used before a singular noun to mean one of a group, when it is not a particular one
From this reading “We can’t be a million miles away from it,” Henry said, as the trio came to pause at the foot of a high steep cliff.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading “If it’s any farther on, then the course lies right straight over the cliff, and, since we can’t climb it and from the extent of it it must be miles around, the source of those flashes ought to be right here.”
past form of “answer” — react verbally
From this reading “Most likely some natural phenomenon,” Francis answered.
one or some or every or all without specification
From this reading “If it’s any farther on, then the course lies right straight over the cliff, and, since we can’t climb it and from the extent of it it must be miles around, the source of those flashes ought to be right here.”
surrounding, or on every side of, something
From this reading “If it’s any farther on, then the course lies right straight over the cliff, and, since we can’t climb it and from the extent of it it must be miles around, the source of those flashes ought to be right here.”
at the same time that; because; in the way that
From this reading “We can’t be a million miles away from it,” Henry said, as the trio came to pause at the foot of a high steep cliff.
in or near a particular place or position
From this reading “We can’t be a million miles away from it,” Henry said, as the trio came to pause at the foot of a high steep cliff.
from a particular thing or place or position (“forth” is obsolete)
From this reading “We can’t be a million miles away from it,” Henry said, as the trio came to pause at the foot of a high steep cliff.
used with a past participle to form the passive, or with -ing for continuous tenses
From this reading “We can’t be a million miles away from it,” Henry said, as the trio came to pause at the foot of a high steep cliff.
beenauxiliary verbUS /bɪn/
the past participle of “be”
From this reading “Now could it have been a man with looking-glasses?”
inflected form of “come” — move toward, travel toward something or somebody or approach something or somebody
From this reading “We can’t be a million miles away from it,” Henry said, as the trio came to pause at the foot of a high steep cliff.
can't
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading “We can’t be a million miles away from it,” Henry said, as the trio came to pause at the foot of a high steep cliff.
a steep high face of rock
From this reading “We can’t be a million miles away from it,” Henry said, as the trio came to pause at the foot of a high steep cliff.
go upward with gradual or continuous progress
From this reading “If it’s any farther on, then the course lies right straight over the cliff, and, since we can’t climb it and from the extent of it it must be miles around, the source of those flashes ought to be right here.”
the past of “can”; used for possibility or polite requests
From this reading “Now could it have been a man with looking-glasses?”
education imparted in a series of lessons or meetings
From this reading “If it’s any farther on, then the course lies right straight over the cliff, and, since we can’t climb it and from the extent of it it must be miles around, the source of those flashes ought to be right here.”
the point or degree to which something extends
From this reading “If it’s any farther on, then the course lies right straight over the cliff, and, since we can’t climb it and from the extent of it it must be miles around, the source of those flashes ought to be right here.”
more distant in especially space or time
From this reading “If it’s any farther on, then the course lies right straight over the cliff, and, since we can’t climb it and from the extent of it it must be miles around, the source of those flashes ought to be right here.”
flashesnounUS /ˈflæʃɪz/
plural of “flash” — a sudden intense burst of radiant energy
From this reading “If it’s any farther on, then the course lies right straight over the cliff, and, since we can’t climb it and from the extent of it it must be miles around, the source of those flashes ought to be right here.”
the part of the leg of a human being below the ankle joint
From this reading “We can’t be a million miles away from it,” Henry said, as the trio came to pause at the foot of a high steep cliff.
Francis
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading “Most likely some natural phenomenon,” Francis answered.
showing where something starts, or who sent it
From this reading “We can’t be a million miles away from it,” Henry said, as the trio came to pause at the foot of a high steep cliff.
haveauxiliary verbUS /hæv/
used with a past participle to form the perfect tenses
From this reading “Now could it have been a man with looking-glasses?”
a unit of inductance in which an induced electromotive force of one volt is produced when the current is varied at the rate of one ampere per second
From this reading “We can’t be a million miles away from it,” Henry said, as the trio came to pause at the foot of a high steep cliff.
in or at this place; where the speaker or writer is
From this reading “If it’s any farther on, then the course lies right straight over the cliff, and, since we can’t climb it and from the extent of it it must be miles around, the source of those flashes ought to be right here.”
greater than normal in degree or intensity or amount
From this reading “We can’t be a million miles away from it,” Henry said, as the trio came to pause at the foot of a high steep cliff.
on condition that; in the event that
From this reading “If it’s any farther on, then the course lies right straight over the cliff, and, since we can’t climb it and from the extent of it it must be miles around, the source of those flashes ought to be right here.”
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading “We can’t be a million miles away from it,” Henry said, as the trio came to pause at the foot of a high steep cliff.
it's
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading “If it’s any farther on, then the course lies right straight over the cliff, and, since we can’t climb it and from the extent of it it must be miles around, the source of those flashes ought to be right here.”
Leoncia
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Leoncia ventured.
plural of “lie” — a statement that deviates from or perverts the truth
From this reading “If it’s any farther on, then the course lies right straight over the cliff, and, since we can’t climb it and from the extent of it it must be miles around, the source of those flashes ought to be right here.”
has a good chance of being the case or of coming about
From this reading “Most likely some natural phenomenon,” Francis answered.
looking-glasses
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading “Now could it have been a man with looking-glasses?”
an adult person who is male (as opposed to a woman)
From this reading “Now could it have been a man with looking-glasses?”
plural of “mile” — a unit of length equal to 1,760 yards or 5,280 feet; exactly 1609.344 meters
From this reading “We can’t be a million miles away from it,” Henry said, as the trio came to pause at the foot of a high steep cliff.
millionnounUS /ˈmɪljən/
the number that is represented as a one followed by 6 zeros
From this reading “We can’t be a million miles away from it,” Henry said, as the trio came to pause at the foot of a high steep cliff.
used to form the superlative
From this reading “Most likely some natural phenomenon,” Francis answered.
used to say something is necessary, or almost certainly true
From this reading “If it’s any farther on, then the course lies right straight over the cliff, and, since we can’t climb it and from the extent of it it must be miles around, the source of those flashes ought to be right here.”
in accordance with nature; relating to or concerning nature
From this reading “Most likely some natural phenomenon,” Francis answered.
in the historical present; at this point in the narration of a series of past events
From this reading “Now could it have been a man with looking-glasses?”
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading “We can’t be a million miles away from it,” Henry said, as the trio came to pause at the foot of a high steep cliff.
touching and supported by a surface
From this reading “If it’s any farther on, then the course lies right straight over the cliff, and, since we can’t climb it and from the extent of it it must be miles around, the source of those flashes ought to be right here.”
used with “to” to say what is right or advisable
From this reading “If it’s any farther on, then the course lies right straight over the cliff, and, since we can’t climb it and from the extent of it it must be miles around, the source of those flashes ought to be right here.”
overprepositionUS /ˈoʊvər/
above and across; more than
From this reading “If it’s any farther on, then the course lies right straight over the cliff, and, since we can’t climb it and from the extent of it it must be miles around, the source of those flashes ought to be right here.”
a time interval during which there is a temporary cessation of something
From this reading “We can’t be a million miles away from it,” Henry said, as the trio came to pause at the foot of a high steep cliff.
phenomenonnounUS /fəˈnɑːmənɑːn/
any state or process known through the senses rather than by intuition or reasoning
From this reading “Most likely some natural phenomenon,” Francis answered.
precisely, exactly
From this reading “If it’s any farther on, then the course lies right straight over the cliff, and, since we can’t climb it and from the extent of it it must be miles around, the source of those flashes ought to be right here.”
being the one previously mentioned or spoken of
From this reading “We can’t be a million miles away from it,” Henry said, as the trio came to pause at the foot of a high steep cliff.
sinceprepositionUS /sɪns/
from a time in the past until now
From this reading “If it’s any farther on, then the course lies right straight over the cliff, and, since we can’t climb it and from the extent of it it must be miles around, the source of those flashes ought to be right here.”
(quantifier) used with either mass nouns or plural count nouns to indicate an unspecified number or quantity
From this reading “Most likely some natural phenomenon,” Francis answered.
the place where something begins, where it springs into being
From this reading “If it’s any farther on, then the course lies right straight over the cliff, and, since we can’t climb it and from the extent of it it must be miles around, the source of those flashes ought to be right here.”
having a sharp inclination
From this reading “We can’t be a million miles away from it,” Henry said, as the trio came to pause at the foot of a high steep cliff.
successive (without a break)
From this reading “If it’s any farther on, then the course lies right straight over the cliff, and, since we can’t climb it and from the extent of it it must be miles around, the source of those flashes ought to be right here.”
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading “We can’t be a million miles away from it,” Henry said, as the trio came to pause at the foot of a high steep cliff.
subsequently or soon afterward (often used as sentence connectors)
From this reading “If it’s any farther on, then the course lies right straight over the cliff, and, since we can’t climb it and from the extent of it it must be miles around, the source of those flashes ought to be right here.”
the plural of “that”: the people or things further away, or already known
From this reading “If it’s any farther on, then the course lies right straight over the cliff, and, since we can’t climb it and from the extent of it it must be miles around, the source of those flashes ought to be right here.”
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading “We can’t be a million miles away from it,” Henry said, as the trio came to pause at the foot of a high steep cliff.
trionounUS /ˈtriːoʊ/
the cardinal number that is the sum of one and one and one
From this reading “We can’t be a million miles away from it,” Henry said, as the trio came to pause at the foot of a high steep cliff.
past form of “venture” — proceed somewhere despite the risk of possible dangers
From this reading Leoncia ventured.
the speaker together with one or more other people
From this reading “We can’t be a million miles away from it,” Henry said, as the trio came to pause at the foot of a high steep cliff.
in the company of; together with
From this reading “Now could it have been a man with looking-glasses?”
