used before a singular noun to mean one of a group, when it is not a particular one
From this reading For a moment the thought of its being suddenly swept away, of having to start all over again in that slow, painful piling up of dimes and nickels, seemed an intolerable, an impossible thing.
quickly and without warning
From this reading THE APPEAL He stopped abruptly in the hall.
anew
From this reading For a moment the thought of its being suddenly swept away, of having to start all over again in that slow, painful piling up of dimes and nickels, seemed an intolerable, an impossible thing.
(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 For a moment the thought of its being suddenly swept away, of having to start all over again in that slow, painful piling up of dimes and nickels, seemed an intolerable, an impossible thing.
the form of “a” used before a word that begins with a vowel sound
From this reading For a moment the thought of its being suddenly swept away, of having to start all over again in that slow, painful piling up of dimes and nickels, seemed an intolerable, an impossible thing.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading That was what they lay up, and to the spending of which they had looked forward with such enthusiasm.
take a court case to a higher court for review
From this reading THE APPEAL He stopped abruptly in the hall.
from a particular thing or place or position (“forth” is obsolete)
From this reading For a moment the thought of its being suddenly swept away, of having to start all over again in that slow, painful piling up of dimes and nickels, seemed an intolerable, an impossible thing.
beingauxiliary verbUS /ˈbiːɪŋ/
the -ing form of “be”
From this reading For a moment the thought of its being suddenly swept away, of having to start all over again in that slow, painful piling up of dimes and nickels, seemed an intolerable, an impossible thing.
used to introduce something that contrasts with what came before
From this reading But that was their fund!
dimesnounUS /daɪmz/
plural of “dime” — a United States coin worth one tenth of a dollar
From this reading For a moment the thought of its being suddenly swept away, of having to start all over again in that slow, painful piling up of dimes and nickels, seemed an intolerable, an impossible thing.
a feeling of excitement
From this reading That was what they lay up, and to the spending of which they had looked forward with such enthusiasm.
intended to be given to, or used by, somebody
From this reading For a moment the thought of its being suddenly swept away, of having to start all over again in that slow, painful piling up of dimes and nickels, seemed an intolerable, an impossible thing.
at or to or toward the front
From this reading That was what they lay up, and to the spending of which they had looked forward with such enthusiasm.
fundnounUS /fʌnd/
a reserve of money set aside for some purpose
From this reading But that was their fund!
hadauxiliary verbUS /hæd/
the past form of “have”, used to form the past perfect
From this reading That was what they lay up, and to the spending of which they had looked forward with such enthusiasm.
an interior passage or corridor onto which rooms open
From this reading THE APPEAL He stopped abruptly in the hall.
havingauxiliary verbUS /ˈhævɪŋ/
the -ing form of “have”
From this reading For a moment the thought of its being suddenly swept away, of having to start all over again in that slow, painful piling up of dimes and nickels, seemed an intolerable, an impossible thing.
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading THE APPEAL He stopped abruptly in the hall.
not capable of occurring or being accomplished or dealt with
From this reading For a moment the thought of its being suddenly swept away, of having to start all over again in that slow, painful piling up of dimes and nickels, seemed an intolerable, an impossible thing.
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading THE APPEAL He stopped abruptly in the hall.
intolerableadjectiveUS /ˌɪnˈtɑːlərəbəl/
incapable of being tolerated or endured
From this reading For a moment the thought of its being suddenly swept away, of having to start all over again in that slow, painful piling up of dimes and nickels, seemed an intolerable, an impossible thing.
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading But it was only for a moment.
belonging to the thing or animal already mentioned
From this reading For a moment the thought of its being suddenly swept away, of having to start all over again in that slow, painful piling up of dimes and nickels, seemed an intolerable, an impossible thing.
put into a certain place or abstract location
From this reading That was what they lay up, and to the spending of which they had looked forward with such enthusiasm.
past form of “look” — perceive with attention; direct one's gaze towards
From this reading That was what they lay up, and to the spending of which they had looked forward with such enthusiasm.
a particular point in time
From this reading For a moment the thought of its being suddenly swept away, of having to start all over again in that slow, painful piling up of dimes and nickels, seemed an intolerable, an impossible thing.
nickelsnounUS /ˈnɪkəlz/
plural of “nickel” — a hard malleable ductile silvery metallic element that is resistant to corrosion; used in alloys; occurs in pentlandite and smaltite and garnierite and millerite
From this reading For a moment the thought of its being suddenly swept away, of having to start all over again in that slow, painful piling up of dimes and nickels, seemed an intolerable, an impossible thing.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading That was what they lay up, and to the spending of which they had looked forward with such enthusiasm.
and nothing more
From this reading But it was only for a moment.
overprepositionUS /ˈoʊvər/
above and across; more than
From this reading For a moment the thought of its being suddenly swept away, of having to start all over again in that slow, painful piling up of dimes and nickels, seemed an intolerable, an impossible thing.
causing physical or psychological pain
From this reading For a moment the thought of its being suddenly swept away, of having to start all over again in that slow, painful piling up of dimes and nickels, seemed an intolerable, an impossible thing.
pilingnounUS /ˈpaɪlɪŋ/
a column of wood or steel or concrete that is driven into the ground to provide support for a structure
From this reading For a moment the thought of its being suddenly swept away, of having to start all over again in that slow, painful piling up of dimes and nickels, seemed an intolerable, an impossible thing.
past form of “seem” — give a certain impression or have a certain outward aspect
From this reading For a moment the thought of its being suddenly swept away, of having to start all over again in that slow, painful piling up of dimes and nickels, seemed an intolerable, an impossible thing.
not moving quickly; taking a comparatively long time
From this reading For a moment the thought of its being suddenly swept away, of having to start all over again in that slow, painful piling up of dimes and nickels, seemed an intolerable, an impossible thing.
spendingnounUS /ˈspendɪŋ/
the act of spending or disbursing money
From this reading That was what they lay up, and to the spending of which they had looked forward with such enthusiasm.
take the first step or steps in carrying out an action
From this reading For a moment the thought of its being suddenly swept away, of having to start all over again in that slow, painful piling up of dimes and nickels, seemed an intolerable, an impossible thing.
(of a nose) blocked
From this reading THE APPEAL He stopped abruptly in the hall.
of the kind already mentioned
From this reading That was what they lay up, and to the spending of which they had looked forward with such enthusiasm.
happening unexpectedly
From this reading For a moment the thought of its being suddenly swept away, of having to start all over again in that slow, painful piling up of dimes and nickels, seemed an intolerable, an impossible thing.
possessing sweep
From this reading For a moment the thought of its being suddenly swept away, of having to start all over again in that slow, painful piling up of dimes and nickels, seemed an intolerable, an impossible thing.
used to introduce what somebody said, thought, or felt
From this reading But that was their fund!
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading THE APPEAL He stopped abruptly in the hall.
belonging to the people or things already mentioned
From this reading But that was their fund!
the people, animals, or things already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading That was what they lay up, and to the spending of which they had looked forward with such enthusiasm.
a special situation
From this reading For a moment the thought of its being suddenly swept away, of having to start all over again in that slow, painful piling up of dimes and nickels, seemed an intolerable, an impossible thing.
the content of cognition; the main thing you are thinking about
From this reading For a moment the thought of its being suddenly swept away, of having to start all over again in that slow, painful piling up of dimes and nickels, seemed an intolerable, an impossible thing.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading That was what they lay up, and to the spending of which they had looked forward with such enthusiasm.
being or moving higher in position or greater in some value; being above a former position or level
From this reading That was what they lay up, and to the spending of which they had looked forward with such enthusiasm.
wasauxiliary verbUS /wɑːz/
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading But that was their fund!
used to ask for information about something
From this reading That was what they lay up, and to the spending of which they had looked forward with such enthusiasm.
used to introduce a clause giving more about a thing just mentioned
From this reading That was what they lay up, and to the spending of which they had looked forward with such enthusiasm.
in the company of; together with
From this reading That was what they lay up, and to the spending of which they had looked forward with such enthusiasm.
