precious
adj
adv
ˈpreʃəs adj
1 something that is precious is valuable and important and should not be wasted or used without care 宝贵的
precious seconds/minutes/hours/time
We cannot afford to waste precious time.
我们浪费不起宝贵的时间。
planes delivering precious supplies of medicine and food
运送药品、食品等宝贵物资的飞机
our planet’s precious resources
我们地球上的宝贵资源
2 rare and worth a lot of money 贵重的，珍贵的
precious gem/stone/jewel
a statue covered with precious jewels
嵌满贵重宝石的雕塑
3 precious memories or possessions are important to you because they remind you of people you like or events in your life 〔记忆或拥有物〕珍贵的，宝贵的
[+ to ]
The doll is cracked and worn, but it’s precious to me because it was my mother’s.
这个娃娃又破又旧，可对我来说很宝贵，因为它是我妈妈的。
4 used to show that you are annoyed that someone seems to care too much about something [口] 宝贝似的〔用于对某人似乎太过注重某事物表示讨厌〕 only before noun 仅用于名词前 | spoken
I never touched your precious car!
我根本没碰过你的宝贝汽车！
5 used to speak to someone you love, especially a baby or small child [口] 宝贝〔对所爱之人，尤指对婴儿或小孩子的称呼〕 spoken
Come sit by me, precious.
坐到我旁边来，宝贝儿。
6 used in order to describe someone or something that is small and pretty [美，口] 可爱的; AmE spoken
The kids gave me that ornament. Isn’t it precious?
那件装饰品是孩子们送我的，是不是很可爱？
7 too concerned about style or detail in your writing or speech, so that it does not seem natural [正式] 〔言词〕矫揉造作的 formal
His early work is rather precious and juvenile.
他的早期作品做作幼稚。
adv
8
precious little/few
very little or very few 非常少
I had precious little time for reading.
我很少有时间看书。