1
preen (one's feathers)
用于鸟类时，preen 后常接 feathers 或反身代词，表示用喙梳理羽毛。
The bird preens its feathers every morning.
这只鸟每天早晨用喙整理羽毛。
用喙梳理；用嘴整理（羽毛）
preened — past of preen
先理解核心含义，再看它在真实句子里的用法。
用喙梳理；用嘴整理（羽毛）
clean or smooth (feathers) with the bill
The bird preens its feathers every morning.
这只鸟每天早晨用喙整理羽毛。
别住；固定
To pin; fasten.
(鸟)用喙梳理羽毛
To groom; to trim or dress the feathers with the beak.
精心打扮并欣赏自己
To spend time making oneself attractive and admiring one's appearance, e.g. in front of a mirror.
炫耀；装腔作势
To show off, posture, or smarm.
preen
Base
原形
preens
3rd person
第三人称单数
preening
-ing
现在分词
preened
Past
过去式
preened
Past participle
过去分词
Birds preen their feathers to keep them clean.
鸟类梳理羽毛以保持清洁。
She preened herself in front of the mirror before the party.
聚会前她在镜子前精心打扮了自己。
The peacock is preening its colorful tail.
孔雀正在整理它那色彩斑斓的尾羽。
规则动词，过去式和过去分词均为 preened；可作及物或不及物，本义指鸟类用喙整理羽毛，也常引申为精心打扮或自鸣得意。
The sparrow landed on the branch and began to preen its feathers.
麻雀落在树枝上，开始用喙梳理羽毛。
She spent a long time preening in front of the mirror before the dinner party.
晚宴前，她在镜子前花了很长时间精心打扮。
The peacock preened itself in the morning sun, spreading its colorful tail.
孔雀在晨光中精心整理自己，展开五彩的尾羽。
用于鸟类时，preen 后常接 feathers 或反身代词，表示用喙梳理羽毛。
The bird preens its feathers every morning.
这只鸟每天早晨用喙整理羽毛。
用于人时含贬义或戏谑意味，暗示过分注重外表。
She spent an hour preening herself before the party.
她在聚会前花了一小时精心打扮。
on 或 over 后接成就或优点，常带自满色彩。
He preened himself on his perfect attendance record.
他为自己全勤的记录感到得意。
Not this
He preened on his success.
Use this
He preened himself on his success.
表示“因……而自鸣得意”时，preen 必须接反身代词 oneself，再接 on 引出对象；不能省略 oneself 直接说 preen on。
Not this
She preened the rose bushes.
Use this
She pruned the rose bushes.
preen 指鸟类用喙整理羽毛或人精心打扮，prune 才是修剪植物；二者拼写相近但含义不同。
Focus on the distinctions below. Other candidates are kept compact until a reliable usage note is available.
（鸟）用喙梳理羽毛
The swan stopped to preen its feathers.
天鹅停下来用喙梳理羽毛。
因……而沾沾自喜
He preened himself on his excellent exam results.
他为自己优异的考试成绩而沾沾自喜。
在镜子前精心打扮
He spent a long time preening before the mirror.
他在镜子前花了好长时间精心打扮。
得意洋洋；趾高气扬
She preened with pride when the audience applauded.
观众鼓掌时，她得意洋洋。
因……感到自豪；因……沾沾自喜
She preened herself on winning the award.
她因获奖而洋洋得意。
精心打扮自己；自鸣得意
He was preening his feathers after receiving the compliment.
受到称赞后，他得意洋洋。
Use preened naturally, then get feedback on meaning, tone, grammar, and phrasing.
Revisit a common error or keep this word in your review list.
把 preen 想成鸟用喙（p 像喙）认真整理羽毛，理完还要打扮自夸：梳理、打扮、得意，三步联想记住它。
语域：mixed 常见场景：bird grooming、self-congratulation、careful dressing up preen 的语体随语境变化：描述鸟类用喙整理羽毛时属于中性表达；用于人表示“精心打扮”或“自我庆贺”时，多带有正式或轻微揶揄的语气，日常口语中不算常见。通常较常见于书面描述或文学语境。
表示“自鸣得意”时，常用反身代词 oneself 作宾语，如 preen oneself。
Dictionary facts from ECDICT, WIKTIONARY.