used before a singular noun to mean one of a group, when it is not a particular one
From this reading Before the three adventurers had gone many yards, a Chinese beggar sidled up to Charlie and begged his honourable brother to bestow a gift upon the degraded dog who addressed him.
(of mail) marked with a destination
From this reading Before the three adventurers had gone many yards, a Chinese beggar sidled up to Charlie and begged his honourable brother to bestow a gift upon the degraded dog who addressed him.
adventurersnounUS /ædˈventʃərərz/
plural of “adventurer” — a person who enjoys taking risks
From this reading Before the three adventurers had gone many yards, a Chinese beggar sidled up to Charlie and begged his honourable brother to bestow a gift upon the degraded dog who addressed him.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading Before the three adventurers had gone many yards, a Chinese beggar sidled up to Charlie and begged his honourable brother to bestow a gift upon the degraded dog who addressed him.
the verbal act of requesting
From this reading At first Charlie did not know whether the man was asking what the time was, or whether he desired to be directed to some place.
in or near a particular place or position
From this reading At first Charlie did not know whether the man was asking what the time was, or whether he desired to be directed to some place.
used with a past participle to form the passive, or with -ing for continuous tenses
From this reading At first Charlie did not know whether the man was asking what the time was, or whether he desired to be directed to some place.
earlier than; in front of
From this reading Before the three adventurers had gone many yards, a Chinese beggar sidled up to Charlie and begged his honourable brother to bestow a gift upon the degraded dog who addressed him.
beggarnounUS /ˈbeɡər/
a pauper who lives by begging
From this reading Before the three adventurers had gone many yards, a Chinese beggar sidled up to Charlie and begged his honourable brother to bestow a gift upon the degraded dog who addressed him.
inflected form of “beg” — call upon in supplication; entreat
From this reading Before the three adventurers had gone many yards, a Chinese beggar sidled up to Charlie and begged his honourable brother to bestow a gift upon the degraded dog who addressed him.
beggingnounUS /ˈbeɡɪŋ/
a solicitation for money or food (especially in the street by an apparently penniless person)
From this reading So he gave a glance round, and discovering that the man was begging he shook his head gravely.
bestowverbUS /bɪˈstoʊ/
present
From this reading Before the three adventurers had gone many yards, a Chinese beggar sidled up to Charlie and begged his honourable brother to bestow a gift upon the degraded dog who addressed him.
a male with the same parents as someone else
From this reading Before the three adventurers had gone many yards, a Chinese beggar sidled up to Charlie and begged his honourable brother to bestow a gift upon the degraded dog who addressed him.
Charlie
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Before the three adventurers had gone many yards, a Chinese beggar sidled up to Charlie and begged his honourable brother to bestow a gift upon the degraded dog who addressed him.
ChinesenounUS /tʃaɪˈniːz/
any of the Sino-Tibetan languages spoken in China; regarded as dialects of a single language (even though they are mutually unintelligible) because they share an ideographic writing system
From this reading Before the three adventurers had gone many yards, a Chinese beggar sidled up to Charlie and begged his honourable brother to bestow a gift upon the degraded dog who addressed him.
congratulatedverbUS /kənˈɡrætʃəleɪtɪd/
past form of “congratulate” — say something to someone that expresses praise
From this reading The beggar departed, and Charlie inwardly congratulated himself on having done very well.
degradedadjectiveUS /dɪˈɡreɪdəd/
unrestrained by convention or morality
From this reading Before the three adventurers had gone many yards, a Chinese beggar sidled up to Charlie and begged his honourable brother to bestow a gift upon the degraded dog who addressed him.
well in the past; former
From this reading The beggar departed, and Charlie inwardly congratulated himself on having done very well.
wanted intensely
From this reading At first Charlie did not know whether the man was asking what the time was, or whether he desired to be directed to some place.
didauxiliary verbUS /dɪd/
the past form of “do”, used in questions and negatives
From this reading At first Charlie did not know whether the man was asking what the time was, or whether he desired to be directed to some place.
(often used in combination) having a specified direction
From this reading At first Charlie did not know whether the man was asking what the time was, or whether he desired to be directed to some place.
discoveringverbUS /dɪˈskʌvərɪŋ/
-ing form of “discover” — discover or determine the existence, presence, or fact of
From this reading So he gave a glance round, and discovering that the man was begging he shook his head gravely.
a member of the genus Canis (probably descended from the common wolf) that has been domesticated by man since prehistoric times; occurs in many breeds
From this reading Before the three adventurers had gone many yards, a Chinese beggar sidled up to Charlie and begged his honourable brother to bestow a gift upon the degraded dog who addressed him.
having finished or arrived at completion
From this reading The beggar departed, and Charlie inwardly congratulated himself on having done very well.
firstadjectiveUS /fɜːrst/
preceding all others in time or space or degree
From this reading At first Charlie did not know whether the man was asking what the time was, or whether he desired to be directed to some place.
inflected form of “give” — cause to have, in the abstract sense or physical sense
From this reading So he gave a glance round, and discovering that the man was begging he shook his head gravely.
something acquired without compensation
From this reading Before the three adventurers had gone many yards, a Chinese beggar sidled up to Charlie and begged his honourable brother to bestow a gift upon the degraded dog who addressed him.
throw a glance at; take a brief look at
From this reading So he gave a glance round, and discovering that the man was begging he shook his head gravely.
destroyed or killed
From this reading Before the three adventurers had gone many yards, a Chinese beggar sidled up to Charlie and begged his honourable brother to bestow a gift upon the degraded dog who addressed him.
in a grave and sober manner
From this reading So he gave a glance round, and discovering that the man was begging he shook his head gravely.
hadauxiliary verbUS /hæd/
the past form of “have”, used to form the past perfect
From this reading Before the three adventurers had gone many yards, a Chinese beggar sidled up to Charlie and begged his honourable brother to bestow a gift upon the degraded dog who addressed him.
havingauxiliary verbUS /ˈhævɪŋ/
the -ing form of “have”
From this reading The beggar departed, and Charlie inwardly congratulated himself on having done very well.
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading At first Charlie did not know whether the man was asking what the time was, or whether he desired to be directed to some place.
the upper part of the human body or the front part of the body in animals; contains the face and brains
From this reading So he gave a glance round, and discovering that the man was begging he shook his head gravely.
the male already mentioned, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading Before the three adventurers had gone many yards, a Chinese beggar sidled up to Charlie and begged his honourable brother to bestow a gift upon the degraded dog who addressed him.
used when the man or boy doing the action is also its object
From this reading The beggar departed, and Charlie inwardly congratulated himself on having done very well.
belonging to a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned
From this reading Before the three adventurers had gone many yards, a Chinese beggar sidled up to Charlie and begged his honourable brother to bestow a gift upon the degraded dog who addressed him.
worthy of being honored; entitled to honor and respect
From this reading Before the three adventurers had gone many yards, a Chinese beggar sidled up to Charlie and begged his honourable brother to bestow a gift upon the degraded dog who addressed him.
used to add a contrasting statement
From this reading His self-satisfaction was, however, short-lived.
inwardlyadverbUS /ˈɪnwərdli/
with respect to private feelings
From this reading The beggar departed, and Charlie inwardly congratulated himself on having done very well.
be cognizant or aware of a fact or a specific piece of information; possess knowledge or information about
From this reading At first Charlie did not know whether the man was asking what the time was, or whether he desired to be directed to some place.
an adult person who is male (as opposed to a woman)
From this reading At first Charlie did not know whether the man was asking what the time was, or whether he desired to be directed to some place.
a quantifier that can be used with count nouns and is often preceded by “as” or “too” or “so” or “that”; amounting to a large but indefinite number
From this reading Before the three adventurers had gone many yards, a Chinese beggar sidled up to Charlie and begged his honourable brother to bestow a gift upon the degraded dog who addressed him.
used to make a word, phrase, or sentence negative
From this reading At first Charlie did not know whether the man was asking what the time was, or whether he desired to be directed to some place.
touching and supported by a surface
From this reading The beggar departed, and Charlie inwardly congratulated himself on having done very well.
used to join alternatives or possibilities
From this reading At first Charlie did not know whether the man was asking what the time was, or whether he desired to be directed to some place.
a point located with respect to surface features of some region
From this reading At first Charlie did not know whether the man was asking what the time was, or whether he desired to be directed to some place.
a charge of ammunition for a single shot
From this reading So he gave a glance round, and discovering that the man was begging he shook his head gravely.
self-satisfactionnoun
the feeling you have when you are satisfied with yourself
From this reading His self-satisfaction was, however, short-lived.
a disassembled barrel; the parts packed for storage or shipment
From this reading So he gave a glance round, and discovering that the man was begging he shook his head gravely.
short-livedadjectiveUS /ˈʃɔːrtˈlaɪvd/
lasting a very short time
From this reading His self-satisfaction was, however, short-lived.
sidledverbUS /ˈsaɪdəld/
past form of “sidle” — move unobtrusively or furtively
From this reading Before the three adventurers had gone many yards, a Chinese beggar sidled up to Charlie and begged his honourable brother to bestow a gift upon the degraded dog who addressed him.
for that reason; with the result that
From this reading So he gave a glance round, and discovering that the man was begging he shook his head gravely.
(quantifier) used with either mass nouns or plural count nouns to indicate an unspecified number or quantity
From this reading At first Charlie did not know whether the man was asking what the time was, or whether he desired to be directed to some place.
used to introduce what somebody said, thought, or felt
From this reading So he gave a glance round, and discovering that the man was begging he shook his head gravely.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading Before the three adventurers had gone many yards, a Chinese beggar sidled up to Charlie and begged his honourable brother to bestow a gift upon the degraded dog who addressed him.
the cardinal number that is the sum of one and one and one
From this reading Before the three adventurers had gone many yards, a Chinese beggar sidled up to Charlie and begged his honourable brother to bestow a gift upon the degraded dog who addressed him.
an instance or single occasion for some event
From this reading At first Charlie did not know whether the man was asking what the time was, or whether he desired to be directed to some place.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading Before the three adventurers had gone many yards, a Chinese beggar sidled up to Charlie and begged his honourable brother to bestow a gift upon the degraded dog who addressed him.
being or moving higher in position or greater in some value; being above a former position or level
From this reading Before the three adventurers had gone many yards, a Chinese beggar sidled up to Charlie and begged his honourable brother to bestow a gift upon the degraded dog who addressed him.
uponprepositionUS /əˈpɑːn/
a formal word for “on”
From this reading Before the three adventurers had gone many yards, a Chinese beggar sidled up to Charlie and begged his honourable brother to bestow a gift upon the degraded dog who addressed him.
precisely as stated
From this reading The beggar departed, and Charlie inwardly congratulated himself on having done very well.
wasauxiliary verbUS /wɑːz/
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading At first Charlie did not know whether the man was asking what the time was, or whether he desired to be directed to some place.
(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 The beggar departed, and Charlie inwardly congratulated himself on having done very well.
used to ask for information about something
From this reading At first Charlie did not know whether the man was asking what the time was, or whether he desired to be directed to some place.
used to introduce two or more possibilities
From this reading At first Charlie did not know whether the man was asking what the time was, or whether he desired to be directed to some place.
which person or people
From this reading Before the three adventurers had gone many yards, a Chinese beggar sidled up to Charlie and begged his honourable brother to bestow a gift upon the degraded dog who addressed him.
plural of “yard” — a unit of length equal to 3 feet; defined as 91.44 centimeters; originally taken to be the average length of a stride
From this reading Before the three adventurers had gone many yards, a Chinese beggar sidled up to Charlie and begged his honourable brother to bestow a gift upon the degraded dog who addressed him.
