英语短语lock out是一个及物动词短语,核心含义是“将…拒之门外”,具体用法可分为以下几类:
最常见的用法,指因忘记带钥匙、故意锁门等原因,导致某人/某物无法进入某个封闭空间(如房子、车、房间等)。
结构:`lock sb/sth out (of sth)`(主动);`be locked out (of sth)`(被动)
例子:
I locked myself out of the house this morning—so embarrassing!(我今早把自己锁在房子外面了,太尴尬了!)
Don’t leave your dog in the car or you might lock it out accidentally.(别把狗留在车里,不然你可能不小心把它锁在外面。)
He was locked out of his apartment because he owed three months’ rent.(他因为欠了三个月房租,被锁在公寓外面。)
在劳工语境中,指雇主为迫使员工接受条件而关闭工厂,禁止员工上班(与“罢工”strike相对,是雇主的对抗手段)。
例子:
The factory locked out workers after contract negotiations broke down.(合同谈判破裂后,工厂对工人实行闭厂。)
Lockouts are often used by companies to pressure unions into accepting lower wages.(闭厂常被企业用来迫使工会接受降薪。)
较少见的引申用法,指“将某事物排除在考虑范围之外”或“隔绝干扰”。
例子:
She tried to lock out negative thoughts and focus on her exam.(她努力排除消极想法,专注于考试。)
The team decided to lock out any ideas that didn’t fit their budget.(团队决定排除所有超出预算的想法。)
必须带宾语:lock out是及物短语,后面需接“被锁/被排除的对象”(如sb/sth)。
与lock in的区别:lock in是“把…锁在里面;困住”(如lock the cat in the room 把猫锁在房间里),而lock out是“锁在外面”。
总结:lock out的核心是“拒绝进入”,既可以是物理上的“锁在门外”,也可以是抽象的“排除/闭厂”。理解时结合语境即可快速判断。