used before a singular noun to mean one of a group, when it is not a particular one
From this reading A JOYOUS MEETING Dave had proceeded a distance of fifty yards into the patch of firs when he came to a halt.
afterprepositionUS /ˈæftər/
later than; following
From this reading "Must have been some bird--or a wild animal," he murmured, after he had listened for some time.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading He had never heard such a sound before and he wondered what it was.
a living organism characterized by voluntary movement
From this reading "Must have been some bird--or a wild animal," he murmured, after he had listened for some time.
plural of “animal” — a living organism characterized by voluntary movement
From this reading "There ought to be many kinds of small wild animals in a place like this."
used with a past participle to form the passive, or with -ing for continuous tenses
From this reading "There ought to be many kinds of small wild animals in a place like this."
beenauxiliary verbUS /bɪn/
the past participle of “be”
From this reading "Must have been some bird--or a wild animal," he murmured, after he had listened for some time.
earlier than; in front of
From this reading He had never heard such a sound before and he wondered what it was.
warm-blooded egg-laying vertebrates characterized by feathers and forelimbs modified as wings
From this reading "Must have been some bird--or a wild animal," he murmured, after he had listened for some time.
inflected form of “come” — move toward, travel toward something or somebody or approach something or somebody
From this reading A JOYOUS MEETING Dave had proceeded a distance of fifty yards into the patch of firs when he came to a halt.
inflected form of “catch” — discover or come upon accidentally, suddenly, or unexpectedly; catch somebody doing something or in a certain state
From this reading A peculiar sound to his left had caught his ears.
Dave
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading A JOYOUS MEETING Dave had proceeded a distance of fifty yards into the patch of firs when he came to a halt.
the property created by the space between two objects or points
From this reading A JOYOUS MEETING Dave had proceeded a distance of fifty yards into the patch of firs when he came to a halt.
plural of “ear” — the sense organ for hearing and equilibrium
From this reading A peculiar sound to his left had caught his ears.
the cardinal number that is the product of ten and five
From this reading A JOYOUS MEETING Dave had proceeded a distance of fifty yards into the patch of firs when he came to a halt.
firsnounUS /fɜːrz/
plural of “fir” — nonresinous wood of a fir tree
From this reading A JOYOUS MEETING Dave had proceeded a distance of fifty yards into the patch of firs when he came to a halt.
intended to be given to, or used by, somebody
From this reading "Must have been some bird--or a wild animal," he murmured, after he had listened for some time.
hadauxiliary verbUS /hæd/
the past form of “have”, used to form the past perfect
From this reading A JOYOUS MEETING Dave had proceeded a distance of fifty yards into the patch of firs when he came to a halt.
haltverbUS /hɔːlt/
cause to stop
From this reading A JOYOUS MEETING Dave had proceeded a distance of fifty yards into the patch of firs when he came to a halt.
haveauxiliary verbUS /hæv/
used with a past participle to form the perfect tenses
From this reading "Must have been some bird--or a wild animal," he murmured, after he had listened for some time.
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading A JOYOUS MEETING Dave had proceeded a distance of fifty yards into the patch of firs when he came to a halt.
detected or perceived by the sense of hearing
From this reading He had never heard such a sound before and he wondered what it was.
belonging to a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned
From this reading A peculiar sound to his left had caught his ears.
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading "There ought to be many kinds of small wild animals in a place like this."
intoprepositionUS /ˈɪntuː/
moving to the inside of something
From this reading A JOYOUS MEETING Dave had proceeded a distance of fifty yards into the patch of firs when he came to a halt.
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading He had never heard such a sound before and he wondered what it was.
JOYOUSadjectiveUS /ˈdʒɔɪəs/
full of or characterized by joy
From this reading A JOYOUS MEETING Dave had proceeded a distance of fifty yards into the patch of firs when he came to a halt.
plural of “kind” — a category of things distinguished by some common characteristic or quality
From this reading "There ought to be many kinds of small wild animals in a place like this."
location near or direction toward the left side; i.e. the side to the north when a person or object faces east
From this reading A peculiar sound to his left had caught his ears.
prefer or wish to do something
From this reading "There ought to be many kinds of small wild animals in a place like this."
past form of “listen” — hear with intention
From this reading "Must have been some bird--or a wild animal," he murmured, after he had listened for some time.
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 "There ought to be many kinds of small wild animals in a place like this."
a formally arranged gathering
From this reading A JOYOUS MEETING Dave had proceeded a distance of fifty yards into the patch of firs when he came to a halt.
past form of “murmur” — speak softly or indistinctly
From this reading "Must have been some bird--or a wild animal," he murmured, after he had listened for some time.
used to say something is necessary, or almost certainly true
From this reading "Must have been some bird--or a wild animal," he murmured, after he had listened for some time.
not ever; at no time in the past or future
From this reading He had never heard such a sound before and he wondered what it was.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading A JOYOUS MEETING Dave had proceeded a distance of fifty yards into the patch of firs when he came to a halt.
used to join alternatives or possibilities
From this reading "Must have been some bird--or a wild animal," he murmured, after he had listened for some time.
used with “to” to say what is right or advisable
From this reading "There ought to be many kinds of small wild animals in a place like this."
patchnounUS /pætʃ/
a small contrasting part of something
From this reading A JOYOUS MEETING Dave had proceeded a distance of fifty yards into the patch of firs when he came to a halt.
beyond or deviating from the usual or expected
From this reading A peculiar sound to his left had caught his ears.
a point located with respect to surface features of some region
From this reading "There ought to be many kinds of small wild animals in a place like this."
past form of “proceed” — continue talking
From this reading A JOYOUS MEETING Dave had proceeded a distance of fifty yards into the patch of firs when he came to a halt.
limited or below average in number or quantity or magnitude or extent
From this reading "There ought to be many kinds of small wild animals in a place like this."
(quantifier) used with either mass nouns or plural count nouns to indicate an unspecified number or quantity
From this reading "Must have been some bird--or a wild animal," he murmured, after he had listened for some time.
the particular auditory effect produced by a given cause
From this reading A peculiar sound to his left had caught his ears.
of the kind already mentioned
From this reading He had never heard such a sound before and he wondered what it was.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading A JOYOUS MEETING Dave had proceeded a distance of fifty yards into the patch of firs when he came to a halt.
in or at that place or location
From this reading "There ought to be many kinds of small wild animals in a place like this."
used for a person or thing that is near, or that has just been mentioned
From this reading "There ought to be many kinds of small wild animals in a place like this."
an instance or single occasion for some event
From this reading "Must have been some bird--or a wild animal," he murmured, after he had listened for some time.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading A JOYOUS MEETING Dave had proceeded a distance of fifty yards into the patch of firs when he came to a halt.
wasauxiliary verbUS /wɑːz/
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading He had never heard such a sound before and he wondered what it was.
used to ask for information about something
From this reading He had never heard such a sound before and he wondered what it was.
at the time that
From this reading A JOYOUS MEETING Dave had proceeded a distance of fifty yards into the patch of firs when he came to a halt.
marked by extreme lack of restraint or control
From this reading "Must have been some bird--or a wild animal," he murmured, after he had listened for some time.
past form of “wonder” — have a wish or desire to know something
From this reading He had never heard such a sound before and he wondered what it was.
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 A JOYOUS MEETING Dave had proceeded a distance of fifty yards into the patch of firs when he came to a halt.
