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Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary fence
USAGE often attributive ETYMOLOGY Middle English fens, short for defens defense DATE 14th century 1. archaic : a means of protection : defense 2. a. a barrier intended to prevent escape or intrusion or to mark a boundary; especially : such a barrier made of posts and wire or boards b. an immaterial barrier or boundary line on the other side of the fence in the argument 3. fencing 14. a. a receiver of stolen goods b. a place where stolen goods are bought • fence·less·ness noun • • • - on the fence
verb (fenced ; fenc·ing) DATE 15th century transitive verb 1. a. to enclose with a fence b. (1) to keep in or out with a fence (2) to ward off 2. to provide a defense for 3. to sell (stolen property) to a fence intransitive verb 1. a. to practice fencing b. (1) to use tactics of attack and defense resembling those of fencing (2) to parry arguments by shifting ground 2. archaic : to provide protection • fenc·er noun English Etymology fence 1. fence (n.) early 14c., shortening of defens (see defense). Spelling alternated between -c- and -s- in M.E. Sense of "enclosure" is first recorded 1510s. Fencible (early 14c.) means "capable of making a defense." Sense of "dealer in stolen goods" is thieves' slang, first attested c.1700, from notion of such transactions taking place under defense of secrecy. To be figuratively on the fence "uncommitted" is from 1828, from the notion of spectators at a fight. 2. fence (v.) "fight with swords," 1598, first recorded in "Merry Wives of Windsor"; from the noun in this sense (1533), see fence (n.). Fencing is from 1581. In spite of the re-enactment in 1285 of the Assize of Arms of 1181, fencing was regarded as unlawful in England. The keeping of fencing schools was forbidden in the City of London, "as fools who delight in mischief do learn to fence with buckler, and thereby are encouraged in their follies." Oxford Advanced Learner's Dictionary-牛津双解-OALD7 ☞ fence fence / fens / noun1. a structure made of wood or wire supported with posts that is put between two areas of land as a boundary , or around a garden / yard, field, etc. to keep animals in, or to keep people and animals out 栅栏；篱笆；围栏 2. a structure that horses must jump over in a race or a competition (障碍赛马中的)障碍物 3. (informal) a criminal who buys and sells stolen goods 买卖赃物者；销赃犯 IDIOMS ⇨ see grass n., mend v., side n., sit verb1. [VN] to surround or divide an area with a fence (用栅栏、篱笆或围栏)围住,隔开: His property is fenced with barbed wire. 他的房地产四周围有带刺的铁丝网。 ⇨ see also unfenced 2. [V] to take part in the sport of fencing 参加击剑运动 3. [V] ~ (with sb) to speak to sb in a clever way in order to gain an advantage in the conversation 搪塞；支吾；回避 PHRASAL VERBS ▪ 7fence sb / sth ↔ 'in [often passive] 1. to surround sb / sth with a fence (用栅栏、篱笆或围栏)围住,关住 2. to restrict sb's freedom SYN hem sb in
限制自由: She felt fenced in by domestic routine. 她感到被日常家务束缚住了。 ▪ 7fence sth ↔ 'off [often passive] to divide one area from another with a fence (用栅栏、篱笆、围栏)隔开 Oxford Collocations Dictionary for Students of English fence noun ADJ. high | low | barbed-wire, chain-link, iron, mesh, metal, picket, wire, wooden There was a cottage garden at the front and a white picket fence. | electric | boundary, garden, perimeter, security the airport perimeter fence | political (figurative) a proposal favoured by people on both sides of the political fence VERB + FENCE build, erect, put up | climb (over), jump (over) FENCE + NOUN post PREP. over a/the ~ She leaned over the fence. | ~ around/round a fence around the site OLT fence noun ⇨ wall Webster's Third New International Dictionary, Unabridged fence I. \ˈfen(t)s\ noun (-s) Usage: often attributive Etymology: Middle English fens, short for defens — more at defense 1. archaic : a means of protection or security : defense < my whole body wanted a fence against heat and cold — Jonathan Swift > 2. a. : a barrier intended to prevent escape or intrusion or to mark a boundary < large areas of range were put under fence > as (1) : a structure of posts and boards, wire, pickets, or rails commonly used as an enclosure for a field or yard < erected a fence that was horse high, hog tight, and bull strong > (2) : something legally constituting an enclosure around land (as a bank of earth high enough to confine livestock) b. : something resembling a fence in appearance or function < a teapot rimmed with a silver fence > < a fence of mountains around the valley > < built a radar fence across the continent > : an immaterial barrier or boundary line < erected legislative fences to control the development of industrial and residential areas > < on the other side of the fence in the argument > c. (1) : an obstacle met in fox hunting that can be jumped (as a fence, hedge, brook, or chicken coop) (2) : an artificial obstacle on the course of a steeplechase or horse show : jump d. : fencing 33. : fencing 4 < books of fence > 4. a. : a receiver of stolen property : a dealer in stolen goods b. : a place where stolen goods are bought and sold 5. a. : an attachment to a plane, saw bench, or woodworking machine that controls the location or extent of the cut — see beading plane illustration b. : an attachment to a marking gauge that serves to guide the marking 6. : a projection on a lock forming an obstruction to throwing the bolt except when the gatings of the tumblers are properly arranged (as by the key) to allow the fence to pass 7. : a means of political support for an officeholder, candidate, or institution : a political interest — usually used in plural < building his fences for election as governor — Springfield (Massachusetts) Daily News > < the tedious, tricky, and often tense art of diplomatic fence-mending — Newsweek > 8. : a fixed plate that projects from the upper surface of an airplane wing and sometimes continues around the leading edge, that is substantially parallel to the airstream, and that is used to prevent spanwise flow — called also stall fence • - on the fence II. verb (-ed/-ing/-s) Etymology: Middle English fensen, from fens, n. transitive verb 1. a. : to surround, separate, or delineate with or as if with a fence :erect a fence around or along (as a field or boundary) < he fenced his yard with white pickets > < mountains fence in the valley > < fence off a corner of the sea with dikes > < the canonical books are those the church has fenced off from other writings > b. : to keep in or out with or as if with a fence: as (1) : to secure in an enclosure : confine < fence sheep > (2) : to restrict the activity of < minds that were fenced round with dogma > (3) : to ward off : repel , exclude < laws that fence out undesirable immigrants > 2. : to provide a defense or screen for : give security to : protect < a motorcycle escort on each side fenced the celebrity's limousine > : shield < she had fenced his tatters even from her own eyes — Mary King > : hedge < fences his doctrines with the specious plea that statesmen must live as the world lives — Times Literary Supplement > 3. Scots law a. : to open the proceedings of (the parliament or a court of law) with a form of words forbidding persons to interrupt or obstruct the proceedings unnecessarily b. : to secure or strengthen (a provision in a contract) by a condition (as by a clause imposing forfeiture) 4. : to sell (stolen property) with criminal intent : dispose of (stolen goods) gainfully especially to a fence < the gang stole cars and fenced them themselves > — compare receive 5. : to turn aside : evade , parry < the chairman fences awkward questions > intransitive verb 1. a. : to practice the art of fencing < he fences daily with a skilled foilsman > b. : to use tactics of attack and defense resembling those of fencing (as thrusting, guarding, parrying) < the tennis players fenced for an opening > c. : to baffle inquiry by equivocation or evasion : parry arguments by shifting ground < he fences skillfully on the witness stand > 2. obsolete : to provide protection or security : guard or defend oneself — used with against < a constant endeavor to fence against the infirmities of ill health — Laurence Sterne > 3. : to leap a fence — used of a horse and rider or a greyhound < the hunter fences leaving a safe but not wasteful space above the jump > 4. : to build or repair a fence < when farmers fenced with rails > Synonyms: see dodge , enclose • - fence the tables |
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