used before a singular noun to mean one of a group, when it is not a particular one
From this reading In the moment of stillness between them, when their hearts seemed to have stopped beating that they might not lose the faintest whispering of the twilight, a sound came to Alan, and he knew it was the toe of a boot striking against stone.
touching and pressing; in opposition to
From this reading In the moment of stillness between them, when their hearts seemed to have stopped beating that they might not lose the faintest whispering of the twilight, a sound came to Alan, and he knew it was the toe of a boot striking against stone.
Alan
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading In the moment of stillness between them, when their hearts seemed to have stopped beating that they might not lose the faintest whispering of the twilight, a sound came to Alan, and he knew it was the toe of a boot striking against stone.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading In the moment of stillness between them, when their hearts seemed to have stopped beating that they might not lose the faintest whispering of the twilight, a sound came to Alan, and he knew it was the toe of a boot striking against stone.
past form of “ask” — make a request or demand for something to somebody
From this reading “Were they many?” he asked.
the act of overcoming or outdoing
From this reading In the moment of stillness between them, when their hearts seemed to have stopped beating that they might not lose the faintest whispering of the twilight, a sound came to Alan, and he knew it was the toe of a boot striking against stone.
in the space, time, or range separating two things
From this reading In the moment of stillness between them, when their hearts seemed to have stopped beating that they might not lose the faintest whispering of the twilight, a sound came to Alan, and he knew it was the toe of a boot striking against stone.
bootnounUS /buːt/
footwear that covers the whole foot and lower leg
From this reading In the moment of stillness between them, when their hearts seemed to have stopped beating that they might not lose the faintest whispering of the twilight, a sound came to Alan, and he knew it was the toe of a boot striking against stone.
used to introduce something that contrasts with what came before
From this reading Not a foot in his tribe would have made that sound; none but Stampede Smith’s or his own.
inflected form of “come” — move toward, travel toward something or somebody or approach something or somebody
From this reading In the moment of stillness between them, when their hearts seemed to have stopped beating that they might not lose the faintest whispering of the twilight, a sound came to Alan, and he knew it was the toe of a boot striking against stone.
the past of “can”; used for possibility or polite requests
From this reading “I could not see.
darkeningadjectiveUS /ˈdɑːrkənɪŋ/
becoming dark or darker as from waning light or clouding over
From this reading The sun was darkening.
faintestadjectiveUS /ˈfeɪntəst/
superlative of “faint” — deficient in magnitude; barely perceptible; lacking clarity or brightness or loudness etc
From this reading In the moment of stillness between them, when their hearts seemed to have stopped beating that they might not lose the faintest whispering of the twilight, a sound came to Alan, and he knew it was the toe of a boot striking against stone.
the part of the leg of a human being below the ankle joint
From this reading Not a foot in his tribe would have made that sound; none but Stampede Smith’s or his own.
haveauxiliary verbUS /hæv/
used with a past participle to form the perfect tenses
From this reading In the moment of stillness between them, when their hearts seemed to have stopped beating that they might not lose the faintest whispering of the twilight, a sound came to Alan, and he knew it was the toe of a boot striking against stone.
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading In the moment of stillness between them, when their hearts seemed to have stopped beating that they might not lose the faintest whispering of the twilight, a sound came to Alan, and he knew it was the toe of a boot striking against stone.
a form of whist in which players avoid winning tricks containing hearts or the queen of spades
From this reading In the moment of stillness between them, when their hearts seemed to have stopped beating that they might not lose the faintest whispering of the twilight, a sound came to Alan, and he knew it was the toe of a boot striking against stone.
belonging to a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned
From this reading Not a foot in his tribe would have made that sound; none but Stampede Smith’s or his own.
the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb
From this reading “I could not see.
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading In the moment of stillness between them, when their hearts seemed to have stopped beating that they might not lose the faintest whispering of the twilight, a sound came to Alan, and he knew it was the toe of a boot striking against stone.
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading In the moment of stillness between them, when their hearts seemed to have stopped beating that they might not lose the faintest whispering of the twilight, a sound came to Alan, and he knew it was the toe of a boot striking against stone.
inflected form of “know” — be cognizant or aware of a fact or a specific piece of information; possess knowledge or information about
From this reading In the moment of stillness between them, when their hearts seemed to have stopped beating that they might not lose the faintest whispering of the twilight, a sound came to Alan, and he knew it was the toe of a boot striking against stone.
fail to keep or to maintain; cease to have, either physically or in an abstract sense
From this reading In the moment of stillness between them, when their hearts seemed to have stopped beating that they might not lose the faintest whispering of the twilight, a sound came to Alan, and he knew it was the toe of a boot striking against stone.
produced by a manufacturing process
From this reading Not a foot in his tribe would have made that sound; none but Stampede Smith’s or his own.
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 “Were they many?” he asked.
used to say something is possible but not certain
From this reading In the moment of stillness between them, when their hearts seemed to have stopped beating that they might not lose the faintest whispering of the twilight, a sound came to Alan, and he knew it was the toe of a boot striking against stone.
a particular point in time
From this reading In the moment of stillness between them, when their hearts seemed to have stopped beating that they might not lose the faintest whispering of the twilight, a sound came to Alan, and he knew it was the toe of a boot striking against stone.
not one, and not any
From this reading Not a foot in his tribe would have made that sound; none but Stampede Smith’s or his own.
used to make a word, phrase, or sentence negative
From this reading In the moment of stillness between them, when their hearts seemed to have stopped beating that they might not lose the faintest whispering of the twilight, a sound came to Alan, and he knew it was the toe of a boot striking against stone.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading In the moment of stillness between them, when their hearts seemed to have stopped beating that they might not lose the faintest whispering of the twilight, a sound came to Alan, and he knew it was the toe of a boot striking against stone.
used to join alternatives or possibilities
From this reading Not a foot in his tribe would have made that sound; none but Stampede Smith’s or his own.
have ownership or possession of
From this reading Not a foot in his tribe would have made that sound; none but Stampede Smith’s or his own.
perceive by sight or have the power to perceive by sight
From this reading “I could not see.
past form of “seem” — give a certain impression or have a certain outward aspect
From this reading In the moment of stillness between them, when their hearts seemed to have stopped beating that they might not lose the faintest whispering of the twilight, a sound came to Alan, and he knew it was the toe of a boot striking against stone.
Smith'snounUS /smɪθs/
possessive form of “smith” — Rhodesian statesman who declared independence of Zimbabwe from Great Britain (born in 1919)
From this reading Not a foot in his tribe would have made that sound; none but Stampede Smith’s or his own.
the particular auditory effect produced by a given cause
From this reading In the moment of stillness between them, when their hearts seemed to have stopped beating that they might not lose the faintest whispering of the twilight, a sound came to Alan, and he knew it was the toe of a boot striking against stone.
StampedeverbUS /stæmˈpiːd/
cause to run in panic
From this reading Not a foot in his tribe would have made that sound; none but Stampede Smith’s or his own.
stillnessnounUS /ˈstɪlnəs/
(poetic) tranquil silence
From this reading In the moment of stillness between them, when their hearts seemed to have stopped beating that they might not lose the faintest whispering of the twilight, a sound came to Alan, and he knew it was the toe of a boot striking against stone.
a lump or mass of hard consolidated mineral matter
From this reading In the moment of stillness between them, when their hearts seemed to have stopped beating that they might not lose the faintest whispering of the twilight, a sound came to Alan, and he knew it was the toe of a boot striking against stone.
(of a nose) blocked
From this reading In the moment of stillness between them, when their hearts seemed to have stopped beating that they might not lose the faintest whispering of the twilight, a sound came to Alan, and he knew it was the toe of a boot striking against stone.
sensational in appearance or thrilling in effect
From this reading In the moment of stillness between them, when their hearts seemed to have stopped beating that they might not lose the faintest whispering of the twilight, a sound came to Alan, and he knew it was the toe of a boot striking against stone.
the star that is the source of light and heat for the planets in the solar system
From this reading The sun was darkening.
used to introduce what somebody said, thought, or felt
From this reading In the moment of stillness between them, when their hearts seemed to have stopped beating that they might not lose the faintest whispering of the twilight, a sound came to Alan, and he knew it was the toe of a boot striking against stone.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading In the moment of stillness between them, when their hearts seemed to have stopped beating that they might not lose the faintest whispering of the twilight, a sound came to Alan, and he knew it was the toe of a boot striking against stone.
belonging to the people or things already mentioned
From this reading In the moment of stillness between them, when their hearts seemed to have stopped beating that they might not lose the faintest whispering of the twilight, a sound came to Alan, and he knew it was the toe of a boot striking against stone.
the people or things already mentioned, as the object
From this reading In the moment of stillness between them, when their hearts seemed to have stopped beating that they might not lose the faintest whispering of the twilight, a sound came to Alan, and he knew it was the toe of a boot striking against stone.
the people, animals, or things already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading In the moment of stillness between them, when their hearts seemed to have stopped beating that they might not lose the faintest whispering of the twilight, a sound came to Alan, and he knew it was the toe of a boot striking against stone.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading In the moment of stillness between them, when their hearts seemed to have stopped beating that they might not lose the faintest whispering of the twilight, a sound came to Alan, and he knew it was the toe of a boot striking against stone.
toenounUS /toʊ/
one of the digits of the foot
From this reading In the moment of stillness between them, when their hearts seemed to have stopped beating that they might not lose the faintest whispering of the twilight, a sound came to Alan, and he knew it was the toe of a boot striking against stone.
tribenounUS /traɪb/
a social division of (usually preliterate) people
From this reading Not a foot in his tribe would have made that sound; none but Stampede Smith’s or his own.
the time of day immediately following sunset
From this reading In the moment of stillness between them, when their hearts seemed to have stopped beating that they might not lose the faintest whispering of the twilight, a sound came to Alan, and he knew it was the toe of a boot striking against stone.
wasauxiliary verbUS /wɑːz/
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading In the moment of stillness between them, when their hearts seemed to have stopped beating that they might not lose the faintest whispering of the twilight, a sound came to Alan, and he knew it was the toe of a boot striking against stone.
Wereauxiliary verbUS /wɜːr/
the past form of “be” used with you, we, they, or a plural noun
From this reading “Were they many?” he asked.
at the time that
From this reading In the moment of stillness between them, when their hearts seemed to have stopped beating that they might not lose the faintest whispering of the twilight, a sound came to Alan, and he knew it was the toe of a boot striking against stone.
whisperingnounUS /ˈwɪspərɪŋ/
a light noise, like the noise of silk clothing or leaves blowing in the wind
From this reading In the moment of stillness between them, when their hearts seemed to have stopped beating that they might not lose the faintest whispering of the twilight, a sound came to Alan, and he knew it was the toe of a boot striking against stone.
used for something imagined, polite, or habitual in the past
From this reading Not a foot in his tribe would have made that sound; none but Stampede Smith’s or his own.
