Definition

1. Noun:

   • A whistle, hooter, or siren: A device used to make a loud, high-pitched sound for signaling or warning, typically by forcing air or steam through a narrow opening.
   • A horn (specifically on a vehicle): A device on a vehicle, like a car or train, used to produce a warning sound.

2. Adjective:

   • Stunted, underdeveloped: Describing a person, animal, or plant that is small, weak, and has not grown to a normal size due to illness, malnutrition, or poor conditions.

Usage Examples

• Noun:

  • Cảnh sát thổi còi. (The police officer blows a whistle.)
  • Tài xế bóp còi. (The driver honks the horn.)
  • Tiếng còi tàu vang lên. (The train's whistle sounded.)

• Adjective:

  • Đứa trẻ còi cọc vì suy dinh dưỡng. (The child is stunted due to malnutrition.)
  • Cây còi không phát triển trong bóng râm. (The stunted tree does not grow in the shade.)

Advanced Usage

• The noun "còi" is often part of compound terms specifying the type of whistle or its user.
  • còi cứu hỏa: fire engine siren.
  • còi hiệu: signal whistle.

Variants and Related Words

• Thổi còi (verb phrase): to blow a whistle.
• Bóp còi (verb phrase): to honk a horn (specifically for vehicles with a squeeze-bulb or button).
• Còi cọc (adjective): stunted and sickly (often used as a more emphatic form of the adjective "còi").

Synonyms

• Noun: Whistle, siren, hooter, horn.
• Adjective: Stunted, undersized, underdeveloped, puny.

Related Idioms

• Còi cọc (idiomatic adjective): Often used to emphasize poor physical development.
  • Khu vườn đầy cây cối còi cọc. (The garden is full of stunted and sickly plants.)

noun

1. Hooter, whistle, siren
   • thổi còi
     to blow a whistle
   • bóp còi ô tô
     to work one's car hooter, to hoot
   • kéo còi báo động
     to sound the alert (siren)
   • còi tàu hoả
     a train's whistle

adj

1. Stunted