used before a singular noun to mean one of a group, when it is not a particular one
From this reading He came down to the shore, stared off in the gathering darkness at the boat, now a mere speck in the dusk, and cursed fervently.
happening at a time subsequent to a reference time
From this reading It was perhaps five minutes afterward, while some tins of food were being opened, that the three whisky-runners realized they had committed an error.
(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 The shotgun had gone into the lake, and their pistols had all floated away with poor Fulsom.
the form of “a” used before a word that begins with a vowel sound
From this reading It was perhaps five minutes afterward, while some tins of food were being opened, that the three whisky-runners realized they had committed an error.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading He came down to the shore, stared off in the gathering darkness at the boat, now a mere speck in the dusk, and cursed fervently.
past form of “appear” — give a certain impression or have a certain outward aspect
From this reading Their leader, whose name appeared to be Marks, was the one who realized it most keenly.
in or near a particular place or position
From this reading He came down to the shore, stared off in the gathering darkness at the boat, now a mere speck in the dusk, and cursed fervently.
from a particular thing or place or position (“forth” is obsolete)
From this reading The shotgun had gone into the lake, and their pistols had all floated away with poor Fulsom.
used with a past participle to form the passive, or with -ing for continuous tenses
From this reading Their leader, whose name appeared to be Marks, was the one who realized it most keenly.
beingauxiliary verbUS /ˈbiːɪŋ/
the -ing form of “be”
From this reading It was perhaps five minutes afterward, while some tins of food were being opened, that the three whisky-runners realized they had committed an error.
a small vessel for travel on water
From this reading He came down to the shore, stared off in the gathering darkness at the boat, now a mere speck in the dusk, and cursed fervently.
inflected form of “come” — move toward, travel toward something or somebody or approach something or somebody
From this reading He came down to the shore, stared off in the gathering darkness at the boat, now a mere speck in the dusk, and cursed fervently.
chuckledverbUS /ˈtʃʌkəld/
past form of “chuckle” — laugh quietly or with restraint
From this reading Hardrock chuckled.
bound or obligated, as under a pledge to a particular cause, action, or attitude
From this reading It was perhaps five minutes afterward, while some tins of food were being opened, that the three whisky-runners realized they had committed an error.
cursedadjectiveUS /kɜːrst/
deserving a curse; sometimes used as an intensifier
From this reading He came down to the shore, stared off in the gathering darkness at the boat, now a mere speck in the dusk, and cursed fervently.
absence of light or illumination
From this reading He came down to the shore, stared off in the gathering darkness at the boat, now a mere speck in the dusk, and cursed fervently.
being or moving lower in position or less in some value
From this reading He came down to the shore, stared off in the gathering darkness at the boat, now a mere speck in the dusk, and cursed fervently.
dusknounUS /dʌsk/
the time of day immediately following sunset
From this reading He came down to the shore, stared off in the gathering darkness at the boat, now a mere speck in the dusk, and cursed fervently.
errornounUS /ˈerər/
a wrong action attributable to bad judgment or ignorance or inattention
From this reading It was perhaps five minutes afterward, while some tins of food were being opened, that the three whisky-runners realized they had committed an error.
ferventlyadverbUS /ˈfɜːrvəntli/
with passionate fervor
From this reading He came down to the shore, stared off in the gathering darkness at the boat, now a mere speck in the dusk, and cursed fervently.
the cardinal number that is the sum of four and one
From this reading It was perhaps five minutes afterward, while some tins of food were being opened, that the three whisky-runners realized they had committed an error.
floatedverbUS /ˈfloʊtəd/
past form of “float” — be in motion due to some air or water current
From this reading The shotgun had gone into the lake, and their pistols had all floated away with poor Fulsom.
any substance that can be metabolized by an animal to give energy and build tissue
From this reading It was perhaps five minutes afterward, while some tins of food were being opened, that the three whisky-runners realized they had committed an error.
Fulsom
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading The shotgun had gone into the lake, and their pistols had all floated away with poor Fulsom.
a group of persons together in one place
From this reading He came down to the shore, stared off in the gathering darkness at the boat, now a mere speck in the dusk, and cursed fervently.
destroyed or killed
From this reading The shotgun had gone into the lake, and their pistols had all floated away with poor Fulsom.
hadauxiliary verbUS /hæd/
the past form of “have”, used to form the past perfect
From this reading It was perhaps five minutes afterward, while some tins of food were being opened, that the three whisky-runners realized they had committed an error.
Hardrock
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Hardrock chuckled.
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading He came down to the shore, stared off in the gathering darkness at the boat, now a mere speck in the dusk, and cursed fervently.
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading He came down to the shore, stared off in the gathering darkness at the boat, now a mere speck in the dusk, and cursed fervently.
intoprepositionUS /ˈɪntuː/
moving to the inside of something
From this reading The shotgun had gone into the lake, and their pistols had all floated away with poor Fulsom.
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading It was perhaps five minutes afterward, while some tins of food were being opened, that the three whisky-runners realized they had committed an error.
keenlyadverbUS /ˈkiːnli/
in a keen or penetrating way
From this reading Their leader, whose name appeared to be Marks, was the one who realized it most keenly.
a body of (usually fresh) water surrounded by land
From this reading The shotgun had gone into the lake, and their pistols had all floated away with poor Fulsom.
a person who rules or guides or inspires others
From this reading Their leader, whose name appeared to be Marks, was the one who realized it most keenly.
English businessman who created a retail chain (1888-1964)
From this reading Their leader, whose name appeared to be Marks, was the one who realized it most keenly.
being nothing more than specified
From this reading He came down to the shore, stared off in the gathering darkness at the boat, now a mere speck in the dusk, and cursed fervently.
a written account of what transpired at a meeting
From this reading It was perhaps five minutes afterward, while some tins of food were being opened, that the three whisky-runners realized they had committed an error.
used to form the superlative
From this reading Their leader, whose name appeared to be Marks, was the one who realized it most keenly.
assign a specified (usually proper) proper name to
From this reading Their leader, whose name appeared to be Marks, was the one who realized it most keenly.
in the historical present; at this point in the narration of a series of past events
From this reading He came down to the shore, stared off in the gathering darkness at the boat, now a mere speck in the dusk, and cursed fervently.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading It was perhaps five minutes afterward, while some tins of food were being opened, that the three whisky-runners realized they had committed an error.
from a particular thing or place or position (“forth” is obsolete)
From this reading He came down to the shore, stared off in the gathering darkness at the boat, now a mere speck in the dusk, and cursed fervently.
used to mean any person in general, including the speaker
From this reading Their leader, whose name appeared to be Marks, was the one who realized it most keenly.
used of mouth or eyes
From this reading It was perhaps five minutes afterward, while some tins of food were being opened, that the three whisky-runners realized they had committed an error.
by chance
From this reading It was perhaps five minutes afterward, while some tins of food were being opened, that the three whisky-runners realized they had committed an error.
pistolsnounUS /ˈpɪstəlz/
plural of “pistol” — a firearm that is held and fired with one hand
From this reading The shotgun had gone into the lake, and their pistols had all floated away with poor Fulsom.
deserving or inciting pity
From this reading The shotgun had gone into the lake, and their pistols had all floated away with poor Fulsom.
successfully completed or brought to an end
From this reading It was perhaps five minutes afterward, while some tins of food were being opened, that the three whisky-runners realized they had committed an error.
the land along the edge of a body of water
From this reading He came down to the shore, stared off in the gathering darkness at the boat, now a mere speck in the dusk, and cursed fervently.
shotgunnounUS /ˈʃɑːtɡʌn/
firearm that is a double-barreled smoothbore shoulder weapon for firing shot at short ranges
From this reading The shotgun had gone into the lake, and their pistols had all floated away with poor Fulsom.
(quantifier) used with either mass nouns or plural count nouns to indicate an unspecified number or quantity
From this reading It was perhaps five minutes afterward, while some tins of food were being opened, that the three whisky-runners realized they had committed an error.
specknounUS /spek/
a very small spot
From this reading He came down to the shore, stared off in the gathering darkness at the boat, now a mere speck in the dusk, and cursed fervently.
past form of “stare” — look at with fixed eyes
From this reading He came down to the shore, stared off in the gathering darkness at the boat, now a mere speck in the dusk, and cursed fervently.
used to introduce what somebody said, thought, or felt
From this reading It was perhaps five minutes afterward, while some tins of food were being opened, that the three whisky-runners realized they had committed an error.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading It was perhaps five minutes afterward, while some tins of food were being opened, that the three whisky-runners realized they had committed an error.
belonging to the people or things already mentioned
From this reading Their leader, whose name appeared to be Marks, was the one who realized it most keenly.
the people, animals, or things already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading It was perhaps five minutes afterward, while some tins of food were being opened, that the three whisky-runners realized they had committed an error.
the cardinal number that is the sum of one and one and one
From this reading It was perhaps five minutes afterward, while some tins of food were being opened, that the three whisky-runners realized they had committed an error.
tinsnounUS /tɪnz/
plural of “tin” — a silvery malleable metallic element that resists corrosion; used in many alloys and to coat other metals to prevent corrosion; obtained chiefly from cassiterite where it occurs as tin oxide
From this reading It was perhaps five minutes afterward, while some tins of food were being opened, that the three whisky-runners realized they had committed an error.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading Their leader, whose name appeared to be Marks, was the one who realized it most keenly.
wasauxiliary verbUS /wɑːz/
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading It was perhaps five minutes afterward, while some tins of food were being opened, that the three whisky-runners realized they had committed an error.
wereauxiliary verbUS /wɜːr/
the past form of “be” used with you, we, they, or a plural noun
From this reading It was perhaps five minutes afterward, while some tins of food were being opened, that the three whisky-runners realized they had committed an error.
whileconjunctionUS /waɪl/
during the time that
From this reading It was perhaps five minutes afterward, while some tins of food were being opened, that the three whisky-runners realized they had committed an error.
whisky-runners
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading It was perhaps five minutes afterward, while some tins of food were being opened, that the three whisky-runners realized they had committed an error.
which person or people
From this reading Their leader, whose name appeared to be Marks, was the one who realized it most keenly.
belonging to which person
From this reading Their leader, whose name appeared to be Marks, was the one who realized it most keenly.
in the company of; together with
From this reading The shotgun had gone into the lake, and their pistols had all floated away with poor Fulsom.
