词汇对比与辨析
核心差别
meaning 强调meaning 指词语、符号或行为所表达的意义、含义，definition 则侧重definition 指对词语、概念或事物的确切解释
使用场景对比
| 对比方面 | meaning | definition |
|---|---|---|
| 核心含义 | meaning 指词语、符号或行为所表达的意义、含义，也可表示目的或意图，作为形容词时意为意味深长的。 | definition 指对词语、概念或事物的确切解释，也用于描述图像、声音等的清晰程度。 |
| 词性 | 名词 | 名词 |
| 使用语域 | meaning 常与动词 have、give、lose 等连用，表示拥有、赋予或失去意义；也可用于询问意义的句型，如 "What's the meaning of...?"。 | definition 常与动词如 give, provide, offer 连用，表示“给出定义”；也可与 have, lack 等连用，表示“有/缺乏定义”。在学术写作中，常用被动语态或 it is 结构。 |
对比例句
What's the meaning of this word? I can't find it in the dictionary.
这个词是什么意思？我在词典里找不到。
His smile had a special meaning, showing he was happy about the news.
他的微笑有特殊含义，表明他对这个消息感到高兴。
Can you give me the definition of this word? I don't understand it.
你能告诉我这个词的定义吗？我不太明白。
The teacher asked us to write our own definition of happiness for homework.
老师让我们为家庭作业写下自己对幸福的定义。
常见误用提醒
使用 meaning：What is the meaning about this story? → What is the meaning of this story? (错误使用了介词 about，meaning 后通常接 of 来表示某事物的意义，of 用于连接意义和其来源。)
使用 meaning：This word has many meanings, but I don't know which one to use. → This word has multiple meanings, but I'm not sure which one applies here. (many meanings 语法正确但不够自然，multiple meanings 更常用；后半句改为 applies here 更符合英语习惯，强调在特定情境中的应用。)
使用 definition：He gave a definition about the topic. → He gave a definition of the topic. (definition 后应接 of 引出定义对象，而不是 about。about 更常用于描述或讨论，如 talk about。)