cloud
/klaud/
Học thuậtThân thiện
Definition
Noun:
- A visible mass of condensed water vapor or ice crystals floating in the atmosphere: This is the most common meaning, referring to the white or gray formations seen in the sky.
- A similar visible mass of particles or gas: This can refer to any visible collection of fine particles, such as dust, smoke, or steam.
- A large number of small things massed together: This refers to a dense, moving group of insects, birds, or other small entities.
- A state or cause of gloom, suspicion, or trouble: This figurative meaning describes something that casts a shadow over a situation or a person's mood or reputation.
Verb:
- To become or make less clear or transparent: This can refer to liquids becoming milky or vision becoming obscured.
- To make confused, doubtful, or obscure: This refers to making thoughts, memories, or situations less clear or certain.
- To cover or darken with or as if with clouds: This describes the sky becoming overcast or a person's face showing sadness or anger.
- To spoil or tarnish: This means to mar something, such as a reputation or a happy occasion.
Usage Examples
Noun:
- Look at that white, fluffy cloud in the sky.
- A cloud of dust rose from the dirt road as the car passed.
- A cloud of locusts descended on the fields.
- The scandal cast a cloud over his entire career.
Verb:
- The steam from the kettle clouded the window.
- His anger clouded his judgment, and he made a bad decision.
- Her face clouded with worry when she heard the news.
- The allegations clouded the company's good name.
Advanced Usage
"under a cloud": experiencing suspicion, disgrace, or depression.
- After the financial discrepancies were found, the manager left the company under a cloud.
"every cloud has a silver lining": a proverb meaning that there is a positive aspect to every bad situation.
- I lost my job, but every cloud has a silver lining—it gave me the chance to start my own business.
"head in the clouds": to be out of touch with reality, daydreaming, or having impractical ideas.
- He's a great visionary, but sometimes he has his head in the clouds.
Variants and Related Words
Cloudy (adj): covered with clouds; not clear or transparent.
- It's a cloudy day, so we might not go to the beach.
- The water in the old bottle was cloudy.
Cloudless (adj): clear, without any clouds.
- We enjoyed a picnic under a cloudless blue sky.
Cloud computing (n): the practice of using a network of remote servers hosted on the internet to store, manage, and process data.
- Many companies now store their data in the cloud.
Synonyms
- Noun (mass in sky): vapor, mist, fog.
- Noun (mass of particles): haze, plume, billow.
- Noun (gloom): shadow, pall, gloom.
- Verb (obscure): blur, dim, becloud.
- Verb (sully): tarnish, stain, mar.
Related Phrasal Verbs
Cloud over:
- (of the sky) to become covered with clouds.
- The sky clouded over and it started to rain.
- (of a face or mood) to become sad, angry, or troubled.
- Her expression clouded over when she remembered the argument.
Cloud up:
- to become covered with condensation, making it difficult to see through.
- My glasses clouded up when I walked into the warm room.
Related Idioms
On cloud nine: to be extremely happy.
- She's been on cloud nine ever since she got the promotion.
A cloud on the horizon: a problem or trouble that is expected in the future.
- The only cloud on the horizon is the upcoming exam.
Noun
- a group of many things in the air or on the ground
- a swarm of insects obscured the light
- clouds of blossoms
- it discharged a cloud of spores
- suspicion affecting your reputation
- after that mistake he was under a cloud
- a cause of worry or gloom or trouble
- the only cloud on the horizon was the possibility of dissent by the French
- out of touch with reality
- his head was in the clouds
- a visible mass of water or ice particles suspended at a considerable altitude
- any collection of particles (e.g., smoke or dust) or gases that is visible
Verb
- make milky or dull
- The chemical clouded the liquid to which it was added
- colour with streaks or blotches of different shades
- make less clear
- the stroke clouded memories of her youth
- place under suspicion or cast doubt upon
- sully someone's reputation
- make gloomy or depressed
- Their faces were clouded with sadness
- billow up in the form of a cloud
- The smoke clouded above the houses
- make less visible or unclear
- The stars are obscured by the clouds
- the big elm tree obscures our view of the valley
- make overcast or cloudy
- Fall weather often overcasts our beaches