used before a singular noun to mean one of a group, when it is not a particular one
From this reading Murph was a man to be admired, Pete knew, for Murph had a silver rocket and a passport to the stars.
from one side of something to the other
From this reading Careful to keep trees and bushes between himself and the cottage, the boy legged it across the fields toward the glass rocket poised in Johnson's pasture, glittering and slim like a dark, slender dancer.
admiredadjectiveUS /ədˈmaɪərd/
regarded with admiration
From this reading Murph was a man to be admired, Pete knew, for Murph had a silver rocket and a passport to the stars.
(quantifier) used with either mass or count nouns to indicate the whole number or amount of or every one of a class
From this reading To Pete it was all the promise in the world distilled into a pointed black glass bottle.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading Murph was a man to be admired, Pete knew, for Murph had a silver rocket and a passport to the stars.
used with a past participle to form the passive, or with -ing for continuous tenses
From this reading Murph was a man to be admired, Pete knew, for Murph had a silver rocket and a passport to the stars.
in the space, time, or range separating two things
From this reading Careful to keep trees and bushes between himself and the cottage, the boy legged it across the fields toward the glass rocket poised in Johnson's pasture, glittering and slim like a dark, slender dancer.
being of the achromatic color of maximum darkness; having little or no hue owing to absorption of almost all incident light
From this reading To Pete it was all the promise in the world distilled into a pointed black glass bottle.
a glass or plastic vessel used for storing drinks or other liquids; typically cylindrical without handles and with a narrow neck that can be plugged or capped
From this reading To Pete it was all the promise in the world distilled into a pointed black glass bottle.
a youthful male person
From this reading Careful to keep trees and bushes between himself and the cottage, the boy legged it across the fields toward the glass rocket poised in Johnson's pasture, glittering and slim like a dark, slender dancer.
plural of “bush” — a low woody perennial plant usually having several major stems
From this reading Careful to keep trees and bushes between himself and the cottage, the boy legged it across the fields toward the glass rocket poised in Johnson's pasture, glittering and slim like a dark, slender dancer.
used to introduce something that contrasts with what came before
From this reading But to the women in the cottage....
exercising caution or showing care or attention
From this reading Careful to keep trees and bushes between himself and the cottage, the boy legged it across the fields toward the glass rocket poised in Johnson's pasture, glittering and slim like a dark, slender dancer.
a small house with a single story
From this reading Careful to keep trees and bushes between himself and the cottage, the boy legged it across the fields toward the glass rocket poised in Johnson's pasture, glittering and slim like a dark, slender dancer.
dancernounUS /ˈdænsər/
a performer who dances professionally
From this reading Careful to keep trees and bushes between himself and the cottage, the boy legged it across the fields toward the glass rocket poised in Johnson's pasture, glittering and slim like a dark, slender dancer.
absence of light or illumination
From this reading Careful to keep trees and bushes between himself and the cottage, the boy legged it across the fields toward the glass rocket poised in Johnson's pasture, glittering and slim like a dark, slender dancer.
distilledverbUS /dɪˈstɪld/
inflected form of “distil” — undergo condensation; change from a gaseous to a liquid state and fall in drops
From this reading To Pete it was all the promise in the world distilled into a pointed black glass bottle.
United States comedian and film actor (1880-1946)
From this reading Careful to keep trees and bushes between himself and the cottage, the boy legged it across the fields toward the glass rocket poised in Johnson's pasture, glittering and slim like a dark, slender dancer.
intended to be given to, or used by, somebody
From this reading Murph was a man to be admired, Pete knew, for Murph had a silver rocket and a passport to the stars.
a brittle transparent solid with irregular atomic structure
From this reading Careful to keep trees and bushes between himself and the cottage, the boy legged it across the fields toward the glass rocket poised in Johnson's pasture, glittering and slim like a dark, slender dancer.
glitteringadjectiveUS /ˈɡlɪtərɪŋ/
having brief brilliant points or flashes of light
From this reading Careful to keep trees and bushes between himself and the cottage, the boy legged it across the fields toward the glass rocket poised in Johnson's pasture, glittering and slim like a dark, slender dancer.
hadauxiliary verbUS /hæd/
the past form of “have”, used to form the past perfect
From this reading Murph was a man to be admired, Pete knew, for Murph had a silver rocket and a passport to the stars.
the male already mentioned, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading Now Murph had promised him a ride....
used when the man or boy doing the action is also its object
From this reading Careful to keep trees and bushes between himself and the cottage, the boy legged it across the fields toward the glass rocket poised in Johnson's pasture, glittering and slim like a dark, slender dancer.
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading Careful to keep trees and bushes between himself and the cottage, the boy legged it across the fields toward the glass rocket poised in Johnson's pasture, glittering and slim like a dark, slender dancer.
intoprepositionUS /ˈɪntuː/
moving to the inside of something
From this reading To Pete it was all the promise in the world distilled into a pointed black glass bottle.
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading Careful to keep trees and bushes between himself and the cottage, the boy legged it across the fields toward the glass rocket poised in Johnson's pasture, glittering and slim like a dark, slender dancer.
Johnson'snounUS /ˈdʒɑːnsənz/
possessive form of “johnson” — English writer and lexicographer (1709-1784)
From this reading Careful to keep trees and bushes between himself and the cottage, the boy legged it across the fields toward the glass rocket poised in Johnson's pasture, glittering and slim like a dark, slender dancer.
cause to continue in a certain state, position, or activity; e.g., “keep clean”
From this reading Careful to keep trees and bushes between himself and the cottage, the boy legged it across the fields toward the glass rocket poised in Johnson's pasture, glittering and slim like a dark, slender dancer.
inflected form of “know” — be cognizant or aware of a fact or a specific piece of information; possess knowledge or information about
From this reading Murph was a man to be admired, Pete knew, for Murph had a silver rocket and a passport to the stars.
leggedadjectiveUS /ˈleɡəd/
having legs of a specified kind or number
From this reading Careful to keep trees and bushes between himself and the cottage, the boy legged it across the fields toward the glass rocket poised in Johnson's pasture, glittering and slim like a dark, slender dancer.
prefer or wish to do something
From this reading Careful to keep trees and bushes between himself and the cottage, the boy legged it across the fields toward the glass rocket poised in Johnson's pasture, glittering and slim like a dark, slender dancer.
an adult person who is male (as opposed to a woman)
From this reading Murph was a man to be admired, Pete knew, for Murph had a silver rocket and a passport to the stars.
Murph
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Murph was a man to be admired, Pete knew, for Murph had a silver rocket and a passport to the stars.
in the historical present; at this point in the narration of a series of past events
From this reading Now Murph had promised him a ride....
passportnounUS /ˈpæspɔːrt/
any authorization to pass or go somewhere
From this reading Murph was a man to be admired, Pete knew, for Murph had a silver rocket and a passport to the stars.
pasturenounUS /ˈpæstʃər/
a field covered with grass or herbage and suitable for grazing by livestock
From this reading Careful to keep trees and bushes between himself and the cottage, the boy legged it across the fields toward the glass rocket poised in Johnson's pasture, glittering and slim like a dark, slender dancer.
Pete
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Murph was a man to be admired, Pete knew, for Murph had a silver rocket and a passport to the stars.
having a point
From this reading To Pete it was all the promise in the world distilled into a pointed black glass bottle.
poisedadjectiveUS /pɔɪzd/
marked by balance or equilibrium and readiness for action
From this reading Careful to keep trees and bushes between himself and the cottage, the boy legged it across the fields toward the glass rocket poised in Johnson's pasture, glittering and slim like a dark, slender dancer.
make a promise or commitment
From this reading To Pete it was all the promise in the world distilled into a pointed black glass bottle.
past form of “promise” — make a promise or commitment
From this reading Now Murph had promised him a ride....
sit and travel on the back of animal, usually while controlling its motions
From this reading Now Murph had promised him a ride....
rocketnounUS /ˈrɑːkət/
any vehicle self-propelled by a rocket engine
From this reading Murph was a man to be admired, Pete knew, for Murph had a silver rocket and a passport to the stars.
a soft white precious univalent metallic element having the highest electrical and thermal conductivity of any metal; occurs in argentite and in free form; used in coins and jewelry and tableware and photography
From this reading Murph was a man to be admired, Pete knew, for Murph had a silver rocket and a passport to the stars.
being of delicate or slender build
From this reading Careful to keep trees and bushes between himself and the cottage, the boy legged it across the fields toward the glass rocket poised in Johnson's pasture, glittering and slim like a dark, slender dancer.
slimadjectiveUS /slɪm/
being of delicate or slender build
From this reading Careful to keep trees and bushes between himself and the cottage, the boy legged it across the fields toward the glass rocket poised in Johnson's pasture, glittering and slim like a dark, slender dancer.
plural of “star” — (astronomy) a celestial body of hot gases that radiates energy derived from thermonuclear reactions in the interior
From this reading Murph was a man to be admired, Pete knew, for Murph had a silver rocket and a passport to the stars.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading Murph was a man to be admired, Pete knew, for Murph had a silver rocket and a passport to the stars.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading Murph was a man to be admired, Pete knew, for Murph had a silver rocket and a passport to the stars.
towardprepositionUS /təˈwɔːrd/
in the direction of
From this reading Careful to keep trees and bushes between himself and the cottage, the boy legged it across the fields toward the glass rocket poised in Johnson's pasture, glittering and slim like a dark, slender dancer.
plural of “tree” — a tall perennial woody plant having a main trunk and branches forming a distinct elevated crown; includes both gymnosperms and angiosperms
From this reading Careful to keep trees and bushes between himself and the cottage, the boy legged it across the fields toward the glass rocket poised in Johnson's pasture, glittering and slim like a dark, slender dancer.
wasauxiliary verbUS /wɑːz/
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading Murph was a man to be admired, Pete knew, for Murph had a silver rocket and a passport to the stars.
plural of “woman” — an adult female person (as opposed to a man)
From this reading But to the women in the cottage....
everything that exists anywhere
From this reading To Pete it was all the promise in the world distilled into a pointed black glass bottle.
