adeterminerUS /ə/
used before a singular noun to mean one of a group, when it is not a particular one
From this reading Both branches of the stairs ran up to a common landing, and in the wall facing him, midway between the two stairheads, was a great door of tulip wood.
accountnounUS /əˈkaʊnt/
a record or narrative description of past events
From this reading There could be only one piece of news which would make his haste or tardiness matters of no account.
AndeterminerUS /æn/
the form of “a” used before a word that begins with a vowel sound
From this reading An usher stood by the door, and at Wogan's approach opened it.
andconjunctionUS /ənd/
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading But his face was pale beneath its sunburn, and his hand trembled on the balustrade; for he knew--in his heart he knew.
approachverbUS /əˈproʊtʃ/
move towards
From this reading An usher stood by the door, and at Wogan's approach opened it.
atprepositionUS /æt/
in or near a particular place or position
From this reading An usher stood by the door, and at Wogan's approach opened it.
badadjectiveUS /bæd/
having undesirable or negative qualities
From this reading Wogan mounted the stairs, not daring to speculate upon the nature of the bad news.
balustradenoun
a railing at the side of a staircase or balcony to prevent people from falling
From this reading But his face was pale beneath its sunburn, and his hand trembled on the balustrade; for he knew--in his heart he knew.
beauxiliary verbUS /biː/
used with a past participle to form the passive, or with -ing for continuous tenses
From this reading There could be only one piece of news which would make his haste or tardiness matters of no account.
beneathprepositionUS /bɪˈniːθ/
Directly under; in or to a lower position than.
From this reading But his face was pale beneath its sunburn, and his hand trembled on the balustrade; for he knew--in his heart he knew.
betweenprepositionUS /bɪˈtwiːn/
in the space, time, or range separating two things
From this reading Both branches of the stairs ran up to a common landing, and in the wall facing him, midway between the two stairheads, was a great door of tulip wood.
BothdeterminerUS /boʊθ/
the two together, not just one
From this reading Both branches of the stairs ran up to a common landing, and in the wall facing him, midway between the two stairheads, was a great door of tulip wood.
branchesnounUS /ˈbræntʃəz/
plural of “branch” — a division of some larger or more complex organization
From this reading Both branches of the stairs ran up to a common landing, and in the wall facing him, midway between the two stairheads, was a great door of tulip wood.
ButconjunctionUS /bʌt/
used to introduce something that contrasts with what came before
From this reading But his face was pale beneath its sunburn, and his hand trembled on the balustrade; for he knew--in his heart he knew.
byprepositionUS /baɪ/
showing who or what does the action
From this reading An usher stood by the door, and at Wogan's approach opened it.
commonadjectiveUS /ˈkɑːmən/
belonging to or participated in by a community as a whole; public
From this reading Both branches of the stairs ran up to a common landing, and in the wall facing him, midway between the two stairheads, was a great door of tulip wood.
couldmodal verbUS /kʊd/
the past of “can”; used for possibility or polite requests
From this reading There could be only one piece of news which would make his haste or tardiness matters of no account.
daringnounUS /ˈderɪŋ/
a challenge to do something dangerous or foolhardy
From this reading Wogan mounted the stairs, not daring to speculate upon the nature of the bad news.
doornounUS /dɔːr/
a swinging or sliding barrier that will close the entrance to a room or building or vehicle
From this reading Both branches of the stairs ran up to a common landing, and in the wall facing him, midway between the two stairheads, was a great door of tulip wood.
facenounUS /feɪs/
the front of the human head from the forehead to the chin and ear to ear
From this reading But his face was pale beneath its sunburn, and his hand trembled on the balustrade; for he knew--in his heart he knew.
facingnounUS /ˈfeɪsɪŋ/
a lining applied to the edge of a garment for ornamentation or strengthening
From this reading Both branches of the stairs ran up to a common landing, and in the wall facing him, midway between the two stairheads, was a great door of tulip wood.
forprepositionUS /fɔːr/
intended to be given to, or used by, somebody
From this reading But his face was pale beneath its sunburn, and his hand trembled on the balustrade; for he knew--in his heart he knew.
greatadjectiveUS /ɡreɪt/
relatively large in size or number or extent; larger than others of its kind
From this reading Both branches of the stairs ran up to a common landing, and in the wall facing him, midway between the two stairheads, was a great door of tulip wood.
handnounUS /hænd/
the (prehensile) extremity of the superior limb
From this reading But his face was pale beneath its sunburn, and his hand trembled on the balustrade; for he knew--in his heart he knew.
hastenounUS /heɪst/
overly eager speed (and possible carelessness)
From this reading There could be only one piece of news which would make his haste or tardiness matters of no account.
hepronounUS /hiː/
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading But his face was pale beneath its sunburn, and his hand trembled on the balustrade; for he knew--in his heart he knew.
heartnounUS /hɑːrt/
the locus of feelings and intuitions
From this reading But his face was pale beneath its sunburn, and his hand trembled on the balustrade; for he knew--in his heart he knew.
himpronounUS /hɪm/
the male already mentioned, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading Both branches of the stairs ran up to a common landing, and in the wall facing him, midway between the two stairheads, was a great door of tulip wood.
hisdeterminerUS /hɪz/
belonging to a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned
From this reading But his face was pale beneath its sunburn, and his hand trembled on the balustrade; for he knew--in his heart he knew.
inprepositionUS /ɪn/
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading But his face was pale beneath its sunburn, and his hand trembled on the balustrade; for he knew--in his heart he knew.
itpronounUS /ɪt/
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading An usher stood by the door, and at Wogan's approach opened it.
itsdeterminerUS /ɪts/
belonging to the thing or animal already mentioned
From this reading But his face was pale beneath its sunburn, and his hand trembled on the balustrade; for he knew--in his heart he knew.
knewverbUS /nuː/
inflected form of “know” — be cognizant or aware of a fact or a specific piece of information; possess knowledge or information about
From this reading But his face was pale beneath its sunburn, and his hand trembled on the balustrade; for he knew--in his heart he knew.
landingnounUS /ˈlændɪŋ/
an intermediate platform in a staircase
From this reading Both branches of the stairs ran up to a common landing, and in the wall facing him, midway between the two stairheads, was a great door of tulip wood.
makeverbUS /meɪk/
engage in
From this reading There could be only one piece of news which would make his haste or tardiness matters of no account.
mattersnounUS /ˈmætərz/
plural of “matter” — a vaguely specified concern
From this reading There could be only one piece of news which would make his haste or tardiness matters of no account.
midwayadjectiveUS /ˈmɪdweɪ/
equally distant from the extremes
From this reading Both branches of the stairs ran up to a common landing, and in the wall facing him, midway between the two stairheads, was a great door of tulip wood.
mountedadjectiveUS /ˈmaʊntəd/
assembled for use; especially by being attached to a support
From this reading Wogan mounted the stairs, not daring to speculate upon the nature of the bad news.
naturenounUS /ˈneɪtʃər/
the essential qualities or characteristics by which something is recognized
From this reading Wogan mounted the stairs, not daring to speculate upon the nature of the bad news.
newsnounUS /nuːz/
information about recent and important events
From this reading Wogan mounted the stairs, not daring to speculate upon the nature of the bad news.
nodeterminerUS /noʊ/
not any; not one
From this reading There could be only one piece of news which would make his haste or tardiness matters of no account.
notadverbUS /nɑːt/
used to make a word, phrase, or sentence negative
From this reading Wogan mounted the stairs, not daring to speculate upon the nature of the bad news.
ofprepositionUS /ʌv/
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading Wogan mounted the stairs, not daring to speculate upon the nature of the bad news.
onprepositionUS /ɑːn/
touching and supported by a surface
From this reading But his face was pale beneath its sunburn, and his hand trembled on the balustrade; for he knew--in his heart he knew.
onepronounUS /wʌn/
used to mean any person in general, including the speaker
From this reading There could be only one piece of news which would make his haste or tardiness matters of no account.
onlyadverbUS /ˈoʊnli/
and nothing more
From this reading There could be only one piece of news which would make his haste or tardiness matters of no account.
openedadjectiveUS /ˈoʊpənd/
used of mouth or eyes
From this reading An usher stood by the door, and at Wogan's approach opened it.
orconjunctionUS /ɔːr/
used to join alternatives or possibilities
From this reading There could be only one piece of news which would make his haste or tardiness matters of no account.
paleadjectiveUS /peɪl/
very light colored; highly diluted with white
From this reading But his face was pale beneath its sunburn, and his hand trembled on the balustrade; for he knew--in his heart he knew.
piecenounUS /piːs/
a separate part of a whole
From this reading There could be only one piece of news which would make his haste or tardiness matters of no account.
ranverbUS /ræn/
inflected form of “run” — move fast by using one's feet, with one foot off the ground at any given time
From this reading Both branches of the stairs ran up to a common landing, and in the wall facing him, midway between the two stairheads, was a great door of tulip wood.
speculateverbUS /ˈspekjəleɪt/
to believe especially on uncertain or tentative grounds
From this reading Wogan mounted the stairs, not daring to speculate upon the nature of the bad news.
stairheads
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Both branches of the stairs ran up to a common landing, and in the wall facing him, midway between the two stairheads, was a great door of tulip wood.
stairsnounUS /sterz/
a flight of stairs or a flight of steps
From this reading Wogan mounted the stairs, not daring to speculate upon the nature of the bad news.
stoodverbUS /stʊd/
Maintained an upright posture.
From this reading An usher stood by the door, and at Wogan's approach opened it.
sunburnnounUS /ˈsʌnbɜːrn/
a browning of the skin resulting from exposure to the rays of the sun
From this reading But his face was pale beneath its sunburn, and his hand trembled on the balustrade; for he knew--in his heart he knew.
tardinessnounUS /ˈtɑːrdinəs/
the quality or habit of not adhering to a correct or usual or expected time
From this reading There could be only one piece of news which would make his haste or tardiness matters of no account.
thedeterminerUS /ðə/
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading Wogan mounted the stairs, not daring to speculate upon the nature of the bad news.
ThereadverbUS /ðer/
in or at that place or location
From this reading There could be only one piece of news which would make his haste or tardiness matters of no account.
toparticleUS /tuː/
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading Wogan mounted the stairs, not daring to speculate upon the nature of the bad news.
trembledverbUS /ˈtrembəld/
past form of “tremble” — move or jerk quickly and involuntarily up and down or sideways
From this reading But his face was pale beneath its sunburn, and his hand trembled on the balustrade; for he knew--in his heart he knew.
tulipnounUS /ˈtuːləp/
any of numerous perennial bulbous herbs having linear or broadly lanceolate leaves and usually a single showy flower
From this reading Both branches of the stairs ran up to a common landing, and in the wall facing him, midway between the two stairheads, was a great door of tulip wood.
twonounUS /tuː/
the cardinal number that is the sum of one and one or a numeral representing this number
From this reading Both branches of the stairs ran up to a common landing, and in the wall facing him, midway between the two stairheads, was a great door of tulip wood.
upadjectiveUS /ʌp/
being or moving higher in position or greater in some value; being above a former position or level
From this reading Both branches of the stairs ran up to a common landing, and in the wall facing him, midway between the two stairheads, was a great door of tulip wood.
uponprepositionUS /əˈpɑːn/
a formal word for “on”
From this reading Wogan mounted the stairs, not daring to speculate upon the nature of the bad news.
usherverbUS /ˈʌʃər/
take (someone) to their seats, as in theaters or auditoriums
From this reading An usher stood by the door, and at Wogan's approach opened it.
wallnounUS /wɔːl/
an architectural partition with a height and length greater than its thickness; used to divide or enclose an area or to support another structure
From this reading Both branches of the stairs ran up to a common landing, and in the wall facing him, midway between the two stairheads, was a great door of tulip wood.
wasauxiliary verbUS /wɑːz/
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading But his face was pale beneath its sunburn, and his hand trembled on the balustrade; for he knew--in his heart he knew.
whichpronounUS /wɪtʃ/
used to introduce a clause giving more about a thing just mentioned
From this reading There could be only one piece of news which would make his haste or tardiness matters of no account.
Wogan
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Wogan mounted the stairs, not daring to speculate upon the nature of the bad news.
Wogan's
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading An usher stood by the door, and at Wogan's approach opened it.
woodnounUS /wʊd/
the hard fibrous lignified substance under the bark of trees
From this reading Both branches of the stairs ran up to a common landing, and in the wall facing him, midway between the two stairheads, was a great door of tulip wood.
wouldmodal verbUS /wʊd/
used for something imagined, polite, or habitual in the past
From this reading There could be only one piece of news which would make his haste or tardiness matters of no account.
