adeterminerUS /ə/
used before a singular noun to mean one of a group, when it is not a particular one
From this reading JOY IRVING had unpacked her trunks and set her small apartment to rights, when the postman’s ring sounded, and a moment later a letter was slipped under her door.
agoadverbUS /əˈɡoʊ/
in the past
From this reading “How long ago that strange interview with him seems!—yet it was only yesterday.
andconjunctionUS /ənd/
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading JOY IRVING had unpacked her trunks and set her small apartment to rights, when the postman’s ring sounded, and a moment later a letter was slipped under her door.
apartmentnounUS /əˈpɑːrtmənt/
a suite of rooms usually on one floor of an apartment house
From this reading JOY IRVING had unpacked her trunks and set her small apartment to rights, when the postman’s ring sounded, and a moment later a letter was slipped under her door.
appointingverbUS /əˈpɔɪntɪŋ/
-ing form of “appoint” — create and charge with a task or function
From this reading “It is Arthur’s message, appointing a time and place for our meeting,” she said to herself.
ArthurnounUS /ˈɑːrθər/
elected vice president and became 21st President of the United States when Garfield was assassinated (1830-1886)
From this reading She picked it up, and recognised Arthur Stuart’s penmanship.
Arthur'snounUS /ˈɑːrθərz/
possessive form of “arthur” — elected vice president and became 21st President of the United States when Garfield was assassinated (1830-1886)
From this reading “It is Arthur’s message, appointing a time and place for our meeting,” she said to herself.
doornounUS /dɔːr/
a swinging or sliding barrier that will close the entrance to a room or building or vehicle
From this reading JOY IRVING had unpacked her trunks and set her small apartment to rights, when the postman’s ring sounded, and a moment later a letter was slipped under her door.
downadjectiveUS /daʊn/
being or moving lower in position or less in some value
From this reading She sat down, holding the unopened letter in her hands.
forprepositionUS /fɔːr/
intended to be given to, or used by, somebody
From this reading “It is Arthur’s message, appointing a time and place for our meeting,” she said to herself.
hadauxiliary verbUS /hæd/
the past form of “have”, used to form the past perfect
From this reading JOY IRVING had unpacked her trunks and set her small apartment to rights, when the postman’s ring sounded, and a moment later a letter was slipped under her door.
handsnounUS /hændz/
(with “in”) guardianship over; in divorce cases it is the right to house and care for and discipline a child
From this reading She sat down, holding the unopened letter in her hands.
herdeterminerUS /hɜːr/
belonging to a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned
From this reading JOY IRVING had unpacked her trunks and set her small apartment to rights, when the postman’s ring sounded, and a moment later a letter was slipped under her door.
herselfpronounUS /hərˈself/
used when the woman or girl doing the action is also its object
From this reading “It is Arthur’s message, appointing a time and place for our meeting,” she said to herself.
himpronounUS /hɪm/
the male already mentioned, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading “How long ago that strange interview with him seems!—yet it was only yesterday.
holdingnounUS /ˈhoʊldɪŋ/
the act of retaining something
From this reading She sat down, holding the unopened letter in her hands.
How
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading “How long ago that strange interview with him seems!—yet it was only yesterday.
inprepositionUS /ɪn/
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading She sat down, holding the unopened letter in her hands.
interviewverbUS /ˈɪntərvjuː/
conduct an interview in television, newspaper, and radio reporting
From this reading “How long ago that strange interview with him seems!—yet it was only yesterday.
IRVINGnounUS /ˈɜːrvɪŋ/
United States writer remembered for his stories (1783-1859)
From this reading JOY IRVING had unpacked her trunks and set her small apartment to rights, when the postman’s ring sounded, and a moment later a letter was slipped under her door.
isauxiliary verbUS /ɪz/
the form of “be” used with he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading “It is Arthur’s message, appointing a time and place for our meeting,” she said to herself.
itpronounUS /ɪt/
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading She picked it up, and recognised Arthur Stuart’s penmanship.
JOYnounUS /dʒɔɪ/
the emotion of great happiness
From this reading JOY IRVING had unpacked her trunks and set her small apartment to rights, when the postman’s ring sounded, and a moment later a letter was slipped under her door.
lateradverbUS /ˈleɪtər/
happening at a time subsequent to a reference time
From this reading JOY IRVING had unpacked her trunks and set her small apartment to rights, when the postman’s ring sounded, and a moment later a letter was slipped under her door.
letternounUS /ˈletər/
a written message addressed to a person or organization
From this reading JOY IRVING had unpacked her trunks and set her small apartment to rights, when the postman’s ring sounded, and a moment later a letter was slipped under her door.
longadjectiveUS /lɔːŋ/
primarily temporal sense; being or indicating a relatively great or greater than average duration or passage of time or a duration as specified
From this reading “How long ago that strange interview with him seems!—yet it was only yesterday.
meetingnounUS /ˈmiːtɪŋ/
a formally arranged gathering
From this reading “It is Arthur’s message, appointing a time and place for our meeting,” she said to herself.
messagenounUS /ˈmesədʒ/
a communication (usually brief) that is written or spoken or signaled
From this reading “It is Arthur’s message, appointing a time and place for our meeting,” she said to herself.
momentnounUS /ˈmoʊmənt/
a particular point in time
From this reading JOY IRVING had unpacked her trunks and set her small apartment to rights, when the postman’s ring sounded, and a moment later a letter was slipped under her door.
onlyadverbUS /ˈoʊnli/
and nothing more
From this reading “How long ago that strange interview with him seems!—yet it was only yesterday.
ourdeterminerUS /ˈaʊər/
belonging to the speaker and others
From this reading “It is Arthur’s message, appointing a time and place for our meeting,” she said to herself.
penmanshipnoun
beautiful handwriting
From this reading She picked it up, and recognised Arthur Stuart’s penmanship.
pickedverbUS /pɪkt/
past form of “pick” — select carefully from a group
From this reading She picked it up, and recognised Arthur Stuart’s penmanship.
placenounUS /pleɪs/
a point located with respect to surface features of some region
From this reading “It is Arthur’s message, appointing a time and place for our meeting,” she said to herself.
postman's
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading JOY IRVING had unpacked her trunks and set her small apartment to rights, when the postman’s ring sounded, and a moment later a letter was slipped under her door.
recognisedadjectiveUS /ˈrekəɡnaɪzd/
provided with a secure reputation
From this reading She picked it up, and recognised Arthur Stuart’s penmanship.
rightsnounUS /raɪts/
plural of “right” — an abstract idea of that which is due to a person or governmental body by law or tradition or nature
From this reading JOY IRVING had unpacked her trunks and set her small apartment to rights, when the postman’s ring sounded, and a moment later a letter was slipped under her door.
ringverbUS /rɪŋ/
sound loudly and sonorously
From this reading JOY IRVING had unpacked her trunks and set her small apartment to rights, when the postman’s ring sounded, and a moment later a letter was slipped under her door.
saidadjectiveUS /sed/
being the one previously mentioned or spoken of
From this reading “It is Arthur’s message, appointing a time and place for our meeting,” she said to herself.
satnounUS /sæt/
the seventh and last day of the week; observed as the Sabbath by Jews and some Christians
From this reading She sat down, holding the unopened letter in her hands.
seemsverbUS /siːmz/
third-person singular of “seem” — give a certain impression or have a certain outward aspect
From this reading “How long ago that strange interview with him seems!—yet it was only yesterday.
setverbUS /set/
put into a certain place or abstract location
From this reading JOY IRVING had unpacked her trunks and set her small apartment to rights, when the postman’s ring sounded, and a moment later a letter was slipped under her door.
ShepronounUS /ʃiː/
a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading She picked it up, and recognised Arthur Stuart’s penmanship.
slippedverbUS /slɪpt/
inflected form of “slip” — move stealthily
From this reading JOY IRVING had unpacked her trunks and set her small apartment to rights, when the postman’s ring sounded, and a moment later a letter was slipped under her door.
smalladjectiveUS /smɔːl/
limited or below average in number or quantity or magnitude or extent
From this reading JOY IRVING had unpacked her trunks and set her small apartment to rights, when the postman’s ring sounded, and a moment later a letter was slipped under her door.
soundedverbUS /ˈsaʊndɪd/
past form of “sound” — appear in a certain way
From this reading JOY IRVING had unpacked her trunks and set her small apartment to rights, when the postman’s ring sounded, and a moment later a letter was slipped under her door.
strangeadjectiveUS /streɪndʒ/
being definitely out of the ordinary and unexpected; slightly odd or even a bit weird
From this reading “How long ago that strange interview with him seems!—yet it was only yesterday.
Stuart'snounUS /ˈstuːərts/
possessive form of “stuart” — United States painter best known for his portraits of George Washington (1755-1828)
From this reading She picked it up, and recognised Arthur Stuart’s penmanship.
thatconjunctionUS /ðæt/
used to introduce what somebody said, thought, or felt
From this reading “How long ago that strange interview with him seems!—yet it was only yesterday.
thedeterminerUS /ðə/
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading JOY IRVING had unpacked her trunks and set her small apartment to rights, when the postman’s ring sounded, and a moment later a letter was slipped under her door.
timenounUS /taɪm/
an instance or single occasion for some event
From this reading “It is Arthur’s message, appointing a time and place for our meeting,” she said to herself.
toparticleUS /tuː/
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading JOY IRVING had unpacked her trunks and set her small apartment to rights, when the postman’s ring sounded, and a moment later a letter was slipped under her door.
trunksnounUS /trʌŋks/
(used in the plural) trousers that end at or above the knee
From this reading JOY IRVING had unpacked her trunks and set her small apartment to rights, when the postman’s ring sounded, and a moment later a letter was slipped under her door.
underprepositionUS /ˈʌndər/
below or beneath something; less than
From this reading JOY IRVING had unpacked her trunks and set her small apartment to rights, when the postman’s ring sounded, and a moment later a letter was slipped under her door.
unopenedadjectiveUS /əˈnoʊpənd/
not yet opened or unsealed
From this reading She sat down, holding the unopened letter in her hands.
unpackedverbUS /ənˈpækt/
past form of “unpack” — remove from its packing
From this reading JOY IRVING had unpacked her trunks and set her small apartment to rights, when the postman’s ring sounded, and a moment later a letter was slipped under her door.
upadjectiveUS /ʌp/
being or moving higher in position or greater in some value; being above a former position or level
From this reading She picked it up, and recognised Arthur Stuart’s penmanship.
wasauxiliary verbUS /wɑːz/
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading JOY IRVING had unpacked her trunks and set her small apartment to rights, when the postman’s ring sounded, and a moment later a letter was slipped under her door.
whenconjunctionUS /wen/
at the time that
From this reading JOY IRVING had unpacked her trunks and set her small apartment to rights, when the postman’s ring sounded, and a moment later a letter was slipped under her door.
withprepositionUS /wɪð/
in the company of; together with
From this reading “How long ago that strange interview with him seems!—yet it was only yesterday.
yesterdaynounUS /ˈjestərdeɪ/
the day immediately before today
From this reading “How long ago that strange interview with him seems!—yet it was only yesterday.
yetconjunctionUS /jet/
but in spite of that
From this reading “How long ago that strange interview with him seems!—yet it was only yesterday.
