puncture
part of speech
noun (a puncture, punctures); verb (puncture, punctures, punctured, puncturing)
meaning for a pupil
1) A puncture is a small hole made by something sharp, especially in a tyre so that the air comes out. tree →
2) To puncture something is to make a small hole in it. tree →
3) A puncture wound is a deep, small wound made by something pointed, like a nail. tree →
sense in the lessons
In everyday life a bike or car can «get a puncture» (UK) or «a flat tire» (US); learning to fix a puncture is a useful skill. In first aid, puncture wounds from nails or animal bites need cleaning and sometimes a doctor. Phrases: «get a puncture», «mend a puncture», «puncture repair kit», «puncture wound».
examples
- I got a puncture on my bike on the way to school. tree →
- Dad showed me how to mend a puncture. tree →
- A nail punctured the car tyre. tree →
- Be careful: the pin could puncture the balloon. tree →
- A puncture wound from a rusty nail needs a doctor's check. tree →
- We carry a puncture repair kit on long rides. tree →
note
Countable: puncture, punctures. In the USA «flat tire» or «a flat» is more common than «puncture». Spelling UK «tyre», US «tire». A deep puncture from something dirty or rusty can cause infection (tetanus), so tell an adult.
In the corpora
- With a puncture you walk the bike home or call a parent, and you can learn to fix it later.
- If your bike gets a puncture, walk it home or call a parent; you can learn to fix it later.
- A punctured tyre goes flat because the squashed air inside escapes through the hole to the lower pressure outside.
- In soapy water the air escaping from a punctured tube makes bubbles that show where the hole is.
- Tyres often get punctured by thorns and nails, so look at the tyre before looking for a villain.
Trees and pragmatics
Every meaning and example of «puncture» parsed by Mova, each sentence with its dependency tree and frames.