used before a singular noun to mean one of a group, when it is not a particular one
From this reading Some of us fled to Africa; a few held on in Ireland and in the mountains of Norway; more flew across the ocean to join the men and women who were widening the American frontiers.
aboutprepositionUS /əˈbaʊt/
on the subject of; concerning
From this reading "Let me tell you about the witches!" she began.
from one side of something to the other
From this reading Some of us fled to Africa; a few held on in Ireland and in the mountains of Norway; more flew across the ocean to join the men and women who were widening the American frontiers.
AfricanounUS /ˈæfrəkɑː/
the second largest continent; located to the south of Europe and bordered to the west by the South Atlantic and to the east by the Indian Ocean
From this reading Some of us fled to Africa; a few held on in Ireland and in the mountains of Norway; more flew across the ocean to join the men and women who were widening the American frontiers.
a native or inhabitant of the United States
From this reading Some of us fled to Africa; a few held on in Ireland and in the mountains of Norway; more flew across the ocean to join the men and women who were widening the American frontiers.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading Some of us fled to Africa; a few held on in Ireland and in the mountains of Norway; more flew across the ocean to join the men and women who were widening the American frontiers.
at the same time that; because; in the way that
From this reading It was not too well with us on the eve of the French Revolution; when the industrial revolution got its stride we perished as men perished in the Black Plague.
inflected form of “begin” — take the first step or steps in carrying out an action
From this reading "Let me tell you about the witches!" she began.
being of the achromatic color of maximum darkness; having little or no hue owing to absorption of almost all incident light
From this reading It was not too well with us on the eve of the French Revolution; when the industrial revolution got its stride we perished as men perished in the Black Plague.
used to introduce something that contrasts with what came before
From this reading "But the greatest number magically killed themselves.
without variation or change, in every case
From this reading "For generations we had fared constantly worse.
(Old Testament) Adam's wife in Judeo-Christian mythology: the first woman and mother of the human race; God created Eve from Adam's rib and placed Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden
From this reading It was not too well with us on the eve of the French Revolution; when the industrial revolution got its stride we perished as men perished in the Black Plague.
faredverbUS /ferd/
past form of “fare” — proceed or get along
From this reading "For generations we had fared constantly worse.
a quantifier that can be used with count nouns and is often preceded by “a”; a small but indefinite number
From this reading Some of us fled to Africa; a few held on in Ireland and in the mountains of Norway; more flew across the ocean to join the men and women who were widening the American frontiers.
inflected form of “flee” — run away quickly
From this reading Some of us fled to Africa; a few held on in Ireland and in the mountains of Norway; more flew across the ocean to join the men and women who were widening the American frontiers.
inflected form of “fly” — travel through the air; be airborne
From this reading Some of us fled to Africa; a few held on in Ireland and in the mountains of Norway; more flew across the ocean to join the men and women who were widening the American frontiers.
intended to be given to, or used by, somebody
From this reading "For generations we had fared constantly worse.
the Romance language spoken in France and in countries colonized by France
From this reading It was not too well with us on the eve of the French Revolution; when the industrial revolution got its stride we perished as men perished in the Black Plague.
frontiersnounUS /frənˈtɪrz/
plural of “frontier” — a wilderness at the edge of a settled area of a country
From this reading Some of us fled to Africa; a few held on in Ireland and in the mountains of Norway; more flew across the ocean to join the men and women who were widening the American frontiers.
generationsnounUS /ˌdʒenərˈeɪʃənz/
plural of “generation” — all the people living at the same time or of approximately the same age
From this reading "For generations we had fared constantly worse.
inflected form of “get” — come into the possession of something concrete or abstract
From this reading It was not too well with us on the eve of the French Revolution; when the industrial revolution got its stride we perished as men perished in the Black Plague.
highest in quality
From this reading "But the greatest number magically killed themselves.
hadauxiliary verbUS /hæd/
the past form of “have”, used to form the past perfect
From this reading "For generations we had fared constantly worse.
occupied or in the control of; often used in combination
From this reading Some of us fled to Africa; a few held on in Ireland and in the mountains of Norway; more flew across the ocean to join the men and women who were widening the American frontiers.
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading It was not too well with us on the eve of the French Revolution; when the industrial revolution got its stride we perished as men perished in the Black Plague.
industrialadjectiveUS /ˌɪnˈdʌstriəl/
of or relating to or resulting from industry
From this reading It was not too well with us on the eve of the French Revolution; when the industrial revolution got its stride we perished as men perished in the Black Plague.
IrelandnounUS /ˈaɪərlənd/
a republic consisting of 26 of 32 counties comprising the island of Ireland; achieved independence from the United Kingdom in 1921
From this reading Some of us fled to Africa; a few held on in Ireland and in the mountains of Norway; more flew across the ocean to join the men and women who were widening the American frontiers.
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading It was not too well with us on the eve of the French Revolution; when the industrial revolution got its stride we perished as men perished in the Black Plague.
belonging to the thing or animal already mentioned
From this reading It was not too well with us on the eve of the French Revolution; when the industrial revolution got its stride we perished as men perished in the Black Plague.
become part of; become a member of a group or organization
From this reading Some of us fled to Africa; a few held on in Ireland and in the mountains of Norway; more flew across the ocean to join the men and women who were widening the American frontiers.
past form of “kill” — cause to die; put to death, usually intentionally or knowingly
From this reading "But the greatest number magically killed themselves.
Letauxiliary verbUS /let/
used to make a suggestion or a command including the speaker
From this reading "Let me tell you about the witches!" she began.
magicallyadverbUS /ˈmædʒɪkəli/
in a magical manner
From this reading "But the greatest number magically killed themselves.
the person speaking, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading "Let me tell you about the witches!" she began.
the force of workers available
From this reading It was not too well with us on the eve of the French Revolution; when the industrial revolution got its stride we perished as men perished in the Black Plague.
(comparative of “much” used with mass nouns) a quantifier meaning greater in size or amount or extent or degree
From this reading Some of us fled to Africa; a few held on in Ireland and in the mountains of Norway; more flew across the ocean to join the men and women who were widening the American frontiers.
plural of “mountain” — a land mass that projects well above its surroundings; higher than a hill
From this reading Some of us fled to Africa; a few held on in Ireland and in the mountains of Norway; more flew across the ocean to join the men and women who were widening the American frontiers.
NorwaynounUS /ˈnɔːrweɪ/
a constitutional monarchy in northern Europe on the western side of the Scandinavian Peninsula; achieved independence from Sweden in 1905
From this reading Some of us fled to Africa; a few held on in Ireland and in the mountains of Norway; more flew across the ocean to join the men and women who were widening the American frontiers.
used to make a word, phrase, or sentence negative
From this reading It was not too well with us on the eve of the French Revolution; when the industrial revolution got its stride we perished as men perished in the Black Plague.
the property possessed by a sum or total or indefinite quantity of units or individuals
From this reading "But the greatest number magically killed themselves.
a large body of water constituting a principal part of the hydrosphere
From this reading Some of us fled to Africa; a few held on in Ireland and in the mountains of Norway; more flew across the ocean to join the men and women who were widening the American frontiers.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading It was not too well with us on the eve of the French Revolution; when the industrial revolution got its stride we perished as men perished in the Black Plague.
touching and supported by a surface
From this reading It was not too well with us on the eve of the French Revolution; when the industrial revolution got its stride we perished as men perished in the Black Plague.
perishedverbUS /ˈperɪʃt/
past form of “perish” — pass from physical life and lose all bodily attributes and functions necessary to sustain life
From this reading It was not too well with us on the eve of the French Revolution; when the industrial revolution got its stride we perished as men perished in the Black Plague.
PlagueverbUS /pleɪɡ/
cause to suffer a blight
From this reading It was not too well with us on the eve of the French Revolution; when the industrial revolution got its stride we perished as men perished in the Black Plague.
RevolutionnounUS /ˌrevəˈluːʃən/
a drastic and far-reaching change in ways of thinking and behaving
From this reading It was not too well with us on the eve of the French Revolution; when the industrial revolution got its stride we perished as men perished in the Black Plague.
a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading "Let me tell you about the witches!" she began.
(quantifier) used with either mass nouns or plural count nouns to indicate an unspecified number or quantity
From this reading Some of us fled to Africa; a few held on in Ireland and in the mountains of Norway; more flew across the ocean to join the men and women who were widening the American frontiers.
stridenounUS /straɪd/
a step in walking or running
From this reading It was not too well with us on the eve of the French Revolution; when the industrial revolution got its stride we perished as men perished in the Black Plague.
express in words
From this reading "Let me tell you about the witches!" she began.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading "Let me tell you about the witches!" she began.
used when the people doing the action are also its object
From this reading "But the greatest number magically killed themselves.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading Some of us fled to Africa; a few held on in Ireland and in the mountains of Norway; more flew across the ocean to join the men and women who were widening the American frontiers.
to a degree exceeding normal or proper limits
From this reading It was not too well with us on the eve of the French Revolution; when the industrial revolution got its stride we perished as men perished in the Black Plague.
the speaker and others, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading It was not too well with us on the eve of the French Revolution; when the industrial revolution got its stride we perished as men perished in the Black Plague.
wasauxiliary verbUS /wɑːz/
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading It was not too well with us on the eve of the French Revolution; when the industrial revolution got its stride we perished as men perished in the Black Plague.
the speaker together with one or more other people
From this reading "For generations we had fared constantly worse.
(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 It was not too well with us on the eve of the French Revolution; when the industrial revolution got its stride we perished as men perished in the Black Plague.
wereauxiliary verbUS /wɜːr/
the past form of “be” used with you, we, they, or a plural noun
From this reading Some of us fled to Africa; a few held on in Ireland and in the mountains of Norway; more flew across the ocean to join the men and women who were widening the American frontiers.
at the time that
From this reading It was not too well with us on the eve of the French Revolution; when the industrial revolution got its stride we perished as men perished in the Black Plague.
which person or people
From this reading Some of us fled to Africa; a few held on in Ireland and in the mountains of Norway; more flew across the ocean to join the men and women who were widening the American frontiers.
wideningnounUS /ˈwaɪdənɪŋ/
an increase in width
From this reading Some of us fled to Africa; a few held on in Ireland and in the mountains of Norway; more flew across the ocean to join the men and women who were widening the American frontiers.
witchesnounUS /ˈwɪtʃəz/
plural of “witch” — a female sorcerer or magician
From this reading "Let me tell you about the witches!" she began.
in the company of; together with
From this reading It was not too well with us on the eve of the French Revolution; when the industrial revolution got its stride we perished as men perished in the Black Plague.
plural of “woman” — an adult female person (as opposed to a man)
From this reading Some of us fled to Africa; a few held on in Ireland and in the mountains of Norway; more flew across the ocean to join the men and women who were widening the American frontiers.
(comparative of “bad”) inferior to another in quality or condition or desirability
From this reading "For generations we had fared constantly worse.
the person or people being spoken to
From this reading "Let me tell you about the witches!" she began.
