Meaning & use
electrified fence
Last updated
Meaning
nouncountable
A fence that carries a mild electric current to discourage people or animals from touching or crossing it.
Grammar: Countable: use 'a/an' or a plural form. 'The electrified fence surrounds the field.'
Patterns
- an electrified fence around something
- put up an electrified fence
- touch an electrified fence
The farmer installed an electrified fence to keep the sheep from wandering onto the road.
Prisoners are not allowed near the electrified fence that marks the edge of the compound.
If you touch an electrified fence, you get a sharp but usually harmless shock.
Word forms
| plural | electrified fences |
|---|
Common combinations
- electric fence
- Many homeowners use an electric fence to keep their dogs in the yard.
- security fence
- The airport has a tall security fence around the perimeter.
- electric shock
- He felt a mild electric shock when he accidentally brushed the wire.
- keep out
- The electrified fence is meant to keep out wild animals.
Synonyms and how they differ
- electric fence
- This is the more common everyday term; 'electrified fence' sounds slightly more technical or formal.
Word family
- electrify verb
- To pass electricity through something, or to make something work by electricity.
- electrification noun
- The process of supplying something with electricity.
Commonly confused: electrified fence or electric fence?
electrified fence vs electric fence
Both mean the same thing, but 'electric fence' is the standard phrase in everyday English; 'electrified fence' is also correct and often used for larger barriers.
Practice
The zoo built an electrified fence ___ the lions away from the visitors.
Choose one answer.
We use the infinitive 'to keep' to express purpose: the fence was built in order to keep lions away. 'Keeping' would need a preposition like 'for keeping', and 'kept' or 'keep' do not fit the grammar here.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “electrified fence”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.