thorn
Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English 5++LDOCE 5++thorn /θɔːn $ θɔːrn/ ●○○ noun 1. [countable]HBP a sharp point that grows on the stem of a plant such as a rose 〔玫瑰等植物茎上的〕刺2 [countable, uncountable]HBP a bush or tree that has thorns 带刺的灌木，荆棘 a long, low hedge of thorns 一长排矮矮的荆棘树篱3 a thorn in somebody’s side PROBLEMsomeone or something that annoys you or causes problems for a long period of time 某人的肉中刺〔指长时间让你心烦或给你惹麻烦的人或事〕，使人苦恼[招来麻烦]的人[事] He’s been a thorn in the side of the party leadership for years. 他多年来一直是该党领导人心头的一根刺。
Examples from the Corpus
thorn• Others carried head-bundles of leaves and grass for the sheep and goats now penned behind thorn fences beside the houses.• Half a dozen thorns and two or three elders grew together above and below a bank.• He reached through brambles lined with blood-drawing thorns thick as knives that cut through his shirt sleeves and trousers.• Whether clipped into shape or left natural, barberry is a formidable barrier thanks to its dense foliage and profusion of thorns.• I called across a tall thorn fence towards the shelter.• The thorn trees crowned the edge of a little valley where ran a track as old as the land itself.Origin thorn Old Englishthorn nounChinese
a grows Corpus on sharp point stem the that
thorn
thorn /θɔːn $ θɔːrn/
noun
2. [uncountable and countable] a bush or tree that has thorns:
a long, low hedge of thorns
3. a thorn in sb’s side someone or something that annoys you or causes problems for a long period of time:
He’s been a thorn in the side of the party leadership for years.
thorn /θɔːn $ θɔːrn/
noun Language: Old English
1. [countable] a sharp point that grows on the stem of a plant such as a rose2. [uncountable and countable] a bush or tree that has thorns:
3. a thorn in sb’s side someone or something that annoys you or causes problems for a long period of time:
