used before a singular noun to mean one of a group, when it is not a particular one
From this reading Lord Ashiel spoke in a voice scarcely above a whisper, and Juliet crouched low against the peaty wall of the butt.
aboveprepositionUS /əˈbʌv/
higher than, or over, something
From this reading Lord Ashiel spoke in a voice scarcely above a whisper, and Juliet crouched low against the peaty wall of the butt.
anew
From this reading "Here they come again."
touching and pressing; in opposition to
From this reading Lord Ashiel spoke in a voice scarcely above a whisper, and Juliet crouched low against the peaty wall of the butt.
the form of “a” used before a word that begins with a vowel sound
From this reading There was an instant's silence, and then crack, crack, shots sounded from the other end of the line.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading Lord Ashiel spoke in a voice scarcely above a whisper, and Juliet crouched low against the peaty wall of the butt.
one more of the same kind, or a different one
From this reading Another minute and Lord Ashiel's gun went up; she heard the whirr of approaching wings before she covered both ears with her hands to deaden the noise of the explosions she knew were coming.
the event of one object coming closer to another
From this reading Another minute and Lord Ashiel's gun went up; she heard the whirr of approaching wings before she covered both ears with her hands to deaden the noise of the explosions she knew were coming.
Ashiel
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Lord Ashiel spoke in a voice scarcely above a whisper, and Juliet crouched low against the peaty wall of the butt.
Ashiel's
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Another minute and Lord Ashiel's gun went up; she heard the whirr of approaching wings before she covered both ears with her hands to deaden the noise of the explosions she knew were coming.
in or near a particular place or position
From this reading Then several guns seemed to go off at once.
earlier than; in front of
From this reading Another minute and Lord Ashiel's gun went up; she heard the whirr of approaching wings before she covered both ears with her hands to deaden the noise of the explosions she knew were coming.
the two together, not just one
From this reading Another minute and Lord Ashiel's gun went up; she heard the whirr of approaching wings before she covered both ears with her hands to deaden the noise of the explosions she knew were coming.
buttverbUS /bʌt/
lie adjacent to another or share a boundary
From this reading Lord Ashiel spoke in a voice scarcely above a whisper, and Juliet crouched low against the peaty wall of the butt.
move toward, travel toward something or somebody or approach something or somebody
From this reading "Here they come again."
the act of drawing spatially closer to something
From this reading Another minute and Lord Ashiel's gun went up; she heard the whirr of approaching wings before she covered both ears with her hands to deaden the noise of the explosions she knew were coming.
overlaid or spread or topped with or enclosed within something; sometimes used as a combining form
From this reading Another minute and Lord Ashiel's gun went up; she heard the whirr of approaching wings before she covered both ears with her hands to deaden the noise of the explosions she knew were coming.
crackverbUS /kræk/
become fractured; break or crack on the surface only
From this reading There was an instant's silence, and then crack, crack, shots sounded from the other end of the line.
crouchedverbUS /kraʊtʃt/
past form of “crouch” — bend one's back forward from the waist on down
From this reading Lord Ashiel spoke in a voice scarcely above a whisper, and Juliet crouched low against the peaty wall of the butt.
deadenverbUS /ˈdedən/
make vague or obscure or make (an image) less visible
From this reading Another minute and Lord Ashiel's gun went up; she heard the whirr of approaching wings before she covered both ears with her hands to deaden the noise of the explosions she knew were coming.
plural of “ear” — the sense organ for hearing and equilibrium
From this reading Another minute and Lord Ashiel's gun went up; she heard the whirr of approaching wings before she covered both ears with her hands to deaden the noise of the explosions she knew were coming.
either extremity of something that has length
From this reading There was an instant's silence, and then crack, crack, shots sounded from the other end of the line.
explosionsnounUS /ɪkˈsploʊʒənz/
plural of “explosion” — a violent release of energy caused by a chemical or nuclear reaction
From this reading Another minute and Lord Ashiel's gun went up; she heard the whirr of approaching wings before she covered both ears with her hands to deaden the noise of the explosions she knew were coming.
showing where something starts, or who sent it
From this reading There was an instant's silence, and then crack, crack, shots sounded from the other end of the line.
change location; move, travel, or proceed, also metaphorically
From this reading Then several guns seemed to go off at once.
a weapon that discharges a missile at high velocity (especially from a metal tube or barrel)
From this reading Another minute and Lord Ashiel's gun went up; she heard the whirr of approaching wings before she covered both ears with her hands to deaden the noise of the explosions she knew were coming.
plural of “gun” — a weapon that discharges a missile at high velocity (especially from a metal tube or barrel)
From this reading Then several guns seemed to go off at once.
(with “in”) guardianship over; in divorce cases it is the right to house and care for and discipline a child
From this reading Another minute and Lord Ashiel's gun went up; she heard the whirr of approaching wings before she covered both ears with her hands to deaden the noise of the explosions she knew were coming.
detected or perceived by the sense of hearing
From this reading Another minute and Lord Ashiel's gun went up; she heard the whirr of approaching wings before she covered both ears with her hands to deaden the noise of the explosions she knew were coming.
belonging to a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned
From this reading Another minute and Lord Ashiel's gun went up; she heard the whirr of approaching wings before she covered both ears with her hands to deaden the noise of the explosions she knew were coming.
in or at this place; where the speaker or writer is
From this reading "Here they come again."
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading Lord Ashiel spoke in a voice scarcely above a whisper, and Juliet crouched low against the peaty wall of the butt.
instant's
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading There was an instant's silence, and then crack, crack, shots sounded from the other end of the line.
Juliet
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Lord Ashiel spoke in a voice scarcely above a whisper, and Juliet crouched low against the peaty wall of the butt.
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 Another minute and Lord Ashiel's gun went up; she heard the whirr of approaching wings before she covered both ears with her hands to deaden the noise of the explosions she knew were coming.
a formation of people or things one beside another
From this reading There was an instant's silence, and then crack, crack, shots sounded from the other end of the line.
terms referring to the Judeo-Christian God
From this reading Lord Ashiel spoke in a voice scarcely above a whisper, and Juliet crouched low against the peaty wall of the butt.
less than normal in degree or intensity or amount
From this reading Lord Ashiel spoke in a voice scarcely above a whisper, and Juliet crouched low against the peaty wall of the butt.
a unit of time equal to 60 seconds or 1/60th of an hour
From this reading Another minute and Lord Ashiel's gun went up; she heard the whirr of approaching wings before she covered both ears with her hands to deaden the noise of the explosions she knew were coming.
sound of any kind (especially unintelligible or dissonant sound)
From this reading Another minute and Lord Ashiel's gun went up; she heard the whirr of approaching wings before she covered both ears with her hands to deaden the noise of the explosions she knew were coming.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading Lord Ashiel spoke in a voice scarcely above a whisper, and Juliet crouched low against the peaty wall of the butt.
from a particular thing or place or position (“forth” is obsolete)
From this reading Then several guns seemed to go off at once.
on one occasion
From this reading Then several guns seemed to go off at once.
not the same one or ones already mentioned or implied
From this reading There was an instant's silence, and then crack, crack, shots sounded from the other end of the line.
peatyadjective
of or pertaining to or of the nature of peat
From this reading Lord Ashiel spoke in a voice scarcely above a whisper, and Juliet crouched low against the peaty wall of the butt.
only a very short time before
From this reading Lord Ashiel spoke in a voice scarcely above a whisper, and Juliet crouched low against the peaty wall of the butt.
past form of “seem” — give a certain impression or have a certain outward aspect
From this reading Then several guns seemed to go off at once.
(used with count nouns) of an indefinite number more than 2 or 3 but not many
From this reading Then several guns seemed to go off at once.
a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading Another minute and Lord Ashiel's gun went up; she heard the whirr of approaching wings before she covered both ears with her hands to deaden the noise of the explosions she knew were coming.
shotsnounUS /ʃɑːts/
plural of “shot” — the act of firing a projectile
From this reading There was an instant's silence, and then crack, crack, shots sounded from the other end of the line.
Complete absence of sound; a state of quietness and stillness.
From this reading There was an instant's silence, and then crack, crack, shots sounded from the other end of the line.
past form of “sound” — appear in a certain way
From this reading There was an instant's silence, and then crack, crack, shots sounded from the other end of the line.
support consisting of a radial member of a wheel joining the hub to the rim
From this reading Lord Ashiel spoke in a voice scarcely above a whisper, and Juliet crouched low against the peaty wall of the butt.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading Lord Ashiel spoke in a voice scarcely above a whisper, and Juliet crouched low against the peaty wall of the butt.
subsequently or soon afterward (often used as sentence connectors)
From this reading There was an instant's silence, and then crack, crack, shots sounded from the other end of the line.
in or at that place or location
From this reading There was an instant's silence, and then crack, crack, shots sounded from the other end of the line.
the people, animals, or things already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading "Here they come again."
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading Another minute and Lord Ashiel's gun went up; she heard the whirr of approaching wings before she covered both ears with her hands to deaden the noise of the explosions she knew were coming.
being or moving higher in position or greater in some value; being above a former position or level
From this reading Another minute and Lord Ashiel's gun went up; she heard the whirr of approaching wings before she covered both ears with her hands to deaden the noise of the explosions she knew were coming.
the distinctive quality or pitch or condition of a person's speech
From this reading Lord Ashiel spoke in a voice scarcely above a whisper, and Juliet crouched low against the peaty wall of the butt.
an architectural partition with a height and length greater than its thickness; used to divide or enclose an area or to support another structure
From this reading Lord Ashiel spoke in a voice scarcely above a whisper, and Juliet crouched low against the peaty wall of the butt.
wasauxiliary verbUS /wɑːz/
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading There was an instant's silence, and then crack, crack, shots sounded from the other end of the line.
inflected form of “go” — change location; move, travel, or proceed, also metaphorically
From this reading Another minute and Lord Ashiel's gun went up; she heard the whirr of approaching wings before she covered both ears with her hands to deaden the noise of the explosions she knew were coming.
wereauxiliary verbUS /wɜːr/
the past form of “be” used with you, we, they, or a plural noun
From this reading Another minute and Lord Ashiel's gun went up; she heard the whirr of approaching wings before she covered both ears with her hands to deaden the noise of the explosions she knew were coming.
whirrverb
make a soft swishing sound
From this reading Another minute and Lord Ashiel's gun went up; she heard the whirr of approaching wings before she covered both ears with her hands to deaden the noise of the explosions she knew were coming.
speaking softly without vibration of the vocal cords
From this reading Lord Ashiel spoke in a voice scarcely above a whisper, and Juliet crouched low against the peaty wall of the butt.
a means of flight or ascent
From this reading Another minute and Lord Ashiel's gun went up; she heard the whirr of approaching wings before she covered both ears with her hands to deaden the noise of the explosions she knew were coming.
in the company of; together with
From this reading Another minute and Lord Ashiel's gun went up; she heard the whirr of approaching wings before she covered both ears with her hands to deaden the noise of the explosions she knew were coming.
