slave
slave — 名詞
1. Someone who is legally the property of another person and must work without the
奴隸
被他人當作財產強迫勞動的人
Someone who is legally the property of another person and must work without the right to freedom or payment.
Haruto's great-grandfather was captured in West Africa and sold as a slave in the Americas.
Haruto 的曾祖父在西非被抓，然後被當作奴隸賣到美洲。
passive: sold as a slave + destination
Laws that treated slaves as property were finally abolished in Brazil in 1888.
巴西直到 1888 年才廢除了視奴隸為財產的法律。
collocation: treated as property / abolished
The museum exhibit showed the rough clothes that slaves wore in the cotton fields.
博物館的展覽展示了奴隸在棉花田裡穿的粗布衣服。
Amira read a book about a slave who escaped from a plantation at night.
Amira 讀了一本關於一名奴隸在夜裡逃出種植園的書。
- bondservant
Older, more formal term; often appears in historical or biblical texts
- chattel
Strictly legal term emphasising the person as property; dehumanising in tone
- serf
Historical term for a person tied to land in feudal systems, not individually owned
- freeperson
Someone with full legal rights and personal liberty
- master
The person who owns or controls a slave
用法筆記
Now used mainly in historical contexts to describe past systems of legal enslavement, particularly the transatlantic slave trade.
2. A person whose choices and daily life are completely ruled by a habit, desire, d
受制者
被某種習慣或慾望完全控制的人
A person whose choices and daily life are completely ruled by a habit, desire, duty, or demand, leaving them little freedom to choose otherwise.
Sivan is a slave to fashion and spends most of her salary on clothes.
Sivan 承認自己是時尚的奴隸，大部分薪水都花在買衣服上。
collocation: a slave to [influence]
Nikos felt like a slave to his job, answering emails even on holiday.
Nikos 覺得自己是工作的奴隸，連放假都在回電子郵件。
Heather became a slave to her exercise routine and could not skip a single day.
Heather 成了運動習慣的奴隸，一天都不能中斷。
Cyrus is tired of being a slave to his phone, checking it every few minutes.
Cyrus 厭倦了當手機的奴隸，每隔幾分鐘就要看一下。
- master
Someone in control of their own choices and habits
- independent person
Someone who makes free decisions without outside control
文法句型
a slave to + noun phrase
用法筆記
Almost always followed by the preposition 'to' introducing the dominating influence ('a slave to fashion,' 'a slave to routine').
常見錯誤
slave — 動詞
1. To work for long, hard hours, especially on a task that feels demanding or tirin
賣力工作
長時間辛苦地做某事
To work for long, hard hours, especially on a task that feels demanding or tiring.
Marta slaved over her history essay until three o'clock in the morning.
Marta 為了歷史報告苦幹到凌晨三點。
slaved + over [task]
Pedro has been slaving away in the kitchen all afternoon to finish the meal.
Pedro 整個下午都在廚房裡忙個不停，準備好這一餐。
phrasal pattern: slaving away + in [place]
Arjun slaved at the factory for twelve hours a day with only one short break.
Arjun 在工廠裡每天苦幹十二個小時，只有一次短暫休息。
Putri slaved over the hot stove, stirring the pot of soup for hours.
Putri 在熱爐前忙了好幾個小時，不停地攪拌一大鍋湯。
The whole team slaved away on the project every evening to meet the deadline.
整個團隊每天晚上都在趕這個專案，只為了在期限前完成。
- drudge
Suggests dull, boring work over long periods; less common in everyday speech
- toil
More formal and literary; emphasises physical effort and struggle
- grind
Very informal; suggests monotonous work, common in American English ('grinding away')
- labour
More neutral and formal; can be both intransitive and transitive
文法句型
slave + away
slave + over + noun phrase
slave + at + noun phrase
用法筆記
Almost always paired with 'away,' 'over,' 'at,' or 'on' to indicate the task or location. Using 'slave' alone without a particle sounds dated or unnatural in modern English.