wick
/wik/
Học thuậtThân thiện
Definition
- Noun:
- A cord in a candle or lamp: A loosely woven piece of string or cord, typically made of cotton, that draws liquid fuel (like melted wax or oil) upward through capillary action to the flame.
- A surgical drain: A strip of gauze or other material placed in a wound to drain fluid by capillary action.
Examples of Usage
- Noun:
- The candle's wick needs to be trimmed before lighting it.
- The nurse inserted a sterile wick to help the wound heal.
Advanced Usage
- "To get on someone's wick" (British English, informal): To annoy or irritate someone greatly.
- His constant whistling really gets on my wick.
Variants and Related Words
- Wicking (noun): The action or process of drawing moisture away from a surface, often used in fabric technology.
- This shirt's fabric has excellent wicking properties to keep you dry.
- Wickless (adjective): Lacking a wick.
- A wickless candle uses a different method to release fragrance.
Synonyms
- Candlewick: Specifically refers to the wick of a candle.
- Drain: A more general term for a device or material used to remove fluid, though not specific to capillary action.
- Tape: In a medical context, a gauze strip can be synonymous with a surgical wick.
Related Phrases
- "Dip one's wick" (vulgar slang): To have sexual intercourse. (Note: This is highly informal and potentially offensive.)
Related Idioms
- "To be at the end of one's wick": To be completely exhausted of patience or energy; at the end of one's tether.
- After dealing with the children all day, she was at the end of her wick.
Noun
- a loosely woven cord (in a candle or oil lamp) that draws fuel by capillary action up into the flame
- any piece of cord that conveys liquid by capillary action
- the physician put a wick in the wound to drain it