used before a singular noun to mean one of a group, when it is not a particular one
From this reading We could scarcely have accomplished more than a mile of our homeward journey when, with a sudden jerk which almost threw me forward, the carriage was brought to a standstill.
aboutprepositionUS /əˈbaʊt/
on the subject of; concerning
From this reading They were all in plain clothes, but something about their _physique_ and general appearance had an unmistakable suggestion of police.
highly skilled
From this reading We could scarcely have accomplished more than a mile of our homeward journey when, with a sudden jerk which almost threw me forward, the carriage was brought to a standstill.
perform an action, or work out or perform (an action)
From this reading On the opposite side of the road were two carriages, or, rather, flys, from one of which a tall, slim man was in the act of descending.
(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 They were all in plain clothes, but something about their _physique_ and general appearance had an unmistakable suggestion of police.
(of actions or states) slightly short of or not quite accomplished; all but
From this reading We could scarcely have accomplished more than a mile of our homeward journey when, with a sudden jerk which almost threw me forward, the carriage was brought to a standstill.
the form of “a” used before a word that begins with a vowel sound
From this reading They were all in plain clothes, but something about their _physique_ and general appearance had an unmistakable suggestion of police.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading They were all in plain clothes, but something about their _physique_ and general appearance had an unmistakable suggestion of police.
outward or visible aspect of a person or thing
From this reading They were all in plain clothes, but something about their _physique_ and general appearance had an unmistakable suggestion of police.
past form of “approach” — move towards
From this reading The man who had been descending from the nearer of the two carriages crossed the road and approached me.
beenauxiliary verbUS /bɪn/
the past participle of “be”
From this reading The man who had been descending from the nearer of the two carriages crossed the road and approached me.
behindprepositionUS /bɪˈhaɪnd/
at or toward the back of something
From this reading Several other men on horseback were just riding up from behind.
inflected form of “bring” — take something or somebody with oneself somewhere
From this reading We could scarcely have accomplished more than a mile of our homeward journey when, with a sudden jerk which almost threw me forward, the carriage was brought to a standstill.
used to introduce something that contrasts with what came before
From this reading They were all in plain clothes, but something about their _physique_ and general appearance had an unmistakable suggestion of police.
a railcar where passengers ride
From this reading We could scarcely have accomplished more than a mile of our homeward journey when, with a sudden jerk which almost threw me forward, the carriage was brought to a standstill.
carriagesnounUS /ˈkærɪdʒɪz/
plural of “carriage” — a railcar where passengers ride
From this reading On the opposite side of the road were two carriages, or, rather, flys, from one of which a tall, slim man was in the act of descending.
clothing in general
From this reading They were all in plain clothes, but something about their _physique_ and general appearance had an unmistakable suggestion of police.
the past of “can”; used for possibility or polite requests
From this reading We could scarcely have accomplished more than a mile of our homeward journey when, with a sudden jerk which almost threw me forward, the carriage was brought to a standstill.
placed crosswise
From this reading The man who had been descending from the nearer of the two carriages crossed the road and approached me.
descendingadjectiveUS /dɪˈsendɪŋ/
coming down or downward
From this reading On the opposite side of the road were two carriages, or, rather, flys, from one of which a tall, slim man was in the act of descending.
flys
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading On the opposite side of the road were two carriages, or, rather, flys, from one of which a tall, slim man was in the act of descending.
at or to or toward the front
From this reading We could scarcely have accomplished more than a mile of our homeward journey when, with a sudden jerk which almost threw me forward, the carriage was brought to a standstill.
showing where something starts, or who sent it
From this reading On the opposite side of the road were two carriages, or, rather, flys, from one of which a tall, slim man was in the act of descending.
applying to all or most members of a category or group
From this reading They were all in plain clothes, but something about their _physique_ and general appearance had an unmistakable suggestion of police.
hadauxiliary verbUS /hæd/
the past form of “have”, used to form the past perfect
From this reading They were all in plain clothes, but something about their _physique_ and general appearance had an unmistakable suggestion of police.
haveauxiliary verbUS /hæv/
used with a past participle to form the perfect tenses
From this reading We could scarcely have accomplished more than a mile of our homeward journey when, with a sudden jerk which almost threw me forward, the carriage was brought to a standstill.
homewardadverbUS /ˈhoʊmwərd/
toward home
From this reading We could scarcely have accomplished more than a mile of our homeward journey when, with a sudden jerk which almost threw me forward, the carriage was brought to a standstill.
horsebacknounUS /ˈhɔːrsbæk/
the back of a horse
From this reading Several other men on horseback were just riding up from behind.
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading On the opposite side of the road were two carriages, or, rather, flys, from one of which a tall, slim man was in the act of descending.
jerkverbUS /dʒɜːrk/
pull, or move with a sudden movement
From this reading We could scarcely have accomplished more than a mile of our homeward journey when, with a sudden jerk which almost threw me forward, the carriage was brought to a standstill.
undertake a journey or trip
From this reading We could scarcely have accomplished more than a mile of our homeward journey when, with a sudden jerk which almost threw me forward, the carriage was brought to a standstill.
and nothing more
From this reading Several other men on horseback were just riding up from behind.
an adult person who is male (as opposed to a woman)
From this reading On the opposite side of the road were two carriages, or, rather, flys, from one of which a tall, slim man was in the act of descending.
the person speaking, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading We could scarcely have accomplished more than a mile of our homeward journey when, with a sudden jerk which almost threw me forward, the carriage was brought to a standstill.
the force of workers available
From this reading Several other men on horseback were just riding up from behind.
a unit of length equal to 1,760 yards or 5,280 feet; exactly 1609.344 meters
From this reading We could scarcely have accomplished more than a mile of our homeward journey when, with a sudden jerk which almost threw me forward, the carriage was brought to a standstill.
(comparative of “much” used with mass nouns) a quantifier meaning greater in size or amount or extent or degree
From this reading We could scarcely have accomplished more than a mile of our homeward journey when, with a sudden jerk which almost threw me forward, the carriage was brought to a standstill.
(comparative of “near” or “close”) within a shorter distance
From this reading The man who had been descending from the nearer of the two carriages crossed the road and approached me.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading We could scarcely have accomplished more than a mile of our homeward journey when, with a sudden jerk which almost threw me forward, the carriage was brought to a standstill.
touching and supported by a surface
From this reading On the opposite side of the road were two carriages, or, rather, flys, from one of which a tall, slim man was in the act of descending.
used to mean any person in general, including the speaker
From this reading On the opposite side of the road were two carriages, or, rather, flys, from one of which a tall, slim man was in the act of descending.
being directly across from each other; facing
From this reading On the opposite side of the road were two carriages, or, rather, flys, from one of which a tall, slim man was in the act of descending.
used to join alternatives or possibilities
From this reading On the opposite side of the road were two carriages, or, rather, flys, from one of which a tall, slim man was in the act of descending.
not the same one or ones already mentioned or implied
From this reading Several other men on horseback were just riding up from behind.
belonging to the speaker and others
From this reading We could scarcely have accomplished more than a mile of our homeward journey when, with a sudden jerk which almost threw me forward, the carriage was brought to a standstill.
physiquenounUS /fəˈziːk/
constitution of the human body
From this reading They were all in plain clothes, but something about their _physique_ and general appearance had an unmistakable suggestion of police.
clearly revealed to the mind or the senses or judgment
From this reading They were all in plain clothes, but something about their _physique_ and general appearance had an unmistakable suggestion of police.
the force of policemen and officers
From this reading They were all in plain clothes, but something about their _physique_ and general appearance had an unmistakable suggestion of police.
on the contrary
From this reading On the opposite side of the road were two carriages, or, rather, flys, from one of which a tall, slim man was in the act of descending.
the sport of sitting on the back of a horse while controlling its movements
From this reading Several other men on horseback were just riding up from behind.
an open way (generally public) for travel or transportation
From this reading On the opposite side of the road were two carriages, or, rather, flys, from one of which a tall, slim man was in the act of descending.
only a very short time before
From this reading We could scarcely have accomplished more than a mile of our homeward journey when, with a sudden jerk which almost threw me forward, the carriage was brought to a standstill.
(used with count nouns) of an indefinite number more than 2 or 3 but not many
From this reading Several other men on horseback were just riding up from behind.
a place within a region identified relative to a center or reference location
From this reading On the opposite side of the road were two carriages, or, rather, flys, from one of which a tall, slim man was in the act of descending.
slimadjectiveUS /slɪm/
being of delicate or slender build
From this reading On the opposite side of the road were two carriages, or, rather, flys, from one of which a tall, slim man was in the act of descending.
a thing, without saying which
From this reading They were all in plain clothes, but something about their _physique_ and general appearance had an unmistakable suggestion of police.
standstillnounUS /ˈstændstɪl/
a situation in which no progress can be made or no advancement is possible
From this reading We could scarcely have accomplished more than a mile of our homeward journey when, with a sudden jerk which almost threw me forward, the carriage was brought to a standstill.
happening without warning or in a short space of time
From this reading We could scarcely have accomplished more than a mile of our homeward journey when, with a sudden jerk which almost threw me forward, the carriage was brought to a standstill.
an idea that is suggested
From this reading They were all in plain clothes, but something about their _physique_ and general appearance had an unmistakable suggestion of police.
great in vertical dimension; high in stature
From this reading On the opposite side of the road were two carriages, or, rather, flys, from one of which a tall, slim man was in the act of descending.
used to introduce the second part of a comparison
From this reading We could scarcely have accomplished more than a mile of our homeward journey when, with a sudden jerk which almost threw me forward, the carriage was brought to a standstill.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading We could scarcely have accomplished more than a mile of our homeward journey when, with a sudden jerk which almost threw me forward, the carriage was brought to a standstill.
belonging to the people or things already mentioned
From this reading They were all in plain clothes, but something about their _physique_ and general appearance had an unmistakable suggestion of police.
the people, animals, or things already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading They were all in plain clothes, but something about their _physique_ and general appearance had an unmistakable suggestion of police.
inflected form of “throw” — propel through the air
From this reading We could scarcely have accomplished more than a mile of our homeward journey when, with a sudden jerk which almost threw me forward, the carriage was brought to a standstill.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading We could scarcely have accomplished more than a mile of our homeward journey when, with a sudden jerk which almost threw me forward, the carriage was brought to a standstill.
the cardinal number that is the sum of one and one or a numeral representing this number
From this reading On the opposite side of the road were two carriages, or, rather, flys, from one of which a tall, slim man was in the act of descending.
unmistakableadjectiveUS /ˌʌnmɪˈsteɪkəbəl/
clearly evident to the mind
From this reading They were all in plain clothes, but something about their _physique_ and general appearance had an unmistakable suggestion of police.
being or moving higher in position or greater in some value; being above a former position or level
From this reading Several other men on horseback were just riding up from behind.
wasauxiliary verbUS /wɑːz/
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading We could scarcely have accomplished more than a mile of our homeward journey when, with a sudden jerk which almost threw me forward, the carriage was brought to a standstill.
the speaker together with one or more other people
From this reading We could scarcely have accomplished more than a mile of our homeward journey when, with a sudden jerk which almost threw me forward, the carriage was brought to a standstill.
wereauxiliary verbUS /wɜːr/
the past form of “be” used with you, we, they, or a plural noun
From this reading On the opposite side of the road were two carriages, or, rather, flys, from one of which a tall, slim man was in the act of descending.
at the time that
From this reading We could scarcely have accomplished more than a mile of our homeward journey when, with a sudden jerk which almost threw me forward, the carriage was brought to a standstill.
used to introduce a clause giving more about a thing just mentioned
From this reading We could scarcely have accomplished more than a mile of our homeward journey when, with a sudden jerk which almost threw me forward, the carriage was brought to a standstill.
which person or people
From this reading The man who had been descending from the nearer of the two carriages crossed the road and approached me.
in the company of; together with
From this reading We could scarcely have accomplished more than a mile of our homeward journey when, with a sudden jerk which almost threw me forward, the carriage was brought to a standstill.
