/ət; ət; strong form 强读式 t; æt/
prep
1 (a) (indicating a point in space 指空间的某一点)
*at the end of the runway 在跑道的尽头
* at the corner of the street 在街道的拐角
* go in at the side door 从旁门进入
* change at Didcot 在迪德考特转换
* arrive at the airport 到达飞机场
* At the roundabout take the third exit. 在环状交叉路口从第三条出路驶出.
* I'll be at home (ie not at work, school, church, etc) all morning. 我一上午都在家.
(b) (used with the name of a building, esp with reference to the activities going on inside 与建筑物名称连用, 尤指其中进行的活动)
*She's at the theatre, cinema, etc, ie watching a play, film, etc. 她在戏院,, 电影院里等（看戏, 看电影等）
* She works at the hospital. 她在医院工作.
* He's at (ie staying at) the Grand Hotel. 他住在格兰德大旅馆.
(c) among those who attend 在参加者中
*at a concert, conference, match, etc 参加音乐会, 会议, 比赛等.
(d) (used with the name of a person + 's to refer to that person's home or place of work 与人名+'s连用, 指其家或工作处)
*They're at Keith's. 他们在基思家.
* I was at my father's. 我先前在我父亲处.
* They didn't have any bread at the baker's. 面包店 那时没有面包.
(e) (indicating place of employment or study 指受雇的或学习的处所)
*He's been at the bank longer than anyone else. 他在银行工作时期比别人都长.
* I'm at the head office. 我在总公司工作.
* her three years at Oxford 她在牛津三年求学期间 (Cf 参看 spend three days in Oxford as a tourist).
2 (a) (indicating a point in time 指时间的某一点)
*start, meet, leave, etc at
2 o'clock 在2时开始, 会见, 离开等
* at 3.15/a quarter past
3 在3点15分[3时1刻]
* He is to be shot at dawn. 定于黎明将他枪决.
* I didn't know he was dead at the time of speaking, ie when I spoke. 我讲话时不知道他已死亡.
* At the moment you called I was in the garden shed. 你来电话时我正在花园的小屋 .
* at the end of the holiday 假日的终结.
(b) (indicating a period of time 指一段时间)
*At night you can see the stars. 夜晚可以看到星星.
* What are you doing at (US on) the weekend? 你在周末做什么?
* take a few days' holiday at Christmas, Easter, Whitsun, etc 在圣诞节, 复活节, 圣灵降临节等休几天假.
(c) (used to indicate the age at which sb does sth 用以指某人做某事时的年龄)
*She got married at 55. 她55岁时结婚.
* You can retire at 60. 60岁时可以退休.
* He left school at (the age of) 16. 他16（岁）时中学毕业. =>Usage at time1 用法见time1.
3 (a) in the direction of or towards (sb/sth) 向或朝（某人[某物]）的方向
*aim the ball at the hole 将球对准那个洞
* direct one's advertising at a wider audience 将宣传面向范围更大的群众
* smile, grin, stare, wave, etc at sb 对着某人微笑, 咧着嘴笑, 凝视, 挥手等
* A man with a gun was shooting at the crowd. 有一持枪男子向人群射击.
* The dog rushed at me, wagging its tail. 那狗摇晃着尾巴朝我奔来.
* She shouted at me but I couldn't hear. 她冲着我喊叫, 可是我并没听见.
* throw stones at the can in the water, ie trying to hit it 用石块向水中的罐扔去（想打中它）.
(b) (used to show that sb tries to do sth but does not succeed or complete it 用以表示某人尽力做某事物却未做成或未做完)
*clutch at a rope 去抓绳索
* guess at the meaning 猜测意思
* She nibbled at a sandwich, ie ate only tiny portions. 她咬了几口三明治.
4 (indicating the distance away from sth 指离某事物的距离)
*Can you read a car number-plate at fifty metres? 你能在离汽车五十米远处看清车牌号码吗?
* hold sth at arm's length 伸直胳膊握住某物.
5 (indicating a state, condition or continuous activity 指某状态, 情形或持续的活动)
*at war with their neighbours 与他们的邻国交战
* stand at ease, ie in a relaxed position 稍息（休息的姿势）
* put sb at risk 置某人于危险地位
* children at play 玩耍着的儿童
* She's at work in the garden. 她正在花园, 干活儿.
6 (a) (indicating a rate, price, speed, etc 指比率, 价格, 速度等)
*House prices are rising at a higher rate than inflation. 房价比通货膨胀上涨的比率高.
* I bought this coat at half-price/at 50% discount. 我用半价[5折]买的这件外衣.
* driving at
70 mph 以每小时70英里的速度驾驶.
(b) (indicating order or frequency 指顺序或频率)
*at the first attempt 初次尝试
* at two-minute intervals, ie once every two minutes 每隔两分钟.
7 in response to (sth) 对（某事物）回应
*attend the dinner at the chairman's invitation 应主席之邀赴宴
* at the king's command 奉国王之命.
8 (used with his, her, our, etc and a superlative adj 与 his, her, our等及形容词的最高级连用)
*This was Torvill and Dean at their best. 这是托维尔和迪安的最佳表现.
* The garden's at its most beautiful in June. 花园在六月份最美丽.
* an example of British craftsmanship at its finest 英国手工艺的瑰宝.
9 (used after many adjs and ns 用于许多形容词和名词之後)
*good, clever, skilled, etc at restoring furniture, etc 善于, 精于, 长于翻修家具等
* hopeless at (playing) chess 对（下）国际象棋不堪造就
* She's a genius at doing crossword puzzles. 她做纵横填字游戏是一绝.
* busy at their homework 都在忙着做功课
* impatient at the delay 因耽搁而不耐烦
* amused at the cartoons 对着连环画乐不可支
* delighted at the result 对结果满心欢喜
* puzzled at her silence 对她的缄默大惑不解
* his anger at being beaten 他被击败时的气恼.
10 (idm 习语) ,where it's `at (infml 口) place or activity that is very popular or fashionable 热闹的或时髦的场所或活动
*Judging by the crowds waiting to get in this seems to be where it's at. 从争先恐後等待进去的人群来看, 这似乎是个热闹去处. (For idioms such as at hand, at once, at a low ebb, etc see entries at hand1, once, low1, etc. at hand, at once, at a low ebb等习语, 见hand1, once, low1.)

prep
[Language: Old English;Origin: At]
used to say exactly where something or someone is, or where something happens
　They live at 18 Victoria Street.
　Does this train stop at Preston?
　I was waiting at the bus stop.
　Liz and her friend sat down at a corner table.
　Turn left at the church.
　We'll meet at Harry's (=at Harry's house) .
　I spent an unpleasant hour at the dentist's.
　Dad's at work (=in the place where he works) .
at the top/bottom/end etc (of sth)
　At the top of the stairs, she paused.
used to say what event or activity someone is taking part in
　I met my wife at a disco.
　The matter was discussed at a meeting of the finance committee.
　I'm sorry, Pam's at lunch just now.
used to say that someone is studying somewhere regularly
　Is Jessica still at school?
　Hulme was a student at Oxford in the 1960s.
used to say exactly when something happens
　The film starts at 8 o'clock.
during a particular period of time
　My husband often works at night.
　We go to Midnight Mass at Christmas.
used to say which thing or person an action is directed towards or intended for
　He gazed up at the sky.
　You don't have to shout at me.
　The older girls used to throw stones at me.
　The course is aimed at those aged 16 or over.
used to say what or who causes an action or feeling
　The children all laughed at his jokes.
　I'm surprised at you!
　Dad got really mad at me for scratching the car.
　her distress at having to leave
used to say which subject or activity you are talking about when you say whether someone is skilful, successful etc or not
　Barbara's getting on really well at her new job.
good/bad etc at (doing) sth
　I've always been good at maths.
　Matt's bad at handling people.
　He's an expert at making things out of junk.
used to say that someone or something is in a particular state
　two nations at war
　Many children are still at risk from neglect or abuse.
used to show a price, rate, level, age, speed etc
　old books selling at 10 cents each
　You should have more sense at your age.
　The Renault was travelling at about 50 mph.
　Amanda rode off at a gallop.
at your best/worst/most effective etc
used to say that, at a particular time, someone or something is as good, bad etc as they can be
　The garden is at its best in June.
　This was Sampras at his most powerful.
used to say what someone tries to touch, or keeps touching
　I clutched at the rope but missed.
　George was just picking at his food.
　Sarah took another sip at her wine.
used to say what someone tries to do
　the student's first attempt at a piece of research
　They were so beautiful that I decided to have a go at growing them.
because of what someone has said
　Chapman visited Austria at the invitation of his friend, Hugo Meisl.
　At my suggestion, Bernard went to see his former teacher.
while I'm/you're etc at it
spoken used to suggest that someone should do something while they are doing something else
　I'm just going for a cup of coffee. Shall I bring you one while I'm at it?
be at it againinformal
if you say that someone is at it again, you mean that they are doing something you disapprove of, which they have done before
　She's at it again. Interfering in other people's business.
at that
a) also or besides
　It's a new idea, and a good one, at that.
b) after something is said
　Tess called him a liar and at that he stormed out of the room.
be where it's at
old-fashioned informal used to say that a place or activity is very popular, exciting, and fashionable
→at allatall¹ (6)

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WORD CHOICE:at, in, on
Talking about time
Use at
with clock times : at one o'clock | at 6.30
with points of time in the day : at midnight | at noon | at dawn | at sunset
with holiday periods, meaning the few days around the holiday : at Easter | at Diwali
with weekend , in British English : See you at the weekend! |At weekends we go out.
Use in
with parts of the day : in the morning | in the evening |I never watch TV in the daytime.
with months, seasons, years, centuries : in May | in summertime |in 2004 | in the 21st century
Use on
with dates and specific days : on 29th July | on Tuesday afternoons |on the last day of term
with weekend , in American English : We sometimes go there on weekends.
Talking about position and place
Use at
with particular positions or places : at the end of the corridor | at the back of the room | at the corner of the street
to mean 'next to' or 'beside' : She sat at her desk. |He stopped me at the door.
with words for buildings, for example airport , university , restaurant , art gallery : at the airport | at the Lyceum theatre
with city or place names, when you are talking about stopping during a journey : Does this train stop at Watford?!! BUT otherwise use in - see below
Use in
with a position or place, when something or someone is inside a larger thing such as a room : in the bath | in the kitchen | in the garden | in the doorway
with cities, counties, states, and countries : When will you arrive in Tokyo? | He lives in Germany. | She's working in California.
with the names of squares, plazas etc : in Times Square
Use on
with a position or place, when one thing is attached to or touching another : a spot on the end of her nose |a jacket on the back of a chair
with street names : on the High Street | on 42nd Street | on Broadway

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