used before a singular noun to mean one of a group, when it is not a particular one
From this reading He was a Mohawk, and he and his tribe had taken to steel construction work a long time back.
an unfortunate mishap; especially one causing damage or injury
From this reading Forty of them had died together in the worst construction accident in history, when a bridge on its way to completion collapsed in the making, but there were a dozen or more at work on the Space Platform now.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading There was the Chief, dark and saturnine to look at, with his straight black hair gleaming in the light.
in or near a particular place or position
From this reading There was the Chief, dark and saturnine to look at, with his straight black hair gleaming in the light.
in or to or toward a former location
From this reading He was a Mohawk, and he and his tribe had taken to steel construction work a long time back.
used with a past participle to form the passive, or with -ing for continuous tenses
From this reading There were not many big construction jobs on which the Chief's tribesmen were not to be found working.
above average in size or number or quantity or magnitude or extent
From this reading There were not many big construction jobs on which the Chief's tribesmen were not to be found working.
being of the achromatic color of maximum darkness; having little or no hue owing to absorption of almost all incident light
From this reading There was the Chief, dark and saturnine to look at, with his straight black hair gleaming in the light.
a structure that allows people or vehicles to cross an obstacle such as a river or canal or railway etc.
From this reading Forty of them had died together in the worst construction accident in history, when a bridge on its way to completion collapsed in the making, but there were a dozen or more at work on the Space Platform now.
used to introduce something that contrasts with what came before
From this reading Forty of them had died together in the worst construction accident in history, when a bridge on its way to completion collapsed in the making, but there were a dozen or more at work on the Space Platform now.
a person who is in charge
From this reading There was the Chief, dark and saturnine to look at, with his straight black hair gleaming in the light.
Chief'snounUS /tʃiːfs/
possessive form of “chief” — a person who is in charge
From this reading There were not many big construction jobs on which the Chief's tribesmen were not to be found working.
collapsedverbUS /kəˈlæpst/
past form of “collapse” — break down, literally or metaphorically
From this reading Forty of them had died together in the worst construction accident in history, when a bridge on its way to completion collapsed in the making, but there were a dozen or more at work on the Space Platform now.
completionnounUS /kəmˈpliːʃən/
(American football) a successful forward pass in football
From this reading Forty of them had died together in the worst construction accident in history, when a bridge on its way to completion collapsed in the making, but there were a dozen or more at work on the Space Platform now.
constructionnounUS /kənˈstrʌkʃən/
the act of constructing something
From this reading He was a Mohawk, and he and his tribe had taken to steel construction work a long time back.
absence of light or illumination
From this reading There was the Chief, dark and saturnine to look at, with his straight black hair gleaming in the light.
past form of “die” — pass from physical life and lose all bodily attributes and functions necessary to sustain life
From this reading Forty of them had died together in the worst construction accident in history, when a bridge on its way to completion collapsed in the making, but there were a dozen or more at work on the Space Platform now.
the cardinal number that is the sum of eleven and one
From this reading Forty of them had died together in the worst construction accident in history, when a bridge on its way to completion collapsed in the making, but there were a dozen or more at work on the Space Platform now.
FortyadjectiveUS /ˈfɔːrti/
being ten more than thirty
From this reading Forty of them had died together in the worst construction accident in history, when a bridge on its way to completion collapsed in the making, but there were a dozen or more at work on the Space Platform now.
set up or found
From this reading There were not many big construction jobs on which the Chief's tribesmen were not to be found working.
gleamingnounUS /ˈɡliːmɪŋ/
a flash of light (especially reflected light)
From this reading There was the Chief, dark and saturnine to look at, with his straight black hair gleaming in the light.
having desirable or positive qualities especially those suitable for a thing specified
From this reading They were good.
hadauxiliary verbUS /hæd/
the past form of “have”, used to form the past perfect
From this reading He was a Mohawk, and he and his tribe had taken to steel construction work a long time back.
a covering for the body (or parts of it) consisting of a dense growth of threadlike structures (as on the human head); helps to prevent heat loss
From this reading There was the Chief, dark and saturnine to look at, with his straight black hair gleaming in the light.
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading He was a Mohawk, and he and his tribe had taken to steel construction work a long time back.
belonging to a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned
From this reading There was the Chief, dark and saturnine to look at, with his straight black hair gleaming in the light.
the aggregate of past events
From this reading Forty of them had died together in the worst construction accident in history, when a bridge on its way to completion collapsed in the making, but there were a dozen or more at work on the Space Platform now.
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading There was the Chief, dark and saturnine to look at, with his straight black hair gleaming in the light.
belonging to the thing or animal already mentioned
From this reading Forty of them had died together in the worst construction accident in history, when a bridge on its way to completion collapsed in the making, but there were a dozen or more at work on the Space Platform now.
jobsnounUS /dʒɑːbz/
plural of “job” — the principal activity in your life that you do to earn money
From this reading There were not many big construction jobs on which the Chief's tribesmen were not to be found working.
of comparatively little physical weight or density
From this reading There was the Chief, dark and saturnine to look at, with his straight black hair gleaming in the light.
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 He was a Mohawk, and he and his tribe had taken to steel construction work a long time back.
perceive with attention; direct one's gaze towards
From this reading There was the Chief, dark and saturnine to look at, with his straight black hair gleaming in the light.
the act that results in something coming to be
From this reading Forty of them had died together in the worst construction accident in history, when a bridge on its way to completion collapsed in the making, but there were a dozen or more at work on the Space Platform now.
a quantifier that can be used with count nouns and is often preceded by “as” or “too” or “so” or “that”; amounting to a large but indefinite number
From this reading There were not many big construction jobs on which the Chief's tribesmen were not to be found working.
MohawknounUS /ˈmoʊhɔːk/
a member of the Iroquoian people formerly living along the Mohawk River in New York State
From this reading He was a Mohawk, and he and his tribe had taken to steel construction work a long time back.
(comparative of “much” used with mass nouns) a quantifier meaning greater in size or amount or extent or degree
From this reading Forty of them had died together in the worst construction accident in history, when a bridge on its way to completion collapsed in the making, but there were a dozen or more at work on the Space Platform now.
used to make a word, phrase, or sentence negative
From this reading There were not many big construction jobs on which the Chief's tribesmen were not to be found working.
in the historical present; at this point in the narration of a series of past events
From this reading Forty of them had died together in the worst construction accident in history, when a bridge on its way to completion collapsed in the making, but there were a dozen or more at work on the Space Platform now.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading Forty of them had died together in the worst construction accident in history, when a bridge on its way to completion collapsed in the making, but there were a dozen or more at work on the Space Platform now.
touching and supported by a surface
From this reading There were not many big construction jobs on which the Chief's tribesmen were not to be found working.
used to join alternatives or possibilities
From this reading Forty of them had died together in the worst construction accident in history, when a bridge on its way to completion collapsed in the making, but there were a dozen or more at work on the Space Platform now.
a raised horizontal surface
From this reading Forty of them had died together in the worst construction accident in history, when a bridge on its way to completion collapsed in the making, but there were a dozen or more at work on the Space Platform now.
saturnineadjective
bitter or scornful
From this reading There was the Chief, dark and saturnine to look at, with his straight black hair gleaming in the light.
the unlimited expanse in which everything is located
From this reading Forty of them had died together in the worst construction accident in history, when a bridge on its way to completion collapsed in the making, but there were a dozen or more at work on the Space Platform now.
an alloy of iron with small amounts of carbon; widely used in construction; mechanical properties can be varied over a wide range
From this reading He was a Mohawk, and he and his tribe had taken to steel construction work a long time back.
successive (without a break)
From this reading There was the Chief, dark and saturnine to look at, with his straight black hair gleaming in the light.
takenadjectiveUS /ˈteɪkən/
understood in a certain way; made sense of
From this reading He was a Mohawk, and he and his tribe had taken to steel construction work a long time back.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading There was the Chief, dark and saturnine to look at, with his straight black hair gleaming in the light.
the people or things already mentioned, as the object
From this reading Forty of them had died together in the worst construction accident in history, when a bridge on its way to completion collapsed in the making, but there were a dozen or more at work on the Space Platform now.
in or at that place or location
From this reading There was the Chief, dark and saturnine to look at, with his straight black hair gleaming in the light.
the people, animals, or things already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading They were good.
an instance or single occasion for some event
From this reading He was a Mohawk, and he and his tribe had taken to steel construction work a long time back.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading There was the Chief, dark and saturnine to look at, with his straight black hair gleaming in the light.
in contact with each other or in proximity
From this reading Forty of them had died together in the worst construction accident in history, when a bridge on its way to completion collapsed in the making, but there were a dozen or more at work on the Space Platform now.
tribenounUS /traɪb/
a social division of (usually preliterate) people
From this reading He was a Mohawk, and he and his tribe had taken to steel construction work a long time back.
tribesmennounUS /ˈtraɪbzmɪn/
plural of “tribesman” — someone who lives in a tribe
From this reading There were not many big construction jobs on which the Chief's tribesmen were not to be found working.
wasauxiliary verbUS /wɑːz/
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading There was the Chief, dark and saturnine to look at, with his straight black hair gleaming in the light.
how something is done or how it happens
From this reading Forty of them had died together in the worst construction accident in history, when a bridge on its way to completion collapsed in the making, but there were a dozen or more at work on the Space Platform now.
wereauxiliary verbUS /wɜːr/
the past form of “be” used with you, we, they, or a plural noun
From this reading They were good.
at the time that
From this reading Forty of them had died together in the worst construction accident in history, when a bridge on its way to completion collapsed in the making, but there were a dozen or more at work on the Space Platform now.
used to introduce a clause giving more about a thing just mentioned
From this reading There were not many big construction jobs on which the Chief's tribesmen were not to be found working.
in the company of; together with
From this reading There was the Chief, dark and saturnine to look at, with his straight black hair gleaming in the light.
exert oneself by doing mental or physical work for a purpose or out of necessity
From this reading He was a Mohawk, and he and his tribe had taken to steel construction work a long time back.
actively engaged in paid work
From this reading There were not many big construction jobs on which the Chief's tribesmen were not to be found working.
the least favorable outcome
From this reading Forty of them had died together in the worst construction accident in history, when a bridge on its way to completion collapsed in the making, but there were a dozen or more at work on the Space Platform now.
