used before a singular noun to mean one of a group, when it is not a particular one
From this reading He looked at her a long time; and now his eyes glided down over her whole body, so that she mechanically drew in her feet under her dress, and pressed her arms against her body, as though to defend herself.
touching and pressing; in opposition to
From this reading He looked at her a long time; and now his eyes glided down over her whole body, so that she mechanically drew in her feet under her dress, and pressed her arms against her body, as though to defend herself.
(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 "How did it happen at all that you had already suddenly ceased to visit us some considerable time before my father's death?"
prior to a specified or implied time
From this reading "How did it happen at all that you had already suddenly ceased to visit us some considerable time before my father's death?"
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading He looked at her a long time; and now his eyes glided down over her whole body, so that she mechanically drew in her feet under her dress, and pressed her arms against her body, as though to defend herself.
weapons considered collectively
From this reading He looked at her a long time; and now his eyes glided down over her whole body, so that she mechanically drew in her feet under her dress, and pressed her arms against her body, as though to defend herself.
at the same time that; because; in the way that
From this reading He looked at her a long time; and now his eyes glided down over her whole body, so that she mechanically drew in her feet under her dress, and pressed her arms against her body, as though to defend herself.
in or near a particular place or position
From this reading "How did it happen at all that you had already suddenly ceased to visit us some considerable time before my father's death?"
earlier than; in front of
From this reading "How did it happen at all that you had already suddenly ceased to visit us some considerable time before my father's death?"
the entire physical structure of an organism (an animal, plant, or human being)
From this reading He looked at her a long time; and now his eyes glided down over her whole body, so that she mechanically drew in her feet under her dress, and pressed her arms against her body, as though to defend herself.
used to introduce something that contrasts with what came before
From this reading "But why didn't you come to see us in those days?" she continued.
inflected form of “come” — move toward, travel toward something or somebody or approach something or somebody
From this reading "Well, how did it happen that you came to get married?"
past form of “cease” — put an end to a state or an activity
From this reading "How did it happen at all that you had already suddenly ceased to visit us some considerable time before my father's death?"
move toward, travel toward something or somebody or approach something or somebody
From this reading "But why didn't you come to see us in those days?" she continued.
large or relatively large in number or amount or extent or degree
From this reading "How did it happen at all that you had already suddenly ceased to visit us some considerable time before my father's death?"
without stop or interruption
From this reading "But why didn't you come to see us in those days?" she continued.
the time during which someone's life continues
From this reading "But why didn't you come to see us in those days?" she continued.
the event of dying or departure from life
From this reading "How did it happen at all that you had already suddenly ceased to visit us some considerable time before my father's death?"
argue or speak in defense of
From this reading He looked at her a long time; and now his eyes glided down over her whole body, so that she mechanically drew in her feet under her dress, and pressed her arms against her body, as though to defend herself.
didauxiliary verbUS /dɪd/
the past form of “do”, used in questions and negatives
From this reading "How did it happen at all that you had already suddenly ceased to visit us some considerable time before my father's death?"
didn't
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading "But why didn't you come to see us in those days?" she continued.
being or moving lower in position or less in some value
From this reading He looked at her a long time; and now his eyes glided down over her whole body, so that she mechanically drew in her feet under her dress, and pressed her arms against her body, as though to defend herself.
put on clothes
From this reading He looked at her a long time; and now his eyes glided down over her whole body, so that she mechanically drew in her feet under her dress, and pressed her arms against her body, as though to defend herself.
United States actor (born in Ireland); father of Georgiana Emma Barrymore (1827-1862)
From this reading He looked at her a long time; and now his eyes glided down over her whole body, so that she mechanically drew in her feet under her dress, and pressed her arms against her body, as though to defend herself.
opinion or judgment
From this reading He looked at her a long time; and now his eyes glided down over her whole body, so that she mechanically drew in her feet under her dress, and pressed her arms against her body, as though to defend herself.
father'snounUS /ˈfɑːðərz/
possessive form of “father” — a male parent (also used as a term of address to your father)
From this reading "How did it happen at all that you had already suddenly ceased to visit us some considerable time before my father's death?"
plural of “foot” — the part of the leg of a human being below the ankle joint
From this reading He looked at her a long time; and now his eyes glided down over her whole body, so that she mechanically drew in her feet under her dress, and pressed her arms against her body, as though to defend herself.
come into the possession of something concrete or abstract
From this reading "Well, how did it happen that you came to get married?"
glidedverbUS /ˈɡlaɪdɪd/
past form of “glide” — move smoothly and effortlessly
From this reading He looked at her a long time; and now his eyes glided down over her whole body, so that she mechanically drew in her feet under her dress, and pressed her arms against her body, as though to defend herself.
in a gradual manner
From this reading "Suddenly?--Gradually!"
hadauxiliary verbUS /hæd/
the past form of “have”, used to form the past perfect
From this reading "How did it happen at all that you had already suddenly ceased to visit us some considerable time before my father's death?"
come to pass
From this reading "How did it happen at all that you had already suddenly ceased to visit us some considerable time before my father's death?"
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading He looked at her a long time; and now his eyes glided down over her whole body, so that she mechanically drew in her feet under her dress, and pressed her arms against her body, as though to defend herself.
belonging to a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned
From this reading He looked at her a long time; and now his eyes glided down over her whole body, so that she mechanically drew in her feet under her dress, and pressed her arms against her body, as though to defend herself.
used when the woman or girl doing the action is also its object
From this reading He looked at her a long time; and now his eyes glided down over her whole body, so that she mechanically drew in her feet under her dress, and pressed her arms against her body, as though to defend herself.
belonging to a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned
From this reading He looked at her a long time; and now his eyes glided down over her whole body, so that she mechanically drew in her feet under her dress, and pressed her arms against her body, as though to defend herself.
How
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading "How did it happen at all that you had already suddenly ceased to visit us some considerable time before my father's death?"
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading "But why didn't you come to see us in those days?" she continued.
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading "How did it happen at all that you had already suddenly ceased to visit us some considerable time before my father's death?"
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 He looked at her a long time; and now his eyes glided down over her whole body, so that she mechanically drew in her feet under her dress, and pressed her arms against her body, as though to defend herself.
past form of “look” — perceive with attention; direct one's gaze towards
From this reading He looked at her a long time; and now his eyes glided down over her whole body, so that she mechanically drew in her feet under her dress, and pressed her arms against her body, as though to defend herself.
joined in matrimony
From this reading "Well, how did it happen that you came to get married?"
mechanicallyadverbUS /məˈkænɪkli/
in a mechanical manner; by a mechanism
From this reading He looked at her a long time; and now his eyes glided down over her whole body, so that she mechanically drew in her feet under her dress, and pressed her arms against her body, as though to defend herself.
belonging to the person speaking
From this reading "How did it happen at all that you had already suddenly ceased to visit us some considerable time before my father's death?"
in the historical present; at this point in the narration of a series of past events
From this reading He looked at her a long time; and now his eyes glided down over her whole body, so that she mechanically drew in her feet under her dress, and pressed her arms against her body, as though to defend herself.
overprepositionUS /ˈoʊvər/
above and across; more than
From this reading He looked at her a long time; and now his eyes glided down over her whole body, so that she mechanically drew in her feet under her dress, and pressed her arms against her body, as though to defend herself.
compacted by ironing
From this reading He looked at her a long time; and now his eyes glided down over her whole body, so that she mechanically drew in her feet under her dress, and pressed her arms against her body, as though to defend herself.
perceive by sight or have the power to perceive by sight
From this reading "But why didn't you come to see us in those days?" she continued.
a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading "But why didn't you come to see us in those days?" she continued.
for that reason; with the result that
From this reading He looked at her a long time; and now his eyes glided down over her whole body, so that she mechanically drew in her feet under her dress, and pressed her arms against her body, as though to defend herself.
(quantifier) used with either mass nouns or plural count nouns to indicate an unspecified number or quantity
From this reading "How did it happen at all that you had already suddenly ceased to visit us some considerable time before my father's death?"
happening unexpectedly
From this reading "How did it happen at all that you had already suddenly ceased to visit us some considerable time before my father's death?"
used to introduce what somebody said, thought, or felt
From this reading "How did it happen at all that you had already suddenly ceased to visit us some considerable time before my father's death?"
the plural of “that”: the people or things further away, or already known
From this reading "But why didn't you come to see us in those days?" she continued.
in spite of the fact that
From this reading He looked at her a long time; and now his eyes glided down over her whole body, so that she mechanically drew in her feet under her dress, and pressed her arms against her body, as though to defend herself.
an instance or single occasion for some event
From this reading "How did it happen at all that you had already suddenly ceased to visit us some considerable time before my father's death?"
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading "But why didn't you come to see us in those days?" she continued.
underprepositionUS /ˈʌndər/
below or beneath something; less than
From this reading He looked at her a long time; and now his eyes glided down over her whole body, so that she mechanically drew in her feet under her dress, and pressed her arms against her body, as though to defend herself.
the speaker and others, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading "But why didn't you come to see us in those days?" she continued.
go to see a place, as for entertainment
From this reading "How did it happen at all that you had already suddenly ceased to visit us some considerable time before my father's death?"
(often used as a combining form) in a good or proper or satisfactory manner or to a high standard (“good” is a nonstandard dialectal variant for “well”)
From this reading "Well, how did it happen that you came to get married?"
including all components without exception; being one unit or constituting the full amount or extent or duration; complete
From this reading He looked at her a long time; and now his eyes glided down over her whole body, so that she mechanically drew in her feet under her dress, and pressed her arms against her body, as though to defend herself.
the cause or intention underlying an action or situation, especially in the phrase “the whys and wherefores”
From this reading "But why didn't you come to see us in those days?" she continued.
the person or people being spoken to
From this reading "But why didn't you come to see us in those days?" she continued.
