used before a singular noun to mean one of a group, when it is not a particular one
From this reading Some thirty Units, each a spaceship in itself, moved outward in an ever widening circle ... then all of space seemed aflame as the rockets burst into action.
accelerationnounUS /ˌækselərˈeɪʃən/
an increase in rate of change
From this reading The Mars spacers sped straight at the Earth Fleet, but the circle was widening now and they passed safely _around_ the Fleet, around and beyond it and were gaining acceleration even as the Earth cruisers tried to reverse their drift!
something done (usually as opposed to something said)
From this reading Some thirty Units, each a spaceship in itself, moved outward in an ever widening circle ... then all of space seemed aflame as the rockets burst into action.
afaradverbUS /əˈfɑːr/
(old-fashioned) at or from or to a great distance; far
From this reading To the watchers from afar it was startling; to Wessell it must have been unbelievable.
aflameadjectiveUS /əˈfleɪm/
keenly excited (especially sexually) or indicating excitement
From this reading Some thirty Units, each a spaceship in itself, moved outward in an ever widening circle ... then all of space seemed aflame as the rockets burst into action.
(quantifier) used with either mass or count nouns to indicate the whole number or amount of or every one of a class
From this reading Some thirty Units, each a spaceship in itself, moved outward in an ever widening circle ... then all of space seemed aflame as the rockets burst into action.
the form of “a” used before a word that begins with a vowel sound
From this reading Some thirty Units, each a spaceship in itself, moved outward in an ever widening circle ... then all of space seemed aflame as the rockets burst into action.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading And then it came.
separated or at a distance in place or position or time
From this reading Without warning the _Valiant_ seemed to burst apart.
surrounding, or on every side of, something
From this reading The Mars spacers sped straight at the Earth Fleet, but the circle was widening now and they passed safely _around_ the Fleet, around and beyond it and were gaining acceleration even as the Earth cruisers tried to reverse their drift!
at the same time that; because; in the way that
From this reading Some thirty Units, each a spaceship in itself, moved outward in an ever widening circle ... then all of space seemed aflame as the rockets burst into action.
in or near a particular place or position
From this reading The Mars spacers sped straight at the Earth Fleet, but the circle was widening now and they passed safely _around_ the Fleet, around and beyond it and were gaining acceleration even as the Earth cruisers tried to reverse their drift!
beenauxiliary verbUS /bɪn/
the past participle of “be”
From this reading To the watchers from afar it was startling; to Wessell it must have been unbelievable.
on the far side of; further than
From this reading The Mars spacers sped straight at the Earth Fleet, but the circle was widening now and they passed safely _around_ the Fleet, around and beyond it and were gaining acceleration even as the Earth cruisers tried to reverse their drift!
come open suddenly and violently, as if from internal pressure
From this reading Without warning the _Valiant_ seemed to burst apart.
used to introduce something that contrasts with what came before
From this reading The Mars spacers sped straight at the Earth Fleet, but the circle was widening now and they passed safely _around_ the Fleet, around and beyond it and were gaining acceleration even as the Earth cruisers tried to reverse their drift!
inflected form of “come” — move toward, travel toward something or somebody or approach something or somebody
From this reading And then it came.
ellipse in which the two axes are of equal length; a plane curve generated by one point moving at a constant distance from a fixed point
From this reading Some thirty Units, each a spaceship in itself, moved outward in an ever widening circle ... then all of space seemed aflame as the rockets burst into action.
cruisersnounUS /ˈkruːzərz/
plural of “cruiser” — a car in which policemen cruise the streets; equipped with radiotelephonic communications to headquarters
From this reading The Mars spacers sped straight at the Earth Fleet, but the circle was widening now and they passed safely _around_ the Fleet, around and beyond it and were gaining acceleration even as the Earth cruisers tried to reverse their drift!
driftverbUS /drɪft/
be in motion due to some air or water current
From this reading The Mars spacers sped straight at the Earth Fleet, but the circle was widening now and they passed safely _around_ the Fleet, around and beyond it and were gaining acceleration even as the Earth cruisers tried to reverse their drift!
every one of two or more people or things, taken separately
From this reading Some thirty Units, each a spaceship in itself, moved outward in an ever widening circle ... then all of space seemed aflame as the rockets burst into action.
the 3rd planet from the sun; the planet we live on
From this reading The Mars spacers sped straight at the Earth Fleet, but the circle was widening now and they passed safely _around_ the Fleet, around and beyond it and were gaining acceleration even as the Earth cruisers tried to reverse their drift!
divisible by two
From this reading The Mars spacers sped straight at the Earth Fleet, but the circle was widening now and they passed safely _around_ the Fleet, around and beyond it and were gaining acceleration even as the Earth cruisers tried to reverse their drift!
at any time
From this reading Some thirty Units, each a spaceship in itself, moved outward in an ever widening circle ... then all of space seemed aflame as the rockets burst into action.
group of aircraft operating together under the same ownership
From this reading The Mars spacers sped straight at the Earth Fleet, but the circle was widening now and they passed safely _around_ the Fleet, around and beyond it and were gaining acceleration even as the Earth cruisers tried to reverse their drift!
showing where something starts, or who sent it
From this reading To the watchers from afar it was startling; to Wessell it must have been unbelievable.
gainingverbUS /ˈɡeɪnɪŋ/
-ing form of “gain” — obtain
From this reading The Mars spacers sped straight at the Earth Fleet, but the circle was widening now and they passed safely _around_ the Fleet, around and beyond it and were gaining acceleration even as the Earth cruisers tried to reverse their drift!
haveauxiliary verbUS /hæv/
used with a past participle to form the perfect tenses
From this reading To the watchers from afar it was startling; to Wessell it must have been unbelievable.
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading Some thirty Units, each a spaceship in itself, moved outward in an ever widening circle ... then all of space seemed aflame as the rockets burst into action.
intoprepositionUS /ˈɪntuː/
moving to the inside of something
From this reading Some thirty Units, each a spaceship in itself, moved outward in an ever widening circle ... then all of space seemed aflame as the rockets burst into action.
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading And then it came.
used when the thing doing the action is also its object
From this reading Some thirty Units, each a spaceship in itself, moved outward in an ever widening circle ... then all of space seemed aflame as the rockets burst into action.
MarsnounUS /mɑːrz/
a small reddish planet that is the 4th from the sun and is periodically visible to the naked eye; minerals rich in iron cover its surface and are responsible for its characteristic color
From this reading The Mars spacers sped straight at the Earth Fleet, but the circle was widening now and they passed safely _around_ the Fleet, around and beyond it and were gaining acceleration even as the Earth cruisers tried to reverse their drift!
being excited or provoked to the expression of an emotion
From this reading Some thirty Units, each a spaceship in itself, moved outward in an ever widening circle ... then all of space seemed aflame as the rockets burst into action.
used to say something is necessary, or almost certainly true
From this reading To the watchers from afar it was startling; to Wessell it must have been unbelievable.
in the historical present; at this point in the narration of a series of past events
From this reading The Mars spacers sped straight at the Earth Fleet, but the circle was widening now and they passed safely _around_ the Fleet, around and beyond it and were gaining acceleration even as the Earth cruisers tried to reverse their drift!
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading Some thirty Units, each a spaceship in itself, moved outward in an ever widening circle ... then all of space seemed aflame as the rockets burst into action.
outwardadjectiveUS /ˈaʊtwərd/
relating to physical reality rather than with thoughts or the mind
From this reading Some thirty Units, each a spaceship in itself, moved outward in an ever widening circle ... then all of space seemed aflame as the rockets burst into action.
past form of “pass” — go across or through
From this reading The Mars spacers sped straight at the Earth Fleet, but the circle was widening now and they passed safely _around_ the Fleet, around and beyond it and were gaining acceleration even as the Earth cruisers tried to reverse their drift!
reverseverbUS /rɪˈvɜːrs/
change to the contrary
From this reading The Mars spacers sped straight at the Earth Fleet, but the circle was widening now and they passed safely _around_ the Fleet, around and beyond it and were gaining acceleration even as the Earth cruisers tried to reverse their drift!
rocketsnounUS /ˈrɑːkəts/
plural of “rocket” — any vehicle self-propelled by a rocket engine
From this reading Some thirty Units, each a spaceship in itself, moved outward in an ever widening circle ... then all of space seemed aflame as the rockets burst into action.
with safety; in a safe manner
From this reading The Mars spacers sped straight at the Earth Fleet, but the circle was widening now and they passed safely _around_ the Fleet, around and beyond it and were gaining acceleration even as the Earth cruisers tried to reverse their drift!
past form of “seem” — give a certain impression or have a certain outward aspect
From this reading Without warning the _Valiant_ seemed to burst apart.
(quantifier) used with either mass nouns or plural count nouns to indicate an unspecified number or quantity
From this reading Some thirty Units, each a spaceship in itself, moved outward in an ever widening circle ... then all of space seemed aflame as the rockets burst into action.
the unlimited expanse in which everything is located
From this reading Some thirty Units, each a spaceship in itself, moved outward in an ever widening circle ... then all of space seemed aflame as the rockets burst into action.
spacers
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading The Mars spacers sped straight at the Earth Fleet, but the circle was widening now and they passed safely _around_ the Fleet, around and beyond it and were gaining acceleration even as the Earth cruisers tried to reverse their drift!
spaceshipnounUS /ˈspeɪsʃɪp/
a spacecraft designed to carry a crew into interstellar space (especially in science fiction)
From this reading Some thirty Units, each a spaceship in itself, moved outward in an ever widening circle ... then all of space seemed aflame as the rockets burst into action.
spedverbUS /sped/
inflected form of “speed” — move hurridly
From this reading The Mars spacers sped straight at the Earth Fleet, but the circle was widening now and they passed safely _around_ the Fleet, around and beyond it and were gaining acceleration even as the Earth cruisers tried to reverse their drift!
startlingadjectiveUS /ˈstɑːrtlɪŋ/
so remarkably different or sudden as to cause momentary shock or alarm
From this reading To the watchers from afar it was startling; to Wessell it must have been unbelievable.
successive (without a break)
From this reading The Mars spacers sped straight at the Earth Fleet, but the circle was widening now and they passed safely _around_ the Fleet, around and beyond it and were gaining acceleration even as the Earth cruisers tried to reverse their drift!
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading Without warning the _Valiant_ seemed to burst apart.
belonging to the people or things already mentioned
From this reading The Mars spacers sped straight at the Earth Fleet, but the circle was widening now and they passed safely _around_ the Fleet, around and beyond it and were gaining acceleration even as the Earth cruisers tried to reverse their drift!
subsequently or soon afterward (often used as sentence connectors)
From this reading And then it came.
the people, animals, or things already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading The Mars spacers sped straight at the Earth Fleet, but the circle was widening now and they passed safely _around_ the Fleet, around and beyond it and were gaining acceleration even as the Earth cruisers tried to reverse their drift!
the cardinal number that is the product of ten and three
From this reading Some thirty Units, each a spaceship in itself, moved outward in an ever widening circle ... then all of space seemed aflame as the rockets burst into action.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading Without warning the _Valiant_ seemed to burst apart.
tested and proved useful or correct
From this reading The Mars spacers sped straight at the Earth Fleet, but the circle was widening now and they passed safely _around_ the Fleet, around and beyond it and were gaining acceleration even as the Earth cruisers tried to reverse their drift!
unbelievableadjectiveUS /ˌʌnbəˈliːvəbəl/
beyond belief or understanding
From this reading To the watchers from afar it was startling; to Wessell it must have been unbelievable.
UnitsnounUS /ˈjuːnəts/
plural of “unit” — any division of quantity accepted as a standard of measurement or exchange
From this reading Some thirty Units, each a spaceship in itself, moved outward in an ever widening circle ... then all of space seemed aflame as the rockets burst into action.
ValiantadjUS /ˈvæl.jənt/
Possessing or showing courage or determination; heroic. (Dũng cảm, quả cảm, anh hùng.)
From this reading Without warning the _Valiant_ seemed to burst apart.
a message informing of danger
From this reading Without warning the _Valiant_ seemed to burst apart.
wasauxiliary verbUS /wɑːz/
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading To the watchers from afar it was startling; to Wessell it must have been unbelievable.
watchersnounUS /ˈwɑːtʃərz/
plural of “watcher” — a close observer; someone who looks at something (such as an exhibition of some kind)
From this reading To the watchers from afar it was startling; to Wessell it must have been unbelievable.
wereauxiliary verbUS /wɜːr/
the past form of “be” used with you, we, they, or a plural noun
From this reading The Mars spacers sped straight at the Earth Fleet, but the circle was widening now and they passed safely _around_ the Fleet, around and beyond it and were gaining acceleration even as the Earth cruisers tried to reverse their drift!
Wessell
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading To the watchers from afar it was startling; to Wessell it must have been unbelievable.
wideningnounUS /ˈwaɪdənɪŋ/
an increase in width
From this reading Some thirty Units, each a spaceship in itself, moved outward in an ever widening circle ... then all of space seemed aflame as the rockets burst into action.
not having, not using, or not accompanied by
From this reading Without warning the _Valiant_ seemed to burst apart.
