Every word is available to listen to. Dictionary details are shown only when verified; these are not licensed Oxford entries.
adeterminerUS /ə/
used before a singular noun to mean one of a group, when it is not a particular one
From this reading The old mother had resumed her spinning, casting from time to time a furtive and uneasy glance at the soldiers.
andconjunctionUS /ənd/
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading The old mother had resumed her spinning, casting from time to time a furtive and uneasy glance at the soldiers.
animal
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading But suddenly a strange noise--a sound like the harsh breathing of some wild animal sniffing under the door-startled the occupants of the room.
atprepositionUS /æt/
in or near a particular place or position
From this reading The old mother had resumed her spinning, casting from time to time a furtive and uneasy glance at the soldiers.
beauxiliary verbUS /biː/
used with a past participle to form the passive, or with -ing for continuous tenses
From this reading Nothing was to be heard save the humming of the wheel, the crackling of the fire, and the singing of the water in the pot.
Berthine
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Berthine stopped him with a gesture, and said, smilingly:
breathing
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading But suddenly a strange noise--a sound like the harsh breathing of some wild animal sniffing under the door-startled the occupants of the room.
ButconjunctionUS /bʌt/
used to introduce something that contrasts with what came before
From this reading But suddenly a strange noise--a sound like the harsh breathing of some wild animal sniffing under the door-startled the occupants of the room.
casting
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading The old mother had resumed her spinning, casting from time to time a furtive and uneasy glance at the soldiers.
crackling
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Nothing was to be heard save the humming of the wheel, the crackling of the fire, and the singing of the water in the pot.
door-startled
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading But suddenly a strange noise--a sound like the harsh breathing of some wild animal sniffing under the door-startled the occupants of the room.
fire
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Nothing was to be heard save the humming of the wheel, the crackling of the fire, and the singing of the water in the pot.
fromprepositionUS /frʌm/
showing where something starts, or who sent it
From this reading The old mother had resumed her spinning, casting from time to time a furtive and uneasy glance at the soldiers.
furtive
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading The old mother had resumed her spinning, casting from time to time a furtive and uneasy glance at the soldiers.
German
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading The German officer sprang toward the rifles.
gesture
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Berthine stopped him with a gesture, and said, smilingly:
glance
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading The old mother had resumed her spinning, casting from time to time a furtive and uneasy glance at the soldiers.
hadauxiliary verbUS /hæd/
the past form of “have”, used to form the past perfect
From this reading The old mother had resumed her spinning, casting from time to time a furtive and uneasy glance at the soldiers.
harsh
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading But suddenly a strange noise--a sound like the harsh breathing of some wild animal sniffing under the door-startled the occupants of the room.
heard
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Nothing was to be heard save the humming of the wheel, the crackling of the fire, and the singing of the water in the pot.
herdeterminerUS /hɜːr/
belonging to a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned
From this reading The old mother had resumed her spinning, casting from time to time a furtive and uneasy glance at the soldiers.
himpronounUS /hɪm/
the male already mentioned, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading Berthine stopped him with a gesture, and said, smilingly:
humming
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Nothing was to be heard save the humming of the wheel, the crackling of the fire, and the singing of the water in the pot.
inprepositionUS /ɪn/
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading Nothing was to be heard save the humming of the wheel, the crackling of the fire, and the singing of the water in the pot.
like
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading But suddenly a strange noise--a sound like the harsh breathing of some wild animal sniffing under the door-startled the occupants of the room.
mother
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading The old mother had resumed her spinning, casting from time to time a furtive and uneasy glance at the soldiers.
noise
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading But suddenly a strange noise--a sound like the harsh breathing of some wild animal sniffing under the door-startled the occupants of the room.
NothingpronounUS /ˈnʌθɪŋ/
not one thing; not anything
From this reading Nothing was to be heard save the humming of the wheel, the crackling of the fire, and the singing of the water in the pot.
occupants
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading But suddenly a strange noise--a sound like the harsh breathing of some wild animal sniffing under the door-startled the occupants of the room.
ofprepositionUS /ʌv/
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading Nothing was to be heard save the humming of the wheel, the crackling of the fire, and the singing of the water in the pot.
officer
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading The German officer sprang toward the rifles.
old
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading The old mother had resumed her spinning, casting from time to time a furtive and uneasy glance at the soldiers.
pot
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Nothing was to be heard save the humming of the wheel, the crackling of the fire, and the singing of the water in the pot.
resumednounUS /ˈresumed/
a story-specific word describing an important person, object, action, or idea in this passage
From this reading The old mother had resumed her spinning, casting from time to time a furtive and uneasy glance at the soldiers.
rifles
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading The German officer sprang toward the rifles.
room
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading But suddenly a strange noise--a sound like the harsh breathing of some wild animal sniffing under the door-startled the occupants of the room.
said
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Berthine stopped him with a gesture, and said, smilingly:
saveprepositionUS /seɪv/
except for; apart from
From this reading Nothing was to be heard save the humming of the wheel, the crackling of the fire, and the singing of the water in the pot.
singing
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Nothing was to be heard save the humming of the wheel, the crackling of the fire, and the singing of the water in the pot.
smilingly
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Berthine stopped him with a gesture, and said, smilingly:
sniffing
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading But suddenly a strange noise--a sound like the harsh breathing of some wild animal sniffing under the door-startled the occupants of the room.
soldiers
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading The old mother had resumed her spinning, casting from time to time a furtive and uneasy glance at the soldiers.
some
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading But suddenly a strange noise--a sound like the harsh breathing of some wild animal sniffing under the door-startled the occupants of the room.
sound
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading But suddenly a strange noise--a sound like the harsh breathing of some wild animal sniffing under the door-startled the occupants of the room.
spinningnounUS /ˈspɪnɪŋ/
the act of making thread from fibers
From this reading The old mother had resumed her spinning, casting from time to time a furtive and uneasy glance at the soldiers.
sprang
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading The German officer sprang toward the rifles.
stoppednounUS /stopped/
an important story-specific word used in this passage
From this reading Berthine stopped him with a gesture, and said, smilingly:
strange
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading But suddenly a strange noise--a sound like the harsh breathing of some wild animal sniffing under the door-startled the occupants of the room.
suddenlynounUS /ˈsuddenly/
a story-specific word describing an important person, object, action, or idea in this passage
From this reading But suddenly a strange noise--a sound like the harsh breathing of some wild animal sniffing under the door-startled the occupants of the room.
ThedeterminerUS /ðə/
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading The old mother had resumed her spinning, casting from time to time a furtive and uneasy glance at the soldiers.
timenounUS /time/
an important story-specific word used in this passage
From this reading The old mother had resumed her spinning, casting from time to time a furtive and uneasy glance at the soldiers.
toparticleUS /tuː/
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading The old mother had resumed her spinning, casting from time to time a furtive and uneasy glance at the soldiers.
towardprepositionUS /təˈwɔːrd/
in the direction of
From this reading The German officer sprang toward the rifles.
underprepositionUS /ˈʌndər/
below or beneath something; less than
From this reading But suddenly a strange noise--a sound like the harsh breathing of some wild animal sniffing under the door-startled the occupants of the room.
uneasy
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading The old mother had resumed her spinning, casting from time to time a furtive and uneasy glance at the soldiers.
wasauxiliary verbUS /wɑːz/
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading Nothing was to be heard save the humming of the wheel, the crackling of the fire, and the singing of the water in the pot.
water
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Nothing was to be heard save the humming of the wheel, the crackling of the fire, and the singing of the water in the pot.
wheel
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Nothing was to be heard save the humming of the wheel, the crackling of the fire, and the singing of the water in the pot.
wild
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading But suddenly a strange noise--a sound like the harsh breathing of some wild animal sniffing under the door-startled the occupants of the room.
withprepositionUS /wɪð/
in the company of; together with
From this reading Berthine stopped him with a gesture, and said, smilingly: