used before a singular noun to mean one of a group, when it is not a particular one
From this reading Had he not been such a good swimmer the weight of his clothing would have dragged him down and rendered his case hopeless.
the form of “a” used before a word that begins with a vowel sound
From this reading AN UNEXPECTED RESCUE.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading Sixty's unprovoked and murderous attack on Matt had been made with such brutal suddenness that the king of the motor boys had had no chance to defend himself.
at the same time that; because; in the way that
From this reading He was seriously handicapped, as it was, and when he gained the top of the water he was thankful to find a life-preserver bobbing and ducking beside him.
(military) an offensive against an enemy (using weapons)
From this reading Sixty's unprovoked and murderous attack on Matt had been made with such brutal suddenness that the king of the motor boys had had no chance to defend himself.
beenauxiliary verbUS /bɪn/
the past participle of “be”
From this reading Sixty's unprovoked and murderous attack on Matt had been made with such brutal suddenness that the king of the motor boys had had no chance to defend himself.
earlier than; in front of
From this reading Before he fairly realized what had happened he was under the water and fighting his way upward to the surface.
next to; at the side of
From this reading He was seriously handicapped, as it was, and when he gained the top of the water he was thankful to find a life-preserver bobbing and ducking beside him.
bobbingverbUS /ˈbɑːbɪŋ/
inflected form of “bob” — move up and down repeatedly
From this reading He was seriously handicapped, as it was, and when he gained the top of the water he was thankful to find a life-preserver bobbing and ducking beside him.
plural of “boy” — a youthful male person
From this reading Sixty's unprovoked and murderous attack on Matt had been made with such brutal suddenness that the king of the motor boys had had no chance to defend himself.
brutaladjectiveUS /ˈbruːtəl/
(of persons or their actions) able or disposed to inflict pain or suffering
From this reading Sixty's unprovoked and murderous attack on Matt had been made with such brutal suddenness that the king of the motor boys had had no chance to defend himself.
an occurrence of something
From this reading Had he not been such a good swimmer the weight of his clothing would have dragged him down and rendered his case hopeless.
a possibility due to a favorable combination of circumstances
From this reading Sixty's unprovoked and murderous attack on Matt had been made with such brutal suddenness that the king of the motor boys had had no chance to defend himself.
clothingnounUS /ˈkloʊðɪŋ/
a covering designed to be worn on a person's body
From this reading Had he not been such a good swimmer the weight of his clothing would have dragged him down and rendered his case hopeless.
defendverbUS /dɪˈfend/
argue or speak in defense of
From this reading Sixty's unprovoked and murderous attack on Matt had been made with such brutal suddenness that the king of the motor boys had had no chance to defend himself.
being or moving lower in position or less in some value
From this reading Had he not been such a good swimmer the weight of his clothing would have dragged him down and rendered his case hopeless.
inflected form of “drag” — pull, as against a resistance
From this reading Had he not been such a good swimmer the weight of his clothing would have dragged him down and rendered his case hopeless.
duckingnounUS /ˈdʌkɪŋ/
hunting ducks
From this reading He was seriously handicapped, as it was, and when he gained the top of the water he was thankful to find a life-preserver bobbing and ducking beside him.
to certain extent or degree
From this reading Before he fairly realized what had happened he was under the water and fighting his way upward to the surface.
the act of fighting; any contest or struggle
From this reading Before he fairly realized what had happened he was under the water and fighting his way upward to the surface.
come upon, as if by accident; meet with
From this reading He was seriously handicapped, as it was, and when he gained the top of the water he was thankful to find a life-preserver bobbing and ducking beside him.
past form of “gain” — obtain
From this reading He was seriously handicapped, as it was, and when he gained the top of the water he was thankful to find a life-preserver bobbing and ducking beside him.
having desirable or positive qualities especially those suitable for a thing specified
From this reading Had he not been such a good swimmer the weight of his clothing would have dragged him down and rendered his case hopeless.
hadauxiliary verbUS /hæd/
the past form of “have”, used to form the past perfect
From this reading Sixty's unprovoked and murderous attack on Matt had been made with such brutal suddenness that the king of the motor boys had had no chance to defend himself.
handicappedadjectiveUS /ˈhændikæpt/
having restricted mental or physical functioning as a consequence of injury or illness
From this reading He was seriously handicapped, as it was, and when he gained the top of the water he was thankful to find a life-preserver bobbing and ducking beside him.
past form of “happen” — come to pass
From this reading Before he fairly realized what had happened he was under the water and fighting his way upward to the surface.
haveauxiliary verbUS /hæv/
used with a past participle to form the perfect tenses
From this reading Had he not been such a good swimmer the weight of his clothing would have dragged him down and rendered his case hopeless.
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading Before he fairly realized what had happened he was under the water and fighting his way upward to the surface.
the male already mentioned, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading Had he not been such a good swimmer the weight of his clothing would have dragged him down and rendered his case hopeless.
used when the man or boy doing the action is also its object
From this reading Sixty's unprovoked and murderous attack on Matt had been made with such brutal suddenness that the king of the motor boys had had no chance to defend himself.
belonging to a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned
From this reading Before he fairly realized what had happened he was under the water and fighting his way upward to the surface.
hopelessadjectiveUS /ˈhoʊpləs/
without hope because there seems to be no possibility of comfort or success
From this reading Had he not been such a good swimmer the weight of his clothing would have dragged him down and rendered his case hopeless.
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading He was seriously handicapped, as it was, and when he gained the top of the water he was thankful to find a life-preserver bobbing and ducking beside him.
a male sovereign; ruler of a kingdom
From this reading Sixty's unprovoked and murderous attack on Matt had been made with such brutal suddenness that the king of the motor boys had had no chance to defend himself.
life-preserver
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading He was seriously handicapped, as it was, and when he gained the top of the water he was thankful to find a life-preserver bobbing and ducking beside him.
produced by a manufacturing process
From this reading Sixty's unprovoked and murderous attack on Matt had been made with such brutal suddenness that the king of the motor boys had had no chance to defend himself.
MattnounUS /mæt/
the property of having little or no contrast; lacking highlights or gloss
From this reading Sixty's unprovoked and murderous attack on Matt had been made with such brutal suddenness that the king of the motor boys had had no chance to defend himself.
motornounUS /ˈmoʊtər/
machine that converts other forms of energy into mechanical energy and so imparts motion
From this reading Sixty's unprovoked and murderous attack on Matt had been made with such brutal suddenness that the king of the motor boys had had no chance to defend himself.
murderousadjectiveUS /ˈmɜːrdərəs/
characteristic of or capable of or having a tendency toward killing another human being
From this reading Sixty's unprovoked and murderous attack on Matt had been made with such brutal suddenness that the king of the motor boys had had no chance to defend himself.
not any; not one
From this reading Sixty's unprovoked and murderous attack on Matt had been made with such brutal suddenness that the king of the motor boys had had no chance to defend himself.
used to make a word, phrase, or sentence negative
From this reading Had he not been such a good swimmer the weight of his clothing would have dragged him down and rendered his case hopeless.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading Sixty's unprovoked and murderous attack on Matt had been made with such brutal suddenness that the king of the motor boys had had no chance to defend himself.
touching and supported by a surface
From this reading Sixty's unprovoked and murderous attack on Matt had been made with such brutal suddenness that the king of the motor boys had had no chance to defend himself.
successfully completed or brought to an end
From this reading Before he fairly realized what had happened he was under the water and fighting his way upward to the surface.
past form of “render” — cause to become
From this reading Had he not been such a good swimmer the weight of his clothing would have dragged him down and rendered his case hopeless.
free from harm or evil
From this reading AN UNEXPECTED RESCUE.
in a serious manner
From this reading He was seriously handicapped, as it was, and when he gained the top of the water he was thankful to find a life-preserver bobbing and ducking beside him.
Sixty'snounUS /ˈsɪkstiz/
possessive form of “sixty” — the cardinal number that is the product of ten and six
From this reading Sixty's unprovoked and murderous attack on Matt had been made with such brutal suddenness that the king of the motor boys had had no chance to defend himself.
of the kind already mentioned
From this reading Sixty's unprovoked and murderous attack on Matt had been made with such brutal suddenness that the king of the motor boys had had no chance to defend himself.
suddennessnounUS /ˈsʌdənnəs/
the quality of happening with headlong haste or without warning
From this reading Sixty's unprovoked and murderous attack on Matt had been made with such brutal suddenness that the king of the motor boys had had no chance to defend himself.
the outer boundary of an artifact or a material layer constituting or resembling such a boundary
From this reading Before he fairly realized what had happened he was under the water and fighting his way upward to the surface.
swimmernounUS /ˈswɪmər/
a trained athlete who participates in swimming meets
From this reading Had he not been such a good swimmer the weight of his clothing would have dragged him down and rendered his case hopeless.
thankfuladjectiveUS /ˈθæŋkfəl/
feeling or showing gratitude
From this reading He was seriously handicapped, as it was, and when he gained the top of the water he was thankful to find a life-preserver bobbing and ducking beside him.
used to introduce what somebody said, thought, or felt
From this reading Sixty's unprovoked and murderous attack on Matt had been made with such brutal suddenness that the king of the motor boys had had no chance to defend himself.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading Sixty's unprovoked and murderous attack on Matt had been made with such brutal suddenness that the king of the motor boys had had no chance to defend himself.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading Sixty's unprovoked and murderous attack on Matt had been made with such brutal suddenness that the king of the motor boys had had no chance to defend himself.
the upper part of anything
From this reading He was seriously handicapped, as it was, and when he gained the top of the water he was thankful to find a life-preserver bobbing and ducking beside him.
underprepositionUS /ˈʌndər/
below or beneath something; less than
From this reading Before he fairly realized what had happened he was under the water and fighting his way upward to the surface.
not expected or anticipated
From this reading AN UNEXPECTED RESCUE.
unprovokedadjectiveUS /ˌʌnprəˈvoʊkt/
occurring without motivation or provocation
From this reading Sixty's unprovoked and murderous attack on Matt had been made with such brutal suddenness that the king of the motor boys had had no chance to defend himself.
directed up
From this reading Before he fairly realized what had happened he was under the water and fighting his way upward to the surface.
wasauxiliary verbUS /wɑːz/
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading Before he fairly realized what had happened he was under the water and fighting his way upward to the surface.
binary compound that occurs at room temperature as a clear colorless odorless tasteless liquid; freezes into ice below 0 degrees centigrade and boils above 100 degrees centigrade; widely used as a solvent
From this reading Before he fairly realized what had happened he was under the water and fighting his way upward to the surface.
how something is done or how it happens
From this reading Before he fairly realized what had happened he was under the water and fighting his way upward to the surface.
the vertical force exerted by a mass as a result of gravity
From this reading Had he not been such a good swimmer the weight of his clothing would have dragged him down and rendered his case hopeless.
used to ask for information about something
From this reading Before he fairly realized what had happened he was under the water and fighting his way upward to the surface.
at the time that
From this reading He was seriously handicapped, as it was, and when he gained the top of the water he was thankful to find a life-preserver bobbing and ducking beside him.
in the company of; together with
From this reading Sixty's unprovoked and murderous attack on Matt had been made with such brutal suddenness that the king of the motor boys had had no chance to defend himself.
used for something imagined, polite, or habitual in the past
From this reading Had he not been such a good swimmer the weight of his clothing would have dragged him down and rendered his case hopeless.
