used before a singular noun to mean one of a group, when it is not a particular one
From this reading The poor animal's life was saved, though she had a strange way of stretching out her neck for some weeks afterwards, and always gave Billy a wide berth when she encountered him in her rambles about the decks.
aboutprepositionUS /əˈbaʊt/
on the subject of; concerning
From this reading The poor animal's life was saved, though she had a strange way of stretching out her neck for some weeks afterwards, and always gave Billy a wide berth when she encountered him in her rambles about the decks.
a record or narrative description of past events
From this reading When the captain heard the account, instead of being angry, he laughed heartily, and added the story to his batch of anecdotes.
past form of “add” — make an addition (to); join or combine or unite with others; increase the quality, quantity, size or scope of
From this reading When the captain heard the account, instead of being angry, he laughed heartily, and added the story to his batch of anecdotes.
happening at a time subsequent to a reference time
From this reading The poor animal's life was saved, though she had a strange way of stretching out her neck for some weeks afterwards, and always gave Billy a wide berth when she encountered him in her rambles about the decks.
at all times; all the time and on every occasion
From this reading The poor animal's life was saved, though she had a strange way of stretching out her neck for some weeks afterwards, and always gave Billy a wide berth when she encountered him in her rambles about the decks.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading To return to Billy Wise and the goat.
anecdotesnounUS /ˈænəkdoʊts/
plural of “anecdote” — short account of an incident (especially a biographical one)
From this reading When the captain heard the account, instead of being angry, he laughed heartily, and added the story to his batch of anecdotes.
angryadjectiveUS /ˈæŋɡri/
feeling or showing anger
From this reading When the captain heard the account, instead of being angry, he laughed heartily, and added the story to his batch of anecdotes.
animal'snounUS /ˈænəməlz/
possessive form of “animal” — a living organism characterized by voluntary movement
From this reading The poor animal's life was saved, though she had a strange way of stretching out her neck for some weeks afterwards, and always gave Billy a wide berth when she encountered him in her rambles about the decks.
batchnounUS /bætʃ/
all the loaves of bread baked at the same time
From this reading When the captain heard the account, instead of being angry, he laughed heartily, and added the story to his batch of anecdotes.
used with a past participle to form the passive, or with -ing for continuous tenses
From this reading "He is not fit to be made Lord Chief Justice, I fear."
beingauxiliary verbUS /ˈbiːɪŋ/
the -ing form of “be”
From this reading When the captain heard the account, instead of being angry, he laughed heartily, and added the story to his batch of anecdotes.
berthnounUS /bɜːrθ/
a job in an organization
From this reading The poor animal's life was saved, though she had a strange way of stretching out her neck for some weeks afterwards, and always gave Billy a wide berth when she encountered him in her rambles about the decks.
a short stout club used primarily by policemen
From this reading To return to Billy Wise and the goat.
an officer holding a rank below a major but above a lieutenant
From this reading When the captain heard the account, instead of being angry, he laughed heartily, and added the story to his batch of anecdotes.
a person who is in charge
From this reading "He is not fit to be made Lord Chief Justice, I fear."
decksnounUS /deks/
plural of “deck” — any of various platforms built into a vessel
From this reading The poor animal's life was saved, though she had a strange way of stretching out her neck for some weeks afterwards, and always gave Billy a wide berth when she encountered him in her rambles about the decks.
used to form questions and negatives, and to give emphasis
From this reading "I must do something with that poor fellow," he remarked.
encounteredverbUS /ɪnˈkaʊntərd/
past form of “encounter” — come together
From this reading The poor animal's life was saved, though she had a strange way of stretching out her neck for some weeks afterwards, and always gave Billy a wide berth when she encountered him in her rambles about the decks.
be afraid or feel anxious or apprehensive about a possible or probable situation or event
From this reading "He is not fit to be made Lord Chief Justice, I fear."
a boy or man
From this reading "I must do something with that poor fellow," he remarked.
be agreeable or acceptable to
From this reading "He is not fit to be made Lord Chief Justice, I fear."
intended to be given to, or used by, somebody
From this reading The poor animal's life was saved, though she had a strange way of stretching out her neck for some weeks afterwards, and always gave Billy a wide berth when she encountered him in her rambles about the decks.
inflected form of “give” — cause to have, in the abstract sense or physical sense
From this reading The poor animal's life was saved, though she had a strange way of stretching out her neck for some weeks afterwards, and always gave Billy a wide berth when she encountered him in her rambles about the decks.
goatnounUS /ɡoʊt/
any of numerous agile ruminants related to sheep but having a beard and straight horns
From this reading To return to Billy Wise and the goat.
hadauxiliary verbUS /hæd/
the past form of “have”, used to form the past perfect
From this reading The poor animal's life was saved, though she had a strange way of stretching out her neck for some weeks afterwards, and always gave Billy a wide berth when she encountered him in her rambles about the decks.
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading When the captain heard the account, instead of being angry, he laughed heartily, and added the story to his batch of anecdotes.
detected or perceived by the sense of hearing
From this reading When the captain heard the account, instead of being angry, he laughed heartily, and added the story to his batch of anecdotes.
with gusto and without reservation
From this reading When the captain heard the account, instead of being angry, he laughed heartily, and added the story to his batch of anecdotes.
belonging to a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned
From this reading The poor animal's life was saved, though she had a strange way of stretching out her neck for some weeks afterwards, and always gave Billy a wide berth when she encountered him in her rambles about the decks.
the male already mentioned, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading The poor animal's life was saved, though she had a strange way of stretching out her neck for some weeks afterwards, and always gave Billy a wide berth when she encountered him in her rambles about the decks.
belonging to a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned
From this reading When the captain heard the account, instead of being angry, he laughed heartily, and added the story to his batch of anecdotes.
the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb
From this reading "I must do something with that poor fellow," he remarked.
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading The poor animal's life was saved, though she had a strange way of stretching out her neck for some weeks afterwards, and always gave Billy a wide berth when she encountered him in her rambles about the decks.
in place of, or as an alternative to
From this reading When the captain heard the account, instead of being angry, he laughed heartily, and added the story to his batch of anecdotes.
the form of “be” used with he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading "He is not fit to be made Lord Chief Justice, I fear."
the quality of being just or fair
From this reading "He is not fit to be made Lord Chief Justice, I fear."
past form of “laugh” — produce laughter
From this reading When the captain heard the account, instead of being angry, he laughed heartily, and added the story to his batch of anecdotes.
a characteristic state or mode of living
From this reading The poor animal's life was saved, though she had a strange way of stretching out her neck for some weeks afterwards, and always gave Billy a wide berth when she encountered him in her rambles about the decks.
terms referring to the Judeo-Christian God
From this reading "He is not fit to be made Lord Chief Justice, I fear."
produced by a manufacturing process
From this reading "He is not fit to be made Lord Chief Justice, I fear."
used to say something is necessary, or almost certainly true
From this reading "I must do something with that poor fellow," he remarked.
the part of an organism (human or animal) that connects the head to the rest of the body
From this reading The poor animal's life was saved, though she had a strange way of stretching out her neck for some weeks afterwards, and always gave Billy a wide berth when she encountered him in her rambles about the decks.
used to make a word, phrase, or sentence negative
From this reading "He is not fit to be made Lord Chief Justice, I fear."
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading The poor animal's life was saved, though she had a strange way of stretching out her neck for some weeks afterwards, and always gave Billy a wide berth when she encountered him in her rambles about the decks.
not allowed to continue to bat or run
From this reading The poor animal's life was saved, though she had a strange way of stretching out her neck for some weeks afterwards, and always gave Billy a wide berth when she encountered him in her rambles about the decks.
deserving or inciting pity
From this reading The poor animal's life was saved, though she had a strange way of stretching out her neck for some weeks afterwards, and always gave Billy a wide berth when she encountered him in her rambles about the decks.
rambles
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading The poor animal's life was saved, though she had a strange way of stretching out her neck for some weeks afterwards, and always gave Billy a wide berth when she encountered him in her rambles about the decks.
past form of “remark” — make mention of
From this reading "I must do something with that poor fellow," he remarked.
go or come back to place, condition, or activity where one has been before
From this reading To return to Billy Wise and the goat.
rescued; especially from the power and consequences of sin
From this reading The poor animal's life was saved, though she had a strange way of stretching out her neck for some weeks afterwards, and always gave Billy a wide berth when she encountered him in her rambles about the decks.
a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading The poor animal's life was saved, though she had a strange way of stretching out her neck for some weeks afterwards, and always gave Billy a wide berth when she encountered him in her rambles about the decks.
(quantifier) used with either mass nouns or plural count nouns to indicate an unspecified number or quantity
From this reading The poor animal's life was saved, though she had a strange way of stretching out her neck for some weeks afterwards, and always gave Billy a wide berth when she encountered him in her rambles about the decks.
a thing, without saying which
From this reading "I must do something with that poor fellow," he remarked.
a message that tells the particulars of an act or occurrence or course of events; presented in writing or drama or cinema or as a radio or television program
From this reading When the captain heard the account, instead of being angry, he laughed heartily, and added the story to his batch of anecdotes.
being definitely out of the ordinary and unexpected; slightly odd or even a bit weird
From this reading The poor animal's life was saved, though she had a strange way of stretching out her neck for some weeks afterwards, and always gave Billy a wide berth when she encountered him in her rambles about the decks.
stretchingnounUS /ˈstretʃɪŋ/
act of expanding by lengthening or widening
From this reading The poor animal's life was saved, though she had a strange way of stretching out her neck for some weeks afterwards, and always gave Billy a wide berth when she encountered him in her rambles about the decks.
used to introduce what somebody said, thought, or felt
From this reading "I must do something with that poor fellow," he remarked.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading To return to Billy Wise and the goat.
in spite of the fact that
From this reading The poor animal's life was saved, though she had a strange way of stretching out her neck for some weeks afterwards, and always gave Billy a wide berth when she encountered him in her rambles about the decks.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading To return to Billy Wise and the goat.
wasauxiliary verbUS /wɑːz/
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading The poor animal's life was saved, though she had a strange way of stretching out her neck for some weeks afterwards, and always gave Billy a wide berth when she encountered him in her rambles about the decks.
how something is done or how it happens
From this reading The poor animal's life was saved, though she had a strange way of stretching out her neck for some weeks afterwards, and always gave Billy a wide berth when she encountered him in her rambles about the decks.
plural of “week” — any period of seven consecutive days
From this reading The poor animal's life was saved, though she had a strange way of stretching out her neck for some weeks afterwards, and always gave Billy a wide berth when she encountered him in her rambles about the decks.
at the time that
From this reading The poor animal's life was saved, though she had a strange way of stretching out her neck for some weeks afterwards, and always gave Billy a wide berth when she encountered him in her rambles about the decks.
having great (or a certain) extent from one side to the other
From this reading The poor animal's life was saved, though she had a strange way of stretching out her neck for some weeks afterwards, and always gave Billy a wide berth when she encountered him in her rambles about the decks.
having or prompted by wisdom or discernment
From this reading To return to Billy Wise and the goat.
in the company of; together with
From this reading "I must do something with that poor fellow," he remarked.
