Word · Frequency #23633
fetter
脚镣
a shackle for the ankles or feet
- 1.
A chain or similar object used to bind a person or animal, often by its legs.
- 2.
Anything that restricts or restrains.
束缚；羁绊；羁绊；束缚
In use
Strict regulations can fetter creativity in the classroom.
The project was fettered by a lack of funds.
Fettering employees with too many rules reduces their motivation.
fetters of sth
fetters 常用复数形式表示抽象束缚。
The country threw off the fetters of colonial rule.
这个国家摆脱了殖民统治的束缚。
in fetters
字面义表示戴着脚镣，多用于历史或文学语境。
The captive was kept in fetters.
俘虏被戴上脚镣关押。
fetter sb/sth
该用法侧重限制自由发展。
The new rules would fetter small businesses.
新规定会束缚小企业。
be fettered by sth
被动语态强调受制于某因素。
Progress is often fettered by bureaucracy.
进步常常受到官僚体制的束缚。
Common mistakes
Education should be free from all fetter.Education should be free from all fetters.
名词 fetter 表抽象义“束缚/羁绊”时为可数名词，常用复数 fetters；汉语“束缚”不可数，所以易漏 -s。all 后须接复数可数名词，故改为 fetters。
This old rule is a fetter to progress.This old rule is a fetter on progress.
名词 fetter 表“束缚/阻碍”时搭配介词 on，构成 a fetter on...；受汉语“……的束缚”中“对”的影响，学习者常误用 to，故应改为 on。
Connections
Collocations
- be fettered by
- 被…束缚
- Many employees are fettered by outdated company policies.许多员工受到过时的公司政策的束缚。
- break the fetters
- 打破枷锁
- The movement aimed to break the fetters of censorship.这场运动旨在打破审查制度的枷锁。
- fetters of tradition
- 传统的束缚
- She finally freed herself from the fetters of tradition.她终于摆脱了传统的束缚。
- political fetters
- 政治束缚
- Journalists faced political fetters in the authoritarian state.在那个威权国家，记者们面临政治束缚。
- be in fetters
- 戴着脚镣；受束缚
- The prisoner was in fetters as he was led into the court.囚犯被带进法庭时戴着脚镣。
Idioms & figurative uses
Learner notes
Memory Tip
联想：fetter 与 feet（脚）形似，镣铐锁在脚上，引申为束缚。
Context & Register
语域：formal 常见场景：formal writing、literary works、historical accounts fetter 通常用于正式或文学性语境，既可指真实的脚镣，也常比喻“束缚、限制”。日常口语中较少出现，多用于书面语、历史描述或正式议论；总体属于正式语体，使用时注意场合。
Pronunciation & Spelling
Words that rhyme with fetter /ˈfetə/: better, letter, setter, sweater, debtor, wetter all end with the /etə/ sound. Watch out for lookalikes that do not rhyme: fitter /ˈfɪtə/, feature /ˈfiːtʃə/, fever /ˈfiːvə/.
Learn the forms together
页面下方列出了常见词形变化。学习时注意它们在句子中的语法位置。
Dictionary facts from ECDICT, WIKTIONARY.