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N-COUNT
（学生就某门课程所写的）论说文，短文
An essay is a short piece of writing on one particular subject written by a student.
例句
We asked Jason to write an essay about his hometown and about his place in it.
我们让贾森写一篇有关他的家乡和他自己的家的短文。
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N-COUNT
（关于某一方面的）论文，杂文，散文
An essay is a short piece of writing on one particular subject that is written by a writer for publication.
例句
...Thomas Malthus's essay on population.
托马斯·马尔萨斯有关人口的论文
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VERB
企图;尝试
If you essay something, you try to do it.
例句
Sinclair essayed a smile but it could hardly have been rated as a success.
辛克莱想试着微笑一下，但根本没有笑出来。