used before a singular noun to mean one of a group, when it is not a particular one
From this reading It took the other girls some time to get the whole story from Billie, but when she had stammered it out to them they broke into a babel of excited exclamations that threatened to bring one of the teachers to their hiding place.
aboutprepositionUS /əˈbaʊt/
on the subject of; concerning
From this reading “But Billie,” protested Laura, though her voice sank to a more cautious whisper, “we’ve got to do something about it, you know.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading It was Billie herself who thought of this danger and who finally managed to calm them down a little.
babelnounUS /ˈbæbəl/
(Genesis 11:1-11) a tower built by Noah's descendants (probably in Babylon) who intended it to reach up to heaven; God foiled them by confusing their language so they could no longer understand one another
From this reading It took the other girls some time to get the whole story from Billie, but when she had stammered it out to them they broke into a babel of excited exclamations that threatened to bring one of the teachers to their hiding place.
Billie
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading It took the other girls some time to get the whole story from Billie, but when she had stammered it out to them they broke into a babel of excited exclamations that threatened to bring one of the teachers to their hiding place.
take something or somebody with oneself somewhere
From this reading It took the other girls some time to get the whole story from Billie, but when she had stammered it out to them they broke into a babel of excited exclamations that threatened to bring one of the teachers to their hiding place.
lacking funds
From this reading It took the other girls some time to get the whole story from Billie, but when she had stammered it out to them they broke into a babel of excited exclamations that threatened to bring one of the teachers to their hiding place.
used to introduce something that contrasts with what came before
From this reading It took the other girls some time to get the whole story from Billie, but when she had stammered it out to them they broke into a babel of excited exclamations that threatened to bring one of the teachers to their hiding place.
make calm or still
From this reading It was Billie herself who thought of this danger and who finally managed to calm them down a little.
cautiousadjectiveUS /ˈkɔːʃəs/
showing careful forethought
From this reading “But Billie,” protested Laura, though her voice sank to a more cautious whisper, “we’ve got to do something about it, you know.
the condition of being susceptible to harm or injury
From this reading It was Billie herself who thought of this danger and who finally managed to calm them down a little.
used to form questions and negatives, and to give emphasis
From this reading “But Billie,” protested Laura, though her voice sank to a more cautious whisper, “we’ve got to do something about it, you know.
being or moving lower in position or less in some value
From this reading It was Billie herself who thought of this danger and who finally managed to calm them down a little.
entreated
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading “Not so loud,” she entreated, still feeling faint and shaky from her experience.
(of persons) excessively affected by emotion
From this reading It took the other girls some time to get the whole story from Billie, but when she had stammered it out to them they broke into a babel of excited exclamations that threatened to bring one of the teachers to their hiding place.
exclamationsnounUS /ˌekskləˈmeɪʃənz/
plural of “exclamation” — an abrupt excited utterance
From this reading It took the other girls some time to get the whole story from Billie, but when she had stammered it out to them they broke into a babel of excited exclamations that threatened to bring one of the teachers to their hiding place.
undergo or live through a difficult experience
From this reading “Not so loud,” she entreated, still feeling faint and shaky from her experience.
deficient in magnitude; barely perceptible; lacking clarity or brightness or loudness etc
From this reading “Not so loud,” she entreated, still feeling faint and shaky from her experience.
the experiencing of affective and emotional states
From this reading “Not so loud,” she entreated, still feeling faint and shaky from her experience.
after an unspecified period of time or an especially long delay
From this reading It was Billie herself who thought of this danger and who finally managed to calm them down a little.
plural of “find” — a productive insight
From this reading “You know what will happen if somebody finds us here.”
showing where something starts, or who sent it
From this reading It took the other girls some time to get the whole story from Billie, but when she had stammered it out to them they broke into a babel of excited exclamations that threatened to bring one of the teachers to their hiding place.
come into the possession of something concrete or abstract
From this reading It took the other girls some time to get the whole story from Billie, but when she had stammered it out to them they broke into a babel of excited exclamations that threatened to bring one of the teachers to their hiding place.
plural of “girl” — a young female
From this reading It took the other girls some time to get the whole story from Billie, but when she had stammered it out to them they broke into a babel of excited exclamations that threatened to bring one of the teachers to their hiding place.
inflected form of “get” — come into the possession of something concrete or abstract
From this reading “But Billie,” protested Laura, though her voice sank to a more cautious whisper, “we’ve got to do something about it, you know.
hadauxiliary verbUS /hæd/
the past form of “have”, used to form the past perfect
From this reading It took the other girls some time to get the whole story from Billie, but when she had stammered it out to them they broke into a babel of excited exclamations that threatened to bring one of the teachers to their hiding place.
come to pass
From this reading “You know what will happen if somebody finds us here.”
belonging to a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned
From this reading “Not so loud,” she entreated, still feeling faint and shaky from her experience.
in or at this place; where the speaker or writer is
From this reading “You know what will happen if somebody finds us here.”
used when the woman or girl doing the action is also its object
From this reading It was Billie herself who thought of this danger and who finally managed to calm them down a little.
hidingnounUS /ˈhaɪdɪŋ/
the activity of keeping something secret
From this reading It took the other girls some time to get the whole story from Billie, but when she had stammered it out to them they broke into a babel of excited exclamations that threatened to bring one of the teachers to their hiding place.
on condition that; in the event that
From this reading “You know what will happen if somebody finds us here.”
intoprepositionUS /ˈɪntuː/
moving to the inside of something
From this reading It took the other girls some time to get the whole story from Billie, but when she had stammered it out to them they broke into a babel of excited exclamations that threatened to bring one of the teachers to their hiding place.
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading It took the other girls some time to get the whole story from Billie, but when she had stammered it out to them they broke into a babel of excited exclamations that threatened to bring one of the teachers to their hiding place.
be cognizant or aware of a fact or a specific piece of information; possess knowledge or information about
From this reading “You know what will happen if somebody finds us here.”
Laura
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading “But Billie,” protested Laura, though her voice sank to a more cautious whisper, “we’ve got to do something about it, you know.
limited or below average in number or quantity or magnitude or extent
From this reading It was Billie herself who thought of this danger and who finally managed to calm them down a little.
characterized by or producing sound of great volume or intensity
From this reading “Not so loud,” she entreated, still feeling faint and shaky from her experience.
past form of “manage” — be successful; achieve a goal
From this reading It was Billie herself who thought of this danger and who finally managed to calm them down a little.
(comparative of “much” used with mass nouns) a quantifier meaning greater in size or amount or extent or degree
From this reading “But Billie,” protested Laura, though her voice sank to a more cautious whisper, “we’ve got to do something about it, you know.
used to make a word, phrase, or sentence negative
From this reading “Not so loud,” she entreated, still feeling faint and shaky from her experience.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading It took the other girls some time to get the whole story from Billie, but when she had stammered it out to them they broke into a babel of excited exclamations that threatened to bring one of the teachers to their hiding place.
used to mean any person in general, including the speaker
From this reading It took the other girls some time to get the whole story from Billie, but when she had stammered it out to them they broke into a babel of excited exclamations that threatened to bring one of the teachers to their hiding place.
not the same one or ones already mentioned or implied
From this reading It took the other girls some time to get the whole story from Billie, but when she had stammered it out to them they broke into a babel of excited exclamations that threatened to bring one of the teachers to their hiding place.
not allowed to continue to bat or run
From this reading It took the other girls some time to get the whole story from Billie, but when she had stammered it out to them they broke into a babel of excited exclamations that threatened to bring one of the teachers to their hiding place.
a point located with respect to surface features of some region
From this reading It took the other girls some time to get the whole story from Billie, but when she had stammered it out to them they broke into a babel of excited exclamations that threatened to bring one of the teachers to their hiding place.
protestedverbUS /prəˈtestɪd/
past form of “protest” — utter words of protest
From this reading “But Billie,” protested Laura, though her voice sank to a more cautious whisper, “we’ve got to do something about it, you know.
inflected form of “sink” — fall or descend to a lower place or level
From this reading “But Billie,” protested Laura, though her voice sank to a more cautious whisper, “we’ve got to do something about it, you know.
shakyadjectiveUS /ˈʃeɪki/
inclined to shake as from weakness or defect
From this reading “Not so loud,” she entreated, still feeling faint and shaky from her experience.
a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading It took the other girls some time to get the whole story from Billie, but when she had stammered it out to them they broke into a babel of excited exclamations that threatened to bring one of the teachers to their hiding place.
for that reason; with the result that
From this reading “Not so loud,” she entreated, still feeling faint and shaky from her experience.
(quantifier) used with either mass nouns or plural count nouns to indicate an unspecified number or quantity
From this reading It took the other girls some time to get the whole story from Billie, but when she had stammered it out to them they broke into a babel of excited exclamations that threatened to bring one of the teachers to their hiding place.
a person, without saying who
From this reading “You know what will happen if somebody finds us here.”
a thing, without saying which
From this reading “But Billie,” protested Laura, though her voice sank to a more cautious whisper, “we’ve got to do something about it, you know.
stammered
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading It took the other girls some time to get the whole story from Billie, but when she had stammered it out to them they broke into a babel of excited exclamations that threatened to bring one of the teachers to their hiding place.
not in physical motion
From this reading “Not so loud,” she entreated, still feeling faint and shaky from her experience.
a message that tells the particulars of an act or occurrence or course of events; presented in writing or drama or cinema or as a radio or television program
From this reading It took the other girls some time to get the whole story from Billie, but when she had stammered it out to them they broke into a babel of excited exclamations that threatened to bring one of the teachers to their hiding place.
teachersnounUS /ˈtiːtʃərz/
plural of “teacher” — a person whose occupation is teaching
From this reading It took the other girls some time to get the whole story from Billie, but when she had stammered it out to them they broke into a babel of excited exclamations that threatened to bring one of the teachers to their hiding place.
used to introduce what somebody said, thought, or felt
From this reading It took the other girls some time to get the whole story from Billie, but when she had stammered it out to them they broke into a babel of excited exclamations that threatened to bring one of the teachers to their hiding place.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading It took the other girls some time to get the whole story from Billie, but when she had stammered it out to them they broke into a babel of excited exclamations that threatened to bring one of the teachers to their hiding place.
belonging to the people or things already mentioned
From this reading It took the other girls some time to get the whole story from Billie, but when she had stammered it out to them they broke into a babel of excited exclamations that threatened to bring one of the teachers to their hiding place.
the people or things already mentioned, as the object
From this reading It took the other girls some time to get the whole story from Billie, but when she had stammered it out to them they broke into a babel of excited exclamations that threatened to bring one of the teachers to their hiding place.
the people, animals, or things already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading It took the other girls some time to get the whole story from Billie, but when she had stammered it out to them they broke into a babel of excited exclamations that threatened to bring one of the teachers to their hiding place.
used for a person or thing that is near, or that has just been mentioned
From this reading It was Billie herself who thought of this danger and who finally managed to calm them down a little.
in spite of the fact that
From this reading “But Billie,” protested Laura, though her voice sank to a more cautious whisper, “we’ve got to do something about it, you know.
the content of cognition; the main thing you are thinking about
From this reading It was Billie herself who thought of this danger and who finally managed to calm them down a little.
(of flora or fauna) likely in the near future to become endangered
From this reading It took the other girls some time to get the whole story from Billie, but when she had stammered it out to them they broke into a babel of excited exclamations that threatened to bring one of the teachers to their hiding place.
an instance or single occasion for some event
From this reading It took the other girls some time to get the whole story from Billie, but when she had stammered it out to them they broke into a babel of excited exclamations that threatened to bring one of the teachers to their hiding place.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading It took the other girls some time to get the whole story from Billie, but when she had stammered it out to them they broke into a babel of excited exclamations that threatened to bring one of the teachers to their hiding place.
inflected form of “take” — carry out
From this reading It took the other girls some time to get the whole story from Billie, but when she had stammered it out to them they broke into a babel of excited exclamations that threatened to bring one of the teachers to their hiding place.
the speaker and others, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading “You know what will happen if somebody finds us here.”
the distinctive quality or pitch or condition of a person's speech
From this reading “But Billie,” protested Laura, though her voice sank to a more cautious whisper, “we’ve got to do something about it, you know.
wasauxiliary verbUS /wɑːz/
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading It was Billie herself who thought of this danger and who finally managed to calm them down a little.
we've
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading “But Billie,” protested Laura, though her voice sank to a more cautious whisper, “we’ve got to do something about it, you know.
used to ask for information about something
From this reading “You know what will happen if somebody finds us here.”
at the time that
From this reading It took the other girls some time to get the whole story from Billie, but when she had stammered it out to them they broke into a babel of excited exclamations that threatened to bring one of the teachers to their hiding place.
speaking softly without vibration of the vocal cords
From this reading “But Billie,” protested Laura, though her voice sank to a more cautious whisper, “we’ve got to do something about it, you know.
which person or people
From this reading It was Billie herself who thought of this danger and who finally managed to calm them down a little.
including all components without exception; being one unit or constituting the full amount or extent or duration; complete
From this reading It took the other girls some time to get the whole story from Billie, but when she had stammered it out to them they broke into a babel of excited exclamations that threatened to bring one of the teachers to their hiding place.
used to talk about the future, or about willingness
From this reading “You know what will happen if somebody finds us here.”
the person or people being spoken to
From this reading “You know what will happen if somebody finds us here.”
