used before a singular noun to mean one of a group, when it is not a particular one
From this reading But when he opened his eyes, to find himself lying half under his sled which had fallen with him, it was dark all about him--that is, all dark except a faint light which came from the snow pile into which he had tumbled.
aboutprepositionUS /əˈbaʊt/
on the subject of; concerning
From this reading But when he opened his eyes, to find himself lying half under his sled which had fallen with him, it was dark all about him--that is, all dark except a faint light which came from the snow pile into which he had tumbled.
(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 But when he opened his eyes, to find himself lying half under his sled which had fallen with him, it was dark all about him--that is, all dark except a faint light which came from the snow pile into which he had tumbled.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading Then it came back to him--how he had taken one last coast down the hill, how something had slipped and how he had fallen down into the hole in the snow.
past form of “ask” — make a request or demand for something to somebody
From this reading "I wonder--I wonder what happened?" asked Rick, speaking in a faint voice.
in or to or toward a former location
From this reading Then it came back to him--how he had taken one last coast down the hill, how something had slipped and how he had fallen down into the hole in the snow.
being of the achromatic color of maximum darkness; having little or no hue owing to absorption of almost all incident light
From this reading That made a gleam of whiteness even when all else was black.
blacknessnounUS /ˈblæknəs/
the quality or state of the achromatic color of least lightness (bearing the least resemblance to white)
From this reading THROUGH THE ICE How long he lay in the blackness, which was caused by the blow on his head, Rick did not know.
exhale hard
From this reading THROUGH THE ICE How long he lay in the blackness, which was caused by the blow on his head, Rick did not know.
used to introduce something that contrasts with what came before
From this reading But when he opened his eyes, to find himself lying half under his sled which had fallen with him, it was dark all about him--that is, all dark except a faint light which came from the snow pile into which he had tumbled.
showing who or what does the action
From this reading THROUGH THE ICE How long he lay in the blackness, which was caused by the blow on his head, Rick did not know.
inflected form of “come” — move toward, travel toward something or somebody or approach something or somebody
From this reading But when he opened his eyes, to find himself lying half under his sled which had fallen with him, it was dark all about him--that is, all dark except a faint light which came from the snow pile into which he had tumbled.
past form of “cause” — give rise to; cause to happen or occur, not always intentionally
From this reading THROUGH THE ICE How long he lay in the blackness, which was caused by the blow on his head, Rick did not know.
the shore of a sea or ocean
From this reading Then it came back to him--how he had taken one last coast down the hill, how something had slipped and how he had fallen down into the hole in the snow.
absence of light or illumination
From this reading But when he opened his eyes, to find himself lying half under his sled which had fallen with him, it was dark all about him--that is, all dark except a faint light which came from the snow pile into which he had tumbled.
didauxiliary verbUS /dɪd/
the past form of “do”, used in questions and negatives
From this reading THROUGH THE ICE How long he lay in the blackness, which was caused by the blow on his head, Rick did not know.
being or moving lower in position or less in some value
From this reading Then it came back to him--how he had taken one last coast down the hill, how something had slipped and how he had fallen down into the hole in the snow.
else
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading That made a gleam of whiteness even when all else was black.
divisible by two
From this reading That made a gleam of whiteness even when all else was black.
apart from; not including
From this reading But when he opened his eyes, to find himself lying half under his sled which had fallen with him, it was dark all about him--that is, all dark except a faint light which came from the snow pile into which he had tumbled.
opinion or judgment
From this reading But when he opened his eyes, to find himself lying half under his sled which had fallen with him, it was dark all about him--that is, all dark except a faint light which came from the snow pile into which he had tumbled.
deficient in magnitude; barely perceptible; lacking clarity or brightness or loudness etc
From this reading But when he opened his eyes, to find himself lying half under his sled which had fallen with him, it was dark all about him--that is, all dark except a faint light which came from the snow pile into which he had tumbled.
having dropped by the force of gravity
From this reading But when he opened his eyes, to find himself lying half under his sled which had fallen with him, it was dark all about him--that is, all dark except a faint light which came from the snow pile into which he had tumbled.
come upon, as if by accident; meet with
From this reading But when he opened his eyes, to find himself lying half under his sled which had fallen with him, it was dark all about him--that is, all dark except a faint light which came from the snow pile into which he had tumbled.
showing where something starts, or who sent it
From this reading But when he opened his eyes, to find himself lying half under his sled which had fallen with him, it was dark all about him--that is, all dark except a faint light which came from the snow pile into which he had tumbled.
gleamverbUS /ɡliːm/
be shiny, as if wet
From this reading That made a gleam of whiteness even when all else was black.
hadauxiliary verbUS /hæd/
the past form of “have”, used to form the past perfect
From this reading But when he opened his eyes, to find himself lying half under his sled which had fallen with him, it was dark all about him--that is, all dark except a faint light which came from the snow pile into which he had tumbled.
consisting of one of two equivalent parts in value or quantity
From this reading But when he opened his eyes, to find himself lying half under his sled which had fallen with him, it was dark all about him--that is, all dark except a faint light which came from the snow pile into which he had tumbled.
past form of “happen” — come to pass
From this reading "I wonder--I wonder what happened?" asked Rick, speaking in a faint voice.
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading THROUGH THE ICE How long he lay in the blackness, which was caused by the blow on his head, Rick did not know.
the upper part of the human body or the front part of the body in animals; contains the face and brains
From this reading THROUGH THE ICE How long he lay in the blackness, which was caused by the blow on his head, Rick did not know.
a local and well-defined elevation of the land
From this reading Then it came back to him--how he had taken one last coast down the hill, how something had slipped and how he had fallen down into the hole in the snow.
the male already mentioned, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading But when he opened his eyes, to find himself lying half under his sled which had fallen with him, it was dark all about him--that is, all dark except a faint light which came from the snow pile into which he had tumbled.
used when the man or boy doing the action is also its object
From this reading But when he opened his eyes, to find himself lying half under his sled which had fallen with him, it was dark all about him--that is, all dark except a faint light which came from the snow pile into which he had tumbled.
belonging to a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned
From this reading THROUGH THE ICE How long he lay in the blackness, which was caused by the blow on his head, Rick did not know.
an opening into or through something
From this reading Then it came back to him--how he had taken one last coast down the hill, how something had slipped and how he had fallen down into the hole in the snow.
How
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading THROUGH THE ICE How long he lay in the blackness, which was caused by the blow on his head, Rick did not know.
the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb
From this reading "I wonder--I wonder what happened?" asked Rick, speaking in a faint voice.
water frozen in the solid state
From this reading THROUGH THE ICE How long he lay in the blackness, which was caused by the blow on his head, Rick did not know.
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading THROUGH THE ICE How long he lay in the blackness, which was caused by the blow on his head, Rick did not know.
intoprepositionUS /ˈɪntuː/
moving to the inside of something
From this reading But when he opened his eyes, to find himself lying half under his sled which had fallen with him, it was dark all about him--that is, all dark except a faint light which came from the snow pile into which he had tumbled.
the form of “be” used with he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading But when he opened his eyes, to find himself lying half under his sled which had fallen with him, it was dark all about him--that is, all dark except a faint light which came from the snow pile into which he had tumbled.
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading But when he opened his eyes, to find himself lying half under his sled which had fallen with him, it was dark all about him--that is, all dark except a faint light which came from the snow pile into which he had tumbled.
be cognizant or aware of a fact or a specific piece of information; possess knowledge or information about
From this reading THROUGH THE ICE How long he lay in the blackness, which was caused by the blow on his head, Rick did not know.
immediately past
From this reading Then it came back to him--how he had taken one last coast down the hill, how something had slipped and how he had fallen down into the hole in the snow.
put into a certain place or abstract location
From this reading THROUGH THE ICE How long he lay in the blackness, which was caused by the blow on his head, Rick did not know.
of comparatively little physical weight or density
From this reading But when he opened his eyes, to find himself lying half under his sled which had fallen with him, it was dark all about him--that is, all dark except a faint light which came from the snow pile into which he had tumbled.
primarily temporal sense; being or indicating a relatively great or greater than average duration or passage of time or a duration as specified
From this reading THROUGH THE ICE How long he lay in the blackness, which was caused by the blow on his head, Rick did not know.
the deliberate act of deviating from the truth
From this reading But when he opened his eyes, to find himself lying half under his sled which had fallen with him, it was dark all about him--that is, all dark except a faint light which came from the snow pile into which he had tumbled.
produced by a manufacturing process
From this reading That made a gleam of whiteness even when all else was black.
used to make a word, phrase, or sentence negative
From this reading THROUGH THE ICE How long he lay in the blackness, which was caused by the blow on his head, Rick did not know.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading That made a gleam of whiteness even when all else was black.
touching and supported by a surface
From this reading THROUGH THE ICE How long he lay in the blackness, which was caused by the blow on his head, Rick did not know.
used to mean any person in general, including the speaker
From this reading Then it came back to him--how he had taken one last coast down the hill, how something had slipped and how he had fallen down into the hole in the snow.
used of mouth or eyes
From this reading But when he opened his eyes, to find himself lying half under his sled which had fallen with him, it was dark all about him--that is, all dark except a faint light which came from the snow pile into which he had tumbled.
a collection of objects laid on top of each other
From this reading But when he opened his eyes, to find himself lying half under his sled which had fallen with him, it was dark all about him--that is, all dark except a faint light which came from the snow pile into which he had tumbled.
RicknounUS /rɪk/
a painful muscle spasm especially in the neck or back (“rick” and “wrick” are British)
From this reading THROUGH THE ICE How long he lay in the blackness, which was caused by the blow on his head, Rick did not know.
slednounUS /sled/
a vehicle mounted on runners and pulled by horses or dogs; for transportation over snow
From this reading But when he opened his eyes, to find himself lying half under his sled which had fallen with him, it was dark all about him--that is, all dark except a faint light which came from the snow pile into which he had tumbled.
inflected form of “slip” — move stealthily
From this reading Then it came back to him--how he had taken one last coast down the hill, how something had slipped and how he had fallen down into the hole in the snow.
precipitation falling from clouds in the form of ice crystals
From this reading But when he opened his eyes, to find himself lying half under his sled which had fallen with him, it was dark all about him--that is, all dark except a faint light which came from the snow pile into which he had tumbled.
a thing, without saying which
From this reading Then it came back to him--how he had taken one last coast down the hill, how something had slipped and how he had fallen down into the hole in the snow.
the utterance of intelligible speech
From this reading "I wonder--I wonder what happened?" asked Rick, speaking in a faint voice.
takenadjectiveUS /ˈteɪkən/
understood in a certain way; made sense of
From this reading Then it came back to him--how he had taken one last coast down the hill, how something had slipped and how he had fallen down into the hole in the snow.
used to introduce what somebody said, thought, or felt
From this reading But when he opened his eyes, to find himself lying half under his sled which had fallen with him, it was dark all about him--that is, all dark except a faint light which came from the snow pile into which he had tumbled.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading THROUGH THE ICE How long he lay in the blackness, which was caused by the blow on his head, Rick did not know.
subsequently or soon afterward (often used as sentence connectors)
From this reading Then it came back to him--how he had taken one last coast down the hill, how something had slipped and how he had fallen down into the hole in the snow.
from one end or side of something to the other
From this reading THROUGH THE ICE How long he lay in the blackness, which was caused by the blow on his head, Rick did not know.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading But when he opened his eyes, to find himself lying half under his sled which had fallen with him, it was dark all about him--that is, all dark except a faint light which came from the snow pile into which he had tumbled.
tumbledverbUS /ˈtʌmbəld/
past form of “tumble” — fall down, as if collapsing
From this reading But when he opened his eyes, to find himself lying half under his sled which had fallen with him, it was dark all about him--that is, all dark except a faint light which came from the snow pile into which he had tumbled.
underprepositionUS /ˈʌndər/
below or beneath something; less than
From this reading But when he opened his eyes, to find himself lying half under his sled which had fallen with him, it was dark all about him--that is, all dark except a faint light which came from the snow pile into which he had tumbled.
the distinctive quality or pitch or condition of a person's speech
From this reading "I wonder--I wonder what happened?" asked Rick, speaking in a faint voice.
wasauxiliary verbUS /wɑːz/
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading THROUGH THE ICE How long he lay in the blackness, which was caused by the blow on his head, Rick did not know.
used to ask for information about something
From this reading "I wonder--I wonder what happened?" asked Rick, speaking in a faint voice.
at the time that
From this reading But when he opened his eyes, to find himself lying half under his sled which had fallen with him, it was dark all about him--that is, all dark except a faint light which came from the snow pile into which he had tumbled.
used to introduce a clause giving more about a thing just mentioned
From this reading THROUGH THE ICE How long he lay in the blackness, which was caused by the blow on his head, Rick did not know.
whitenessnounUS /ˈwaɪtnəs/
the quality or state of the achromatic color of greatest lightness (bearing the least resemblance to black)
From this reading That made a gleam of whiteness even when all else was black.
in the company of; together with
From this reading But when he opened his eyes, to find himself lying half under his sled which had fallen with him, it was dark all about him--that is, all dark except a faint light which came from the snow pile into which he had tumbled.
the feeling aroused by something strange and surprising
From this reading "I wonder--I wonder what happened?" asked Rick, speaking in a faint voice.
