immobilise
part of speech
verb (immobilise, immobilises, immobilised, immobilising; US spelling immobilize)
meaning for a pupil
1) To stop someone or something from moving or working. tree →
2) (first aid) To keep an injured body part still, for example with a splint or sling, so it does not get worse. tree →
3) To stop a vehicle from being started, as with a car alarm or wheel clamp. tree →
sense in the lessons
In first-aid and safety lessons, you immobilise a broken arm with a sling and do not move someone who may have a neck injury. In science stories, a spider's venom immobilises its prey. In everyday life cars have immobilisers to stop thieves. Phrases: immobilise the injury, immobilise the prey, immobilise a car.
examples
- The first-aider used a sling to immobilise my broken arm. tree →
- The spider's bite immobilises the fly. tree →
- Snow and ice immobilised the whole town. tree →
- The car has a device that immobilises the engine if it's stolen. tree →
- Don't move someone who might have hurt their neck; paramedics will immobilise it. tree →
- The cold immobilised the lizard until the sun warmed it. tree →
note
UK «immobilise», US «immobilize». Noun: «immobilisation»; a car's anti-theft device is an «immobiliser». Related adjective «immobile».
Trees and pragmatics
Every meaning and example of «immobilise» parsed by Mova, each sentence with its dependency tree and frames.