at
preposition
ukstrong/æt/weak/ət/usstrong/æt/weak/ət/atpreposition(PLACE)
A1
used to show anexactpositionorparticularplace:
（表示地点或位置）在…里；在…上；在…旁We'llmeetyou at theentrance.我们会在入口处跟你碰头。
Thatbitat thebeginningof thefilmwasbrilliant.电影开头的那一段精彩极了。
She'ssittingat thetablein thecorner.她坐在角落的一张桌子旁。
She wasstandingat thetopof thestairs.她在楼梯顶端站着。
Thedogcame andlaydown at(= next to)myfeet.这只狗过来趴在我的脚边。
There's someone at thedoor(= someone isoutsideandwantsto come in).有人敲门。
Wespenttheafternoonat afootballmatch.我们下午去看了场足球比赛。
Ienjoyedmy threeyearsatuniversity.我在大学度过了3年美好的时光。
I called her but she was atlunch(= away,eatingherlunch).我打电话给她，但是她出去吃午饭了。
- Securitycheckshavebecomereallystrictat theairport.
- Sheworkson thecheckoutat thelocalsupermarket.
- The twovanscollidedat thecrossroads.
- Why wasn't Stephen at themeeting, then?
- Turnleftat thetrafficlights, and you'llseethehospitalstraightahead.
In & at
- depth
- dime
- en-
- endogenous
- from withinidiom
- hereunder
- in
- inyourtracksidiom
- indoor
- indoors
- inner
- inner circle
- inside
- interior
- intra-
- inward
- midst
- on a dimeidiom
- therein
- thick
atpreposition(TIME)
A1
used to show anexactor aparticulartime:
（表示确切或某一时间）在…时刻；在…期间；在…岁时There's ameetingat 2.30 thisafternoon.今天下午两点半有个会。
Are youfreeatlunchtime?吃午饭的时候你有空吗？
Intheory, women can still havechildrenat theageof 50.理论上说，妇女到了50岁仍可以生育。
Thebellsringatregularintervalsthrough theday.在一天中，这些钟每隔一段时间就会准时鸣响。
At notime/pointdid thecompanydo anythingillegal.这家公司从未做过任何违法的事情。
I'mbusyatthemoment(= now)- can youcallbacklater?我现在很忙，你过一会儿再打回来行吗？
It's ashameI wasn't here tomeetyou - I wasoverseasatthetime(= then).真可惜那次我不在，没有见到你——那时我在国外呢。
- People inBritainlegallyreachadulthoodat 18.
- Riotershurledrocksandpetrolbombsinclasheswithpoliceat theweekend.
- My lastclassendsat 4 o'clock.
- I always like toleavemydeskclearat the end of theday.
- I wasmarriedwith fourchildrenatyourage.
Describing when something happened or will happen
- at short noticeidiom
- be
- by
- coincident
- for
- hundred
- immediately
- in
- line
- movable feast
- notice
- on
- somewhere along the lineidiom
- space
- time
- timestamp
- up
- within
- zero hour
atpreposition(DIRECTION)
A1
in thedirectionof:
对着…；朝着…Shesmiledat me.她对我微笑了一下。
Theywavedat us as wedroveby.我们驱车经过时，他们朝我们挥手。
Sheaimedat thetarget.她瞄准目标。
"Look at me! Look at me!" called the littlegirl.“看看我！看看我！”那个小女孩叫道。
He's alwaysshoutingat thechildren.他老是冲着孩子们大喊大叫。
- Theoldmanclenchedhisfistandwaveditangrilyat us.
- She could nolongercontainherangerandshoutedat himuncontrollably.
- Thetalksareaimedatfindingamutuallyagreeablesolution.
- Shedartedanangrylookat me and Ishutup.
- Hefiredsixshotsat thetarget, but hisaimwasterrible, and hemissedall of them.
Describing movement towards
- -wards
- -ways
- convergent
- earthward
- facing
- for
- forward
- forwards
- hither
- inwards
- on
- oncoming
- onward
- onwards
- thither
- to
- up
- ward
- way
- wise
atpreposition(CAUSE)
A2
used to show thecauseof something,especiallyafeeling:
（尤指感觉是）由于，因为，作为对…的反应We weresurprisedat thenews.我们听到这个消息很吃惊。
I wasquiteexcitedat theprospect.想到这种前景，我激动不已。
Why does no oneeverlaughat myjokes?为什么我讲了笑话，从来就没人笑呢？
- There was achorusofdisapprovalat his words.
- It was acourageousdecisiontoresigninprotestat the company'spollutionrecord.
- Helookedverydisappointedattheirdecision, but did notargue.
- Icringedat thesightof mydaddancing.
- We were alldelightedat thenews.
Linguistics: connecting words which introduce a cause or reason
- as
- because
- because of
- case
- courtesy
- cuz
- dint
- except
- except thatidiom
- from
- herein
- inasmuch as
- insofar as
- light
- order
- owing to
- since
- that
- virtue
- with
atpreposition(ACTIVITY)
B1
used to show theactivityin which someone'sabilityis beingjudged:
在…方面I was never very good atsports.我从来都不太擅长体育运动。
He's very good at getting on withpeople.他很善于跟人打交道。
She'shopelessatorganizingthings.她办什么事情都没有条理，简直不可救药。
- I'm not much good atknitting.
- Dave isnormallyverybadatrememberingbirthdays.
- Iexpectedher to bebetteratFrenchafterstudyingit for so manyyears.
- Yourmother's reallybrilliantatScrabble.
- You'reevenworseatmathsthan I am!
atpreposition(EMAIL ADDRESS)
A1
the @symbolthatjoinsthenameof apersonor adepartmentin anorganizationto adomainnameto make anemailaddress:
（电子邮件地址中的）符号@"What'syouremailaddress?" "It'sdictionaryat cambridgedotorg."“你的电邮地址是什么？”“是 dictionary@cambridge.org。”
- Granddadwrote'at' in theaddressinsteadof the @symbol- that's why it didn'twork.
- Where is thekeyfor 'at' on thiskeyboard?
- Youmissedout the @ inyouremailaddress.
- Hold down theshiftkey,otherwiseyou willtypeaninvertedcommainsteadof an 'at'sign.
- Alternatively, you canemailyourorderto directcustserve@cambridge.org.
Internet, email and texting conventions
- a/s/l
- afaik
- afk
- bak
- BC
- f2f
- hth
- ICYMI
- idk
- iirc
- ikr
- otoh
- personalization
- pita
- pmji
- rofl
- unfollow
- unmute
- YMMV
- YOLO
atpreposition(AMOUNT)
B2
used to show aprice,temperature,rate,speed, etc.:
（表示价格、温度、比率、速度等）以，达I'm not going tobuythoseshoesat $150!那么一双鞋要150美元，我才不会买！
Inflation isrunningat 5percent.通货膨胀率达到5%。
He wasdrivingat 120mphwhen thepolicespottedhim.当警察发现他时，他正以120英里的时速行驶。
(usually@)
used infinancialrecordsto show theprice,rate, etc. of aparticularthing or of each of anumberof things on alist:
（用于财务记录中表示某一项目的价格、比率等的）符号@50units@ £4.7550件，每件4.75英镑
- Thecostsofcleaningup thebayareestimatedat $1billion.
- Wesellawiderangeofcosmeticsandtoiletriesat a veryreasonableprice.
- When youbuya newcomputer, you usually getsoftwareincludedat noextracost.
- Withinflationat 500%, thecountryfacesacrisisofconfidence.
- Waterboilsat 212°Fahrenheitand 100°Celsius/Centigrade.
General words for size and amount
- -sized
- amount
- bulk
- content
- element
- extent
- footprint
- good things come in small packagesidiom
- level
- load
- lot
- measure
- much
- order
- percent
- quota
- ration
- small-scale
- so muchidiom
- strength
You can also find related words, phrases, and synonyms in the topics:
Specific signs and symbols
atpreposition(CONDITION)
used to show astate,condition, orcontinuousactivity:
（表示状态、状况或连续的活动）处于；从事于；忙于acountryatwar处于战争状态的国家
childrenatplay玩耍的孩子们
- Hefeltcompletelyatease.
- He says he's atpeacewhen he'swalkingin themountains.
- Yourfatheris hard atworkin hisstudy.
- They've been atwarfor the last fiveyears.
- Of the ten men whoescapedthismorningfrom Dartmoor Prison, only two are still atliberty.
Linguistics: connecting words which express a condition
- assuming (that)
- at the risk of doingsomethingidiom
- by
- ceteris paribus
- even
- granted
- if
- lest
- long
- provided (that)
- risk
- suppose
- unless
- whether
See also
whilesb is at itinformal
Grammar
At
At is a preposition. We use at to refer to time or place. We also use it to refer to activities.…At: time
We use at to talk about points in time, ages and some periods of time:…At: place
We use at to describe a position or location seen as a point:…At: group activities
We use at to refer to activities which involve a group of people:…Good at,bad at
We use adjective + at to talk about things that we do well or badly:…At: numbers
In specific contexts, we use at with numbers.…At: direction
We use at after a verb when we are talking about directing something towards another person or thing, often with verbs of perception and communication (smile at, shout at, wave at):…Atorat the
When we talk about buildings, we often use at the to refer to the building itself. When we refer to the activity that happens in the building, we don’t use the after at or in:…At: typical errors
When we talk about how well or badly we do something, we say good/bad at, not in:…At,inandto(movement)
We use to when we are talking about movement in the direction of a point, place, or position:…At,onandin(place)
We use at:…At,onandin(time)
We use at:…Other uses ofinwith time
We use in to say how long it takes someone to do something:…Time expressions withoutat, on, in
We don’t normally use at, on or in before time expressions beginning with each, every, next, last, some, this, that, one, any, all:…At,onandin(time): typical errors
We use on not at to talk about a particular day:…Idioms
be at it
be at it again