used before a singular noun to mean one of a group, when it is not a particular one
From this reading A white trembling hand was on Coldstream’s arm, and he turned to meet the wistful, pleading gaze of his wife, whose light footstep he had not heard when she came to seek him.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading A white trembling hand was on Coldstream’s arm, and he turned to meet the wistful, pleading gaze of his wife, whose light footstep he had not heard when she came to seek him.
a human limb; technically the part of the superior limb between the shoulder and the elbow but commonly used to refer to the whole superior limb
From this reading A white trembling hand was on Coldstream’s arm, and he turned to meet the wistful, pleading gaze of his wife, whose light footstep he had not heard when she came to seek him.
used to introduce something that contrasts with what came before
From this reading “What would Oscar do but for Io? is it Io who keeps him from peace?”
inflected form of “come” — move toward, travel toward something or somebody or approach something or somebody
From this reading A white trembling hand was on Coldstream’s arm, and he turned to meet the wistful, pleading gaze of his wife, whose light footstep he had not heard when she came to seek him.
Coldstream's
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading A white trembling hand was on Coldstream’s arm, and he turned to meet the wistful, pleading gaze of his wife, whose light footstep he had not heard when she came to seek him.
CONFESSIONnounUS /kənˈfeʃən/
an admission of misdeeds or faults
From this reading CONFESSION.
the past of “can”; used for possibility or polite requests
From this reading Her husband could not reply.
used to form questions and negatives, and to give emphasis
From this reading “What would Oscar do but for Io? is it Io who keeps him from peace?”
divisible by two
From this reading “O Oscar――my life! there is some terrible secret which you would keep even from me.
footstepnounUS /ˈfʊtstep/
the sound of a step of someone walking
From this reading A white trembling hand was on Coldstream’s arm, and he turned to meet the wistful, pleading gaze of his wife, whose light footstep he had not heard when she came to seek him.
intended to be given to, or used by, somebody
From this reading “What would Oscar do but for Io? is it Io who keeps him from peace?”
showing where something starts, or who sent it
From this reading “What would Oscar do but for Io? is it Io who keeps him from peace?”
a long fixed look
From this reading A white trembling hand was on Coldstream’s arm, and he turned to meet the wistful, pleading gaze of his wife, whose light footstep he had not heard when she came to seek him.
hadauxiliary verbUS /hæd/
the past form of “have”, used to form the past perfect
From this reading A white trembling hand was on Coldstream’s arm, and he turned to meet the wistful, pleading gaze of his wife, whose light footstep he had not heard when she came to seek him.
the (prehensile) extremity of the superior limb
From this reading A white trembling hand was on Coldstream’s arm, and he turned to meet the wistful, pleading gaze of his wife, whose light footstep he had not heard when she came to seek him.
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading A white trembling hand was on Coldstream’s arm, and he turned to meet the wistful, pleading gaze of his wife, whose light footstep he had not heard when she came to seek him.
detected or perceived by the sense of hearing
From this reading A white trembling hand was on Coldstream’s arm, and he turned to meet the wistful, pleading gaze of his wife, whose light footstep he had not heard when she came to seek him.
belonging to a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned
From this reading Her husband could not reply.
the male already mentioned, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading “What would Oscar do but for Io? is it Io who keeps him from peace?”
belonging to a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned
From this reading A white trembling hand was on Coldstream’s arm, and he turned to meet the wistful, pleading gaze of his wife, whose light footstep he had not heard when she came to seek him.
a married man; a woman's partner in marriage
From this reading Her husband could not reply.
IonounUS /ˈaɪoʊ/
(Greek mythology) a maiden seduced by Zeus; when Hera was about to discover them together Zeus turned her into a white heifer
From this reading “What would Oscar do but for Io? is it Io who keeps him from peace?”
the form of “be” used with he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading “What would Oscar do but for Io? is it Io who keeps him from peace?”
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading “What would Oscar do but for Io? is it Io who keeps him from peace?”
cause to continue in a certain state, position, or activity; e.g., “keep clean”
From this reading “O Oscar――my life! there is some terrible secret which you would keep even from me.
plural of “keep” — the financial means whereby one lives
From this reading “What would Oscar do but for Io? is it Io who keeps him from peace?”
a characteristic state or mode of living
From this reading “O Oscar――my life! there is some terrible secret which you would keep even from me.
of comparatively little physical weight or density
From this reading A white trembling hand was on Coldstream’s arm, and he turned to meet the wistful, pleading gaze of his wife, whose light footstep he had not heard when she came to seek him.
the person speaking, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading “O Oscar――my life! there is some terrible secret which you would keep even from me.
come together
From this reading A white trembling hand was on Coldstream’s arm, and he turned to meet the wistful, pleading gaze of his wife, whose light footstep he had not heard when she came to seek him.
belonging to the person speaking
From this reading “O Oscar――my life! there is some terrible secret which you would keep even from me.
used to make a word, phrase, or sentence negative
From this reading A white trembling hand was on Coldstream’s arm, and he turned to meet the wistful, pleading gaze of his wife, whose light footstep he had not heard when she came to seek him.
a nonmetallic bivalent element that is normally a colorless odorless tasteless nonflammable diatomic gas; constitutes 21 percent of the atmosphere by volume; the most abundant element in the earth's crust
From this reading “O Oscar――my life! there is some terrible secret which you would keep even from me.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading A white trembling hand was on Coldstream’s arm, and he turned to meet the wistful, pleading gaze of his wife, whose light footstep he had not heard when she came to seek him.
touching and supported by a surface
From this reading A white trembling hand was on Coldstream’s arm, and he turned to meet the wistful, pleading gaze of his wife, whose light footstep he had not heard when she came to seek him.
OscarnounUS /ˈɔːskər/
an annual award by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences for achievements in motion picture production and performance
From this reading “What would Oscar do but for Io? is it Io who keeps him from peace?”
the state prevailing during the absence of war
From this reading “What would Oscar do but for Io? is it Io who keeps him from peace?”
pleadingnounUS /ˈpliːdɪŋ/
(law) a statement in legal and logical form stating something on behalf of a party to a legal proceeding
From this reading A white trembling hand was on Coldstream’s arm, and he turned to meet the wistful, pleading gaze of his wife, whose light footstep he had not heard when she came to seek him.
a statement (either spoken or written) that is made to reply to a question or request or criticism or accusation
From this reading Her husband could not reply.
Something that is kept or meant to be kept unknown or unseen by others.
From this reading “O Oscar――my life! there is some terrible secret which you would keep even from me.
try to get or reach
From this reading A white trembling hand was on Coldstream’s arm, and he turned to meet the wistful, pleading gaze of his wife, whose light footstep he had not heard when she came to seek him.
a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading A white trembling hand was on Coldstream’s arm, and he turned to meet the wistful, pleading gaze of his wife, whose light footstep he had not heard when she came to seek him.
(quantifier) used with either mass nouns or plural count nouns to indicate an unspecified number or quantity
From this reading “O Oscar――my life! there is some terrible secret which you would keep even from me.
causing fear or dread or terror
From this reading “O Oscar――my life! there is some terrible secret which you would keep even from me.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading A white trembling hand was on Coldstream’s arm, and he turned to meet the wistful, pleading gaze of his wife, whose light footstep he had not heard when she came to seek him.
in or at that place or location
From this reading “O Oscar――my life! there is some terrible secret which you would keep even from me.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading A white trembling hand was on Coldstream’s arm, and he turned to meet the wistful, pleading gaze of his wife, whose light footstep he had not heard when she came to seek him.
a shaky motion
From this reading A white trembling hand was on Coldstream’s arm, and he turned to meet the wistful, pleading gaze of his wife, whose light footstep he had not heard when she came to seek him.
moved around an axis or center
From this reading A white trembling hand was on Coldstream’s arm, and he turned to meet the wistful, pleading gaze of his wife, whose light footstep he had not heard when she came to seek him.
wasauxiliary verbUS /wɑːz/
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading A white trembling hand was on Coldstream’s arm, and he turned to meet the wistful, pleading gaze of his wife, whose light footstep he had not heard when she came to seek him.
used to ask for information about something
From this reading “What would Oscar do but for Io? is it Io who keeps him from peace?”
at the time that
From this reading A white trembling hand was on Coldstream’s arm, and he turned to meet the wistful, pleading gaze of his wife, whose light footstep he had not heard when she came to seek him.
used to introduce a clause giving more about a thing just mentioned
From this reading “O Oscar――my life! there is some terrible secret which you would keep even from me.
a Caucasian
From this reading A white trembling hand was on Coldstream’s arm, and he turned to meet the wistful, pleading gaze of his wife, whose light footstep he had not heard when she came to seek him.
which person or people
From this reading “What would Oscar do but for Io? is it Io who keeps him from peace?”
belonging to which person
From this reading A white trembling hand was on Coldstream’s arm, and he turned to meet the wistful, pleading gaze of his wife, whose light footstep he had not heard when she came to seek him.
a married woman; a man's partner in marriage
From this reading A white trembling hand was on Coldstream’s arm, and he turned to meet the wistful, pleading gaze of his wife, whose light footstep he had not heard when she came to seek him.
wistfuladjectiveUS /ˈwɪstfəl/
showing pensive sadness
From this reading A white trembling hand was on Coldstream’s arm, and he turned to meet the wistful, pleading gaze of his wife, whose light footstep he had not heard when she came to seek him.
used for something imagined, polite, or habitual in the past
From this reading “What would Oscar do but for Io? is it Io who keeps him from peace?”
the person or people being spoken to
From this reading “O Oscar――my life! there is some terrible secret which you would keep even from me.
