mask

Word family

Related topics: Performing, Leisure

ldoce_217_emask1 /mɑːsk $ mæsk/ noun [countableC] → masque

1 HIDE/MAKE IT HARD TO FIND OR SEEPROTECTsomething that covers all or part of your face, to protect or to hide it 面具；面罩；口罩

a surgical face mask

外科手术口罩

He was attacked and robbed by two people wearing masks.

他被两个蒙面人袭击并抢劫。

APDLsomething that covers your face, and has another face painted on it, which is used for ceremonies or special occasions 假面具，假面

a Halloween mask

万圣节面具

3 [usually singular]HIDE/NOT SHOW an expression or way of behaving that hides your real emotions or character 伪装；掩饰 SYN front

Her sarcasm is a mask for her insecurity.

她讽刺挖苦是为了掩饰她的不安全感。

4 a substance that you put on your face and leave there for a short time to clean the skin or make it softer 面膜 SYN face pack

a facial mask

面膜

Examples from the Corpus

mask• His face was a mask, friendly, but in an impersonal way.• You will need to think carefully about modifiers for wearing a mask.• At the Spinning Wheel Puppets exhibit, children can create masks and puppets.• In Japanese Kabuki theater, the actors wear special masks.• I put my hand over my nose and mouth like a surgical mask just in case I inhaled any of Senga.• Workers in surgical masks are running a hydraulic compressor and tractor-trailer drivers are warming up their big rigs.• Keep the gondola, the mask too.• But can the child transcend the blackness and wear the white mask with pride?

wearing masks• Some members said it degraded the chamber to allow outlaws wearing masks to address it.

mask2 verb [transitiveT]

1 NOTICEif a smell, taste, sound etc is masked by a stronger one, it cannot be noticed because of the stronger one 盖住〔气味、味道、声音等〕

Liz turned on a radio to mask the noise.

利兹打开收音机来盖过噪音。

Air-fresheners mask bad smells instead of removing them.

空气清新器只是掩盖住臭味，而不是除掉臭味。

► see thesaurus at hide

2 HIDE/NOT SHOWto hide your feelings or the truth about a situation 掩饰，隐瞒，掩盖

Men often mask their true feelings with humour.

男人常常用幽默来掩饰他们真实的情感。

3 HIDE/MAKE IT HARD TO FIND OR SEEto cover or hide something so that it cannot be clearly seen 遮盖，遮住

The new accommodation block has all but masked the original building.

新的宿舍楼几乎把原来的大楼挡住了。

Examples from the Corpus

mask• His public image masked a history of divorce and family problems.• All of this mumbo-jumbo masks a large vacuum of uncertainty.• It occurred to her that her inability to contemplate changing her teaching methods might mask an actual inability to change them.• The wall can be cleaned of graffiti and masked by vegetation.• Quiet reaction in camps masks desperation of boat people.• Some may mask instead of eliminate the odor, and others are not safe for use around food.• To deny our depression, to mask it, or to try to escape it for ever leads to misery.• Throughout history, herbs and spices have masked odors and unpleasant flavors.• It reflects the inviolability of family life that in our society helps to mask the darker side of caring and dependency.• And he thinks the gloss that surrounds some 4AD groups is only there to mask the lack of real songs.• Small children find it hard to mask their emotions.

Origin mask1

(1500-1600) French masque, from Old Italian maschera

Chinese

Corpus