poison

 Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English 5++朗文当代英语 5++LDOCE 5++朗文 5++

Related topics: Daily life

poi·son1 /ˈpɔɪzən/ ●●○ noun  1  [countable, uncountable]DHARM/BE BAD FOR a substance that can cause death or serious illness if you eat it, drink it etc 毒素；毒物；毒药 Belladonna and red arsenic are deadly poisons. 颠茄和雄黄都是致命的毒物。 a box of rat poison (=poison to kill rats) 一盒鼠药 He swallowed some type of poison. 他吞下了某种毒药。2  HARM/BE BAD FOR[countable] something such as an emotion or idea that makes you behave badly or become very unhappy 使人不愉快的情绪，有害的思想 Hatred is a poison that will destroy your life. 仇恨是一种毒药，它会毁掉你的生活。3. what’s your poison? old-fashioned spokenDRINK a humorous way of asking which alcoholic drink someone would like 你想喝什么穿肠毒物？〔指酒，幽默用法〕 → one man’s meat is another man’s poison at meat(4)n COLLOCATIONSverbstake/swallow poisonHe committed suicide by taking poison.give somebody poisonShe admitted two charges of giving poison to her daughter.administer poison formal (=give it to someone)He could not have administered the poison that had put Mark in a coma.put poison in somethingShe put poison in his wine.lace something with poison (=put poison in something)He laced the emperor's tea with poison.put poison down (=put it somewhere to kill an animal)One way of getting rid of rats or mice is to put poison down.adjectivesa deadly poisonThe berries contain a deadly poison.a slow-acting/quick-acting poisonCyanide is a very strong, quick-acting poison.a virulent poison (=one that makes someone very ill or kills them)Scorpions produce a virulent poison.phrasesa dose of poison (=an amount of poison)He had taken a massive dose of poison.a trace of poison (=a small amount of poison that is still present somewhere)Traces of the poison were found in the family car.

Examples from the Corpus

poison• Nationalism is a poison that has caused much suffering.• Villagers could have been sitting on a chemical poison with untold consequences to health.• The circuitry was composed of electric eels, and there were colorful fish and liquid poisons and numerous examples of evil.• One side of the apple was white and had no poison.• He wore a white uniform and carried a spray can of poison with a long wand.• But then the truth about the massive doses of poison which Allitt administered to those babies in her care was uncovered.• At the camp, the doctor gave me a choice: rat poison or the stick.• The child was rushed to the hospital after eating rat poison.• Stay calm and keep the child calm: panic speeds poison absorption.• Cyanide fishermen learn exactly where and when grouper go to spawn; they then squirt their poison with practiced precision.rat poison• He said he only wanted to kill himself and claimed he ate rat poison and planned to inhale car exhaust fumes.• At the camp, the doctor gave me a choice: rat poison or the stick.• Gullible hadn't been driving a great big lorry around the place and putting down rat poison.• Somewhere in Ohio a doctor has been jailed for feeding rat poison to his colleagues.• She gave him rat poison and then she took him out back and she had Howard bury him in her garden.• At first I jumped like a kid without hamstrings who had ingested rat poison for breakfast.• Just himself and Eloise, a cleaver, a gun, a spoonful of rat poison.• The rat poison and insecticide was taken from a van at Farm lane in Crawley near Witney.

Related topics: Environment & waste

poison2 ●○○ verb [transitive]  1  HARM/BE BAD FORKILLto give someone poison, especially by adding it to their food or drink, in order to harm or kill them 毒害；毒杀 She was accused in 1974 of poisoning her second husband, Charles. 1974 年她被控毒死了她的第二任丈夫查尔斯。 He killed several people by poisoning their tea. 他在茶里下毒杀死了几个人。poison somebody with something Helms attempted to poison his whole family with strychnine. 赫尔姆斯企图用马钱子碱毒死全家人。2  if a substance poisons someone, it makes them sick or kills them 〔物质〕毒害，毒死 Thousands of children were poisoned by radiation. 数千名儿童遭受辐射的毒害。3  SGPDIRTYto make land, rivers, air etc dirty and dangerous, especially by the use of harmful chemicals 尤指有害化学物〕污染〔土地、河流、空气等〕 Pesticides are poisoning our rivers. 杀虫剂正在污染我们的河流。4  HARM/BE BAD FORto have very harmful and unpleasant effects on someone’s mind, emotions, or a situation 毒害〔思想、情绪等〕，对…有不良的影响，危害 Her childhood had been poisoned by an abusive stepfather. 她的童年被粗暴的继父毁掉了。 The law will only serve to poison relations between the US and Mexico. 这条法律只会危害美国和墨西哥的关系。 Television violence is poisoning the minds of young people. 电视暴力毒害着年轻人的思想。► see thesaurus at spoil5. poisoned chalice an important job that someone is given, which is likely to cause them a lot of trouble 金杯毒酒〔喻指可能给接受者带来很多麻烦的重要工作〕 —poisoner noun [countable]→ See Verb table

Examples from the Corpus

poison• The yeast must be pure, or the stars would be poisoned.• A small amount of lead paint can severely poison a child.• Our marriage was poisoned by mistrust, deceit and jealousy.• Seabirds are being poisoned by toxins in the water.• In a short time, his appointment has come to look like a poisoned chalice.• She plotted a new method to kill Snow White: with a poisoned comb.• For over a year, Jane fought against the cancer that had poisoned her blood.• Hill poisoned her husband and daughter for the insurance money.• He believed that somebody was trying to poison him.• Steven thought that someone had poisoned his food.• He sacrificed the end, doubtful in any case at that time, be-cause bad means would poison it.• Kendall believes that sex on TV is poisoning our children's minds.• It ventured forth only to kill cattle or flatten crops, poisoning the air with its fetid breath.• Chemical waste has poisoned the city's water supply.• She had already poisoned three members of her own family with arsenic.• When they toasted, she exchanged her cup for his, and he drained the poisoned wine.poison somebody with something• Two of the victims had been poisoned with arsenic.Origin poison1 (1200-1300) Old French “drink, poisonous drink, poison”, from Latin potio; → POTION

poi·son1 noun →n COLLOCATIONS1poison2 verbLDOCE OnlineChineseSyllable  

Corpus a that can substance cause death

poison

I

poi‧son¹ /ˈpɔɪzən/ noun1. [uncountable and countable] a substance that can cause death or serious illness if you eat it, drink it etc:
    Belladonna and red arsenic are deadly poisons.
    a box of rat poison (=poison to kill rats)
    He swallowed some type of poison.
2. [countable] something such as an emotion or idea that makes you behave badly or become very unhappy:
    Hatred is a poison that will destroy your life.
3. what’s your poison? old-fashioned spoken a humorous way of asking which alcoholic drink someone would like
⇨ one man’s meat is another man’s poison at meat(4)
     

COLLOCATIONS

■ verbs
   ▪ take/swallow poison He committed suicide by taking poison.
   ▪ give somebody poison She admitted two charges of giving poison to her daughter.
   ▪ administer poison formal (=give it to someone) He could not have administered the poison that had put Mark in a coma.
   ▪ put poison in something She put poison in his wine.
   ▪ lace something with poison (=put poison in something) He laced the emperor's tea with poison.
   ▪ put poison down (=put it somewhere to kill an animal) One way of getting rid of rats or mice is to put poison down.
■ adjectives
   ▪ a deadly poison The berries contain a deadly poison.
   ▪ a slow-acting/quick-acting poison Cyanide is a very strong, quick-acting poison.
   ▪ a virulent poison (=one that makes someone very ill or kills them) Scorpions produce a virulent poison.
■ phrases
   ▪ a dose of poison (=an amount of poison) He had taken a massive dose of poison.
   ▪ a trace of poison (=a small amount of poison that is still present somewhere) Traces of the poison were found in the family car.

II

poison² verb [transitive]
1. to give someone poison, especially by adding it to their food or drink, in order to harm or kill them:
    She was accused in 1974 of poisoning her second husband, Charles.
    He killed several people by poisoning their tea.
    poison somebody with something
    Helms attempted to poison his whole family with strychnine.
2. if a substance poisons someone, it makes them sick or kills them:
    Thousands of children were poisoned by radiation.
3. to make land, rivers, air etc dirty and dangerous, especially by the use of harmful chemicals:
    Pesticides are poisoning our rivers.
4. to have very harmful and unpleasant effects on someone’s mind, emotions, or a situation:
    Her childhood had been poisoned by an abusive stepfather.
    The law will only serve to poison relations between the US and Mexico.
    Television violence is poisoning the minds of young people.
5. poisoned chalice an important job that someone is given, which is likely to cause them a lot of trouble
—poisoner noun [countable]
     

THESAURUS

   ▪ spoil to have a bad effect on something so that it is much less attractive, enjoyable etc: New housing developments are spoiling the countryside. | The bad weather completely spoiled our holiday.
   ▪ ruin to spoil something completely and permanently: Using harsh soap to wash your face can ruin your skin. | The argument ruined the evening for me.
   ▪ mar written to spoil something by making it less attractive or enjoyable: His handsome Arab features were marred by a long scar across his face. | Outbreaks of fighting marred the New Year celebrations.
   ▪ detract from something to slightly spoil something that is generally very good, beautiful, or impressive: The huge number of tourists rather detracts from the city’s appeal. | There were a few minor irritations, but this did not detract from our enjoyment of the holiday.
   ▪ undermine to spoil something that you have been trying to achieve: The bombings undermined several months of careful negotiations.
   ▪ sour to spoil a friendly relationship between people or countries: The affair has soured relations between the UK and Russia.
   ▪ poison to spoil a close relationship completely, so that people can no longer trust each other: Their marriage was poisoned by a terrible dark secret.
   ▪ mess something up informal to spoil something important or something that has been carefully planned: If there’s any delay, it will mess up our whole schedule.