin.
Omar 一邊等著工作面試開始，一邊含著一顆薄荷糖。
- breath mint
specifically designed to freshen breath, often less sweet
- peppermint
a mint-flavoured sweet made with peppermint oil; can also refer to the plant itself
文法句型
a mint / two mints
packet of mints
3. a government building or factory where metal coins and sometimes medals or bankn
鑄幣廠
政府製造硬幣的工廠
a government building or factory where metal coins and sometimes medals or banknotes are officially produced.
The Royal Mint produces all the coins used in the United Kingdom.
英國皇家鑄幣廠生產英國使用的所有硬幣。
proper noun: the Royal Mint
The mint in Philadelphia has been striking coins since 1792.
費城的鑄幣廠從 1792 年就開始鑄造硬幣了。
capitalised when referring to a specific institution
Security at the national mint is extremely tight because of the gold stored there.
國家鑄幣廠的安檢非常嚴格，因為裡面存放著黃金。
Ingrid visited the old mint building on the school trip and watched coins being stamped.
Ingrid 在學校旅行時參觀了舊鑄幣廠大樓，親眼看到硬幣被壓製出來。
- coin factory
a descriptive term for any facility that makes coins; less official-sounding than 'mint'
文法句型
the Mint (proper noun for a specific institution)
用法筆記
Often capitalised (the Mint) when referring to a specific national institution such as the Royal Mint or the US Mint.
4. so much cash that it counts as a fortune — the word appears only in the singular
鉅款
非常大量的金錢
so much cash that it counts as a fortune — the word appears only in the singular fixed phrase a mint, as in cost a mint or make a mint.
Pim made a mint selling his apartment in Tokyo just before the market dropped.
Pim 在市場下跌前賣掉了東京的公寓，賺了一大筆錢。
fixed expression: make a mint (= earn a lot of money)
The company paid a mint for that thirty-second Super Bowl advertisement.
那間公司為了三十秒的超級盃廣告付了一大筆錢。
That vintage car collection must be worth an absolute mint.
那批老爺車收藏肯定值一筆鉅款。
Ravindra's grandmother owned a small shop that made a mint during the festival season.
Ravindra 的祖母有一家小店，在節日期間賺了一大筆錢。
文法句型
a mint
make a mint
cost a mint
worth a mint
用法筆記
Always used in the singular 'a mint'. The plural 'mints' in the money sense does not exist — it only refers to the sweets or the factories.
常見錯誤
mint — 形容詞
1. describing a stamp, coin, or other collectible item that has never been used and
未使用過的
保持全新狀態（郵票、錢幣等）
describing a stamp, coin, or other collectible item that has never been used and looks exactly as it did when it was first made.
The collector paid top price for a mint stamp from 1850.
那位收藏家花了高價買了一張 1850 年未使用過的郵票。
attributive use: mint stamp
Dewi owns a mint copy of the first Superman comic from 1938.
Dewi 擁有一本 1938 年第一版《超人》漫畫，品相完好如新。
The banknote was still mint, crisp and completely untouched.
那張紙幣還是全新的，硬挺挺的，完全沒有人碰過。
Asher found mint coins at the estate sale, still in their original packaging.
Asher 在遺產拍賣會上找到一組未使用過的硬幣，還裝在原來的包裝裡。
- unused
simpler, more general term for stamps/coins; lacks the collector-market prestige of 'mint'
文法句型
mint + noun (stamp/coin)
still mint
用法筆記
Most commonly used of postage stamps and coins. For other items the phrase 'mint condition' (sense 2 below) is more natural.
2. in perfect physical condition, looking or working as well as when it was new — u
完好如新的
狀態完美，像全新的一樣
in perfect physical condition, looking or working as well as when it was new — used especially of used goods, cars, books, clothing, and collectibles.
Christopher bought a used car that was in mint condition with only ten thousand miles.
Christopher 買了一輛二手車，狀況極新，里程數只有一萬英里。
key phrase: in mint condition
The novel is almost fifty years old but the pages are still in mint condition.
這本小說已經將近五十年了，但書頁仍然完好如新的。
Sofia found a mint vintage leather jacket at the charity shop for twenty dollars.
Sofia 在慈善二手店以二十美元買到一件狀況極新的 vintage 皮夾克。
Lara sold her mint condition camera online for almost the same price she paid new.
Lara 把那臺狀況極新的相機以接近原價的價格在網路上賣掉了。
- pristine
more formal; suggests untouched and unspoiled, often of natural or manufactured things
- flawless
focuses on absence of defects rather than newness
- immaculate
emphasises perfect cleanliness and the absence of any marks
文法句型
in mint condition
mint + noun
用法筆記
The fixed phrase 'in mint condition' is by far the most common use of this sense. It can modify nouns directly ('a mint-condition car') or follow the verb 'to be' ('the car is mint').
常見錯誤
mint — 動詞
1. to make coins, medals, or banknotes from metal at an official factory by stampin
鑄造
在官方工廠製造硬幣
to make coins, medals, or banknotes from metal at an official factory by stamping or pressing.
The government minted a special set of gold coins to celebrate the Olympic Games.
政府鑄造了一套特殊的金幣來慶祝奧運。
active: government minted coins
Silver coins are minted only when the price of silver makes production worthwhile.
只有在銀價使生產划算的時候，才會鑄造銀幣。
passive: coins are minted
Ziad's grandfather helped mint pennies at the national mint for over thirty years.
Ziad 的祖父在國家鑄幣廠鑄造便士長達三十多年。
A newly minted one-pound coin features a different design on each side.
新鑄造的一英鎊硬幣兩面有不同的圖案。
文法句型
mint + coin/medal/note
be minted (passive)
newly minted
用法筆記
The participle 'newly minted' is also used metaphorically for someone who has just graduated or started a new role ('a newly minted doctor').
2. to create a new word, phrase, or expression that people begin to use in everyday
創造新詞
創造新的詞語或表達方式
to create a new word, phrase, or expression that people begin to use in everyday language.
The term 'staycation' was minted around 2005 to describe holidays spent at home.
「在家度假」(staycation) 這個詞大約在 2005 年被創造出來，用來描述在家過的假期。
passive: term was minted + time reference
Iris minted the phrase 'digital nomad' in her blog post about remote work in 2015.
Iris 在 2015 年的一篇部落格文章中創造了「數位遊民」(digital nomad) 這個說法。
Many new technology-related words are minted every year in Silicon Valley.
矽谷每年都會創造出許多與科技相關的新詞。
The advertising agency minted a catchy slogan that soon appeared on billboards nationwide.
那家廣告公司創造了一句朗朗上口的口號，不久就出現在全國的看板上。
文法句型
mint + word/phrase/term
be minted (passive)
用法筆記
Distinguish from the fixed idiom 'coin a phrase' (meaning 'to use a well-known expression, often ironically'). 'Mint a phrase' is not a fixed idiom — 'mint' here means to create something new in the language, while 'coin a phrase' is a set expression that always uses 'coin'.