English Idioms: Technology — 10 Expressions You Need to Know

科技完全改變了我們的生活、工作和溝通方式。但你知道嗎？科技也改變了英語本身！今天許多最常見的英文慣用語（idioms）都直接來自電腦、電子產品、廣播和網路的世界。如果你想讓英文聽起來自然——無論是在商務會議、日常對話還是看美劇——這些表達方式你一定要會。

Technology has completely transformed the way we live, work, and communicate. But did you know it has also changed the English language itself? Many of today’s most common idioms come directly from the world of computers, electronics, broadcasting, and the internet.

在這堂課中，你將學到 10個必學的科技英文慣用語。每一個都包括：中文意思、起源故事、兩個例句，以及中文翻譯。學完之後，你就能在生活和工作中自信地使用它們！

In this lesson, you’ll learn 10 essential English idioms from technology. For each one, you get the meaning, origin story, two example sentences, and Chinese translations.

1. Pull the Plug｜拔掉插頭；終止某事

🇬🇧 Meaning: To end, stop, or terminate something — especially a project or activity that is failing.

🇹🇼 中文意思：終止、停止某項計畫或活動，尤其是那些已經失敗或不再可行的事。

Origin 起源： From the literal act of pulling an electrical plug out of the socket to cut off power. It was once used in a medical context for life-support equipment. Today it is used for any project or activity that gets shut down.

Example sentences 例句：

• The company decided to pull the plug on the new product line after three quarters of disappointing sales.
  （公司在連續三季銷售不佳後，決定終止這條新產品線。）
• The city council threatened to pull the plug on the concert if organisers couldn’t meet safety requirements.
  （市議會警告說，如果主辦單位無法達到安全要求，就會叫停這場演唱會。）

2. On the Same Wavelength｜想法一致；心有靈犀

🇬🇧 Meaning: To have a mutual understanding with someone; to think and feel the same way.

🇹🇼 中文意思：與某人想法相同、有默契，彼此理解。

Origin 起源： From radio technology — for two stations to communicate, they must broadcast on the same frequency (wavelength 波長). The idiom became popular in the mid-20th century for any kind of perfect mutual understanding.

Example sentences 例句：

• The new creative director and the marketing team were immediately on the same wavelength — the rebrand came together faster than anyone expected.
  （新的創意總監和行銷團隊立刻就有默契，品牌重塑的速度快得出乎所有人意料。）
• My business partner and I are always on the same wavelength, which makes working together so easy.
  （我和我的商業夥伴總是心有靈犀，合作起來特別順。）

3. Hard-Wired｜根深蒂固的；天生的

🇬🇧 Meaning: Innately built in; a deeply ingrained tendency, habit, or instinct that seems impossible to change.

🇹🇼 中文意思：天生的、根深蒂固的，指某種習慣或本能似乎無法改變。

Origin 起源： In computer hardware, circuits that are physically wired into a device cannot be changed by software — they are “hard-wired 硬接線.” The idiom was adopted in psychology to describe fixed behaviours or instincts.

Example sentences 例句：

• Some researchers argue that humans are hard-wired for storytelling — every culture on earth has myths and oral traditions.
  （一些研究者認為，人類天生就有說故事的本能——地球上每個文化都有神話和口述傳統。）
• She’s completely hard-wired to be early — she has never been late to a single meeting in her entire career.
  （她天生就會提早到——在她整個職業生涯中從來沒有遲到過一次。）

4. Go Viral｜爆紅；瘋傳

🇬🇧 Meaning: To spread rapidly and widely across the internet or social media, reaching a massive audience very quickly.

🇹🇼 中文意思：在網路或社群媒體上迅速、大規模地擴散，短時間內觸及大量觀眾。

Origin 起源： A modern idiom from the internet era. It draws on the concept of a computer virus (電腦病毒) that replicates and spreads across networks at great speed. The term was applied to internet content — videos, memes, news — that spreads explosively from person to person.

Example sentences 例句：

• A short video of a toddler trying to eat a lemon went viral and reached 50 million views in less than 48 hours.
  （一支幼兒嘗試吃檸檬的短片瘋傳，不到48小時就累積了5000萬次點閱。）
• Their low-budget awareness campaign went viral and raised three times the target amount in funding.
  （他們低成本的宣傳活動爆紅，籌到的資金是目標金額的三倍。）

5. Think Outside the Box｜跳出框框思考；創意思維

🇬🇧 Meaning: To approach a problem creatively; to move beyond standard assumptions and find innovative solutions.

🇹🇼 中文意思：用創意、非傳統的方式思考問題，突破既有框架找到創新解法。

Origin 起源： Linked to the classic “nine dots” puzzle 九點謎題, which requires connecting nine dots with four straight lines — only possible if you draw outside the implied boundary. Management consultants popularised the phrase in the 1960s–70s.

Example sentences 例句：

• The engineering team was encouraged to think outside the box and came up with a solution that cut production costs by 40%.
  （工程團隊被鼓勵跳出框框思考，結果找到一個能降低40%生產成本的解決方案。）
• If we keep using the same strategies, we’ll keep getting the same results — it’s time to think outside the box.
  （如果我們一直用同樣的策略，就只會得到同樣的結果——是時候跳出框框了。）

6. Crash and Burn｜慘敗；徹底失敗

🇬🇧 Meaning: To fail suddenly and completely, often in a dramatic or very public way.

🇹🇼 中文意思：突然且徹底地失敗，通常以戲劇性或公開的方式。

Origin 起源： Originally from aviation and motorsports — a vehicle that crashes and then catches fire. The vivid imagery made it a natural metaphor for catastrophic failure in any context.

Example sentences 例句：

• His first attempt at public speaking crashed and burned — he forgot his notes and walked off stage.
  （他第一次嘗試公開演講徹底失敗——他忘了講稿，直接走下台。）
• We were afraid the negotiation would crash and burn, but both sides eventually found common ground.
  （我們擔心談判會慘敗，但雙方最終還是找到了共同點。）

7. Have the Bandwidth｜有餘力；有精力

🇬🇧 Meaning: To have the time, mental energy, or capacity to deal with additional work or responsibilities.

🇹🇼 中文意思：有時間、精力或能力去承擔更多工作或責任。

Origin 起源： In telecommunications, “bandwidth 頻寬” is the maximum rate at which data can be transmitted over a network. The idiom moved into professional language in the early 2000s to describe a person’s available mental or time capacity.

Example sentences 例句：

• “I’d love to take on the extra client, but honestly I just don’t have the bandwidth this quarter,” the consultant said.
  （「我很想接這個新客戶，但說實話，這季我真的沒有餘力了，」那位顧問說。）
• Do you have the bandwidth to review my report before the 3 p.m. meeting? It won’t take long.
  （你有空在下午三點會議前看一下我的報告嗎？不會花很長時間的。）

8. Debug｜排除問題；找出並解決錯誤

🇬🇧 Meaning: To identify and resolve problems in a plan, process, or situation systematically.

🇹🇼 中文意思：系統性地找出並解決計畫、流程或情況中的問題。

Origin 起源： From software engineering — finding and removing “bugs 程式錯誤” in computer code. The word was famously cemented in 1947 when computer pioneer Grace Hopper found a real moth inside a Harvard Mark II computer causing errors. She literally “debugged” the machine by removing the insect!

Example sentences 例句：

• The project manager spent the whole week debugging the communication breakdown between the two departments.
  （專案經理花了整整一週的時間排除兩個部門之間的溝通問題。）
• Before we launch the campaign, we need to debug the entire customer journey — too many people are dropping off at checkout.
  （在活動上線之前，我們需要找出整個顧客流程的問題——太多人在結帳時就離開了。）

9. Power Down｜關機；放鬆休息

🇬🇧 Meaning: To consciously disconnect, stop working, and rest; to deliberately step away from screens and responsibilities.

🇹🇼 中文意思：刻意地讓自己休息、遠離螢幕，停止工作充電。

Origin 起源： From electronics — turning off a device to save energy and let it rest. As smartphones and laptops became central to modern life, “powering down” evolved into a phrase for digital detox 數位排毒 and rest, especially in mental health conversations.

Example sentences 例句：

• Health experts consistently recommend powering down from all screens at least one hour before going to sleep.
  （健康專家一再建議睡前至少一小時要關掉所有螢幕，讓自己放鬆下來。）
• After eight months of non-stop work, she finally powered down and took a proper two-week holiday.
  （在連續工作八個月後，她終於讓自己休息下來，好好度過了兩週的假期。）

10. Reboot｜重新開始；重新啟動

🇬🇧 Meaning: To make a fresh start; to reset a situation, relationship, or approach and begin again from scratch.

🇹🇼 中文意思：重新開始；把某個情況、關係或策略歸零重來。

Origin 起源： From computing — restarting a computer clears its active memory, closes stuck processes, and brings the system back to a clean starting state. The idiom entered common usage in the late 1990s and is now used for careers, relationships, business strategies, and even film franchises.

Example sentences 例句：

• After the acquisition failed, the board voted to reboot the entire company strategy from the ground up.
  （收購失敗後，董事會投票決定從頭重新制定整個公司策略。）
• They decided to reboot their relationship by taking a break and starting fresh without old resentments.
  （他們決定暫停一段時間，拋開舊有的怨恨，重新開始這段關係。）

Quick Reference 快速參考

練習時間 Practice Time

Which idiom fits best? 哪個慣用語最合適？

1. The startup ran out of money and investors decided to ____________. （該新創公司資金耗盡，投資人決定____。）
2. After the disaster, the team needed to ____________ their entire approach. （災難發生後，團隊需要____他們的整個方法。）
3. I love working with her — we’re always ____________. （我喜歡和她合作——我們總是____。）

Answers 答案： 1. pull the plug  |  2. reboot  |  3. on the same wavelength

你最喜歡哪個慣用語？在下方留言告訴我，也歡迎分享給正在學英文的朋友！

Which idiom is your favourite? Leave a comment below and share this lesson with someone who’s learning English!

Common Mistakes When Using Technology Idioms

Even advanced English learners sometimes misuse these expressions. Here are a few common mistakes and how to avoid them.

“Pull the plug” vs. “turn off”: Use “pull the plug” when ending something permanently or dramatically — not just for switching something off temporarily. Saying “I pulled the plug on my laptop before bed” sounds unnatural. Instead: “I pulled the plug on the project.”

“Go viral” is not just for videos: Many learners think “go viral” only applies to YouTube videos. In fact, it can describe any online content — a tweet, a photo, a news story, even a meme. “Her tweet about airport food went viral and was retweeted 100,000 times.”

“Have the bandwidth” — avoid in formal writing: This idiom is very natural in spoken business English and emails, but it can feel too casual in formal reports or academic writing. In those contexts, use “have the capacity” or “have the resources” instead.

“Reboot” vs. “restart”: Both mean starting again, but “reboot” implies a more fundamental reset — clearing old problems and starting completely fresh. “Restart” can be used for smaller pauses and resumptions. “She rebooted her entire career” suggests a dramatic change; “she restarted the conversation” just means resuming.

Practice: Use Them in Real Situations 實際運用練習

The best way to learn idioms is through repetition in real contexts. Here are three situations where you can practise this week’s expressions naturally:

• At work or school: When you’re too busy to take on something new, tell a colleague: “I appreciate you asking, but I really don’t have the bandwidth right now.”
• Talking about social media: Discuss a popular video or post with a friend: “Did you see that clip? It totally went viral — everyone was sharing it.”
• Making plans for a fresh start: “After the exam season, I want to completely reboot — start exercising, eat better, and get back to reading.”

用英文聊天時，試著把這些慣用語加入你的對話！It takes time, but every idiom you master makes your English more fluent and natural. Keep practising, and you’ll be using these expressions without even thinking about it.