used before a singular noun to mean one of a group, when it is not a particular one
From this reading A bullet sang above his head as he clung, swinging on his frail support, and flattened itself with an angry "ping!" against the rock wall above him.
aboveprepositionUS /əˈbʌv/
higher than, or over, something
From this reading A bullet sang above his head as he clung, swinging on his frail support, and flattened itself with an angry "ping!" against the rock wall above him.
touching and pressing; in opposition to
From this reading A bullet sang above his head as he clung, swinging on his frail support, and flattened itself with an angry "ping!" against the rock wall above him.
the form of “a” used before a word that begins with a vowel sound
From this reading For only an instant did Rob remain motionless.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading A bullet sang above his head as he clung, swinging on his frail support, and flattened itself with an angry "ping!" against the rock wall above him.
angryadjectiveUS /ˈæŋɡri/
feeling or showing anger
From this reading A bullet sang above his head as he clung, swinging on his frail support, and flattened itself with an angry "ping!" against the rock wall above him.
at the same time that; because; in the way that
From this reading Then, as if by instinct, he suddenly crouched.
inflected form of “bring” — take something or somebody with oneself somewhere
From this reading The report brought the rest of the sleeping camp to its feet.
bulletnounUS /ˈbʊlət/
a projectile that is fired from a gun
From this reading A bullet sang above his head as he clung, swinging on his frail support, and flattened itself with an angry "ping!" against the rock wall above him.
showing who or what does the action
From this reading Then, as if by instinct, he suddenly crouched.
temporary living quarters specially built by the army for soldiers
From this reading The report brought the rest of the sleeping camp to its feet.
clungverbUS /klʌŋ/
inflected form of “cling” — come or be in close contact with; stick or hold together and resist separation
From this reading A bullet sang above his head as he clung, swinging on his frail support, and flattened itself with an angry "ping!" against the rock wall above him.
crouchedverbUS /kraʊtʃt/
past form of “crouch” — bend one's back forward from the waist on down
From this reading Then, as if by instinct, he suddenly crouched.
didauxiliary verbUS /dɪd/
the past form of “do”, used in questions and negatives
From this reading For only an instant did Rob remain motionless.
plural of “foot” — the part of the leg of a human being below the ankle joint
From this reading The report brought the rest of the sleeping camp to its feet.
flattenedadjectiveUS /ˈflætənd/
having been flattened
From this reading A bullet sang above his head as he clung, swinging on his frail support, and flattened itself with an angry "ping!" against the rock wall above him.
intended to be given to, or used by, somebody
From this reading For only an instant did Rob remain motionless.
frailadjectiveUS /freɪl/
physically weak
From this reading A bullet sang above his head as he clung, swinging on his frail support, and flattened itself with an angry "ping!" against the rock wall above him.
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading Then, as if by instinct, he suddenly crouched.
the upper part of the human body or the front part of the body in animals; contains the face and brains
From this reading A bullet sang above his head as he clung, swinging on his frail support, and flattened itself with an angry "ping!" against the rock wall above him.
the male already mentioned, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading A bullet sang above his head as he clung, swinging on his frail support, and flattened itself with an angry "ping!" against the rock wall above him.
belonging to a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned
From this reading A bullet sang above his head as he clung, swinging on his frail support, and flattened itself with an angry "ping!" against the rock wall above him.
on condition that; in the event that
From this reading Then, as if by instinct, he suddenly crouched.
a very short time (as the time it takes the eye to blink or the heart to beat)
From this reading For only an instant did Rob remain motionless.
inborn pattern of behavior often responsive to specific stimuli
From this reading Then, as if by instinct, he suddenly crouched.
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading It was well he did so.
belonging to the thing or animal already mentioned
From this reading The report brought the rest of the sleeping camp to its feet.
used when the thing doing the action is also its object
From this reading A bullet sang above his head as he clung, swinging on his frail support, and flattened itself with an angry "ping!" against the rock wall above him.
not in physical motion
From this reading For only an instant did Rob remain motionless.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading The report brought the rest of the sleeping camp to its feet.
touching and supported by a surface
From this reading A bullet sang above his head as he clung, swinging on his frail support, and flattened itself with an angry "ping!" against the rock wall above him.
and nothing more
From this reading For only an instant did Rob remain motionless.
pingverbUS /pɪŋ/
hit with a pinging noise
From this reading A bullet sang above his head as he clung, swinging on his frail support, and flattened itself with an angry "ping!" against the rock wall above him.
stay the same; remain in a certain state
From this reading For only an instant did Rob remain motionless.
to give an account or representation of in words
From this reading The report brought the rest of the sleeping camp to its feet.
not move; be in a resting position
From this reading The report brought the rest of the sleeping camp to its feet.
take something away by force or without the consent of the owner
From this reading For only an instant did Rob remain motionless.
a lump or mass of hard consolidated mineral matter
From this reading A bullet sang above his head as he clung, swinging on his frail support, and flattened itself with an angry "ping!" against the rock wall above him.
North American woodland herb similar to and used as substitute for the Chinese ginseng
From this reading A bullet sang above his head as he clung, swinging on his frail support, and flattened itself with an angry "ping!" against the rock wall above him.
the state of being asleep
From this reading The report brought the rest of the sleeping camp to its feet.
for that reason; with the result that
From this reading It was well he did so.
happening unexpectedly
From this reading Then, as if by instinct, he suddenly crouched.
the activity of providing for or maintaining by supplying with money or necessities
From this reading A bullet sang above his head as he clung, swinging on his frail support, and flattened itself with an angry "ping!" against the rock wall above him.
swingingnounUS /ˈswɪŋɪŋ/
changing location by moving back and forth
From this reading A bullet sang above his head as he clung, swinging on his frail support, and flattened itself with an angry "ping!" against the rock wall above him.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading A bullet sang above his head as he clung, swinging on his frail support, and flattened itself with an angry "ping!" against the rock wall above him.
subsequently or soon afterward (often used as sentence connectors)
From this reading Then, as if by instinct, he suddenly crouched.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading The report brought the rest of the sleeping camp to its feet.
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 A bullet sang above his head as he clung, swinging on his frail support, and flattened itself with an angry "ping!" against the rock wall above him.
wasauxiliary verbUS /wɑːz/
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading It was well he did so.
(often used as a combining form) in a good or proper or satisfactory manner or to a high standard (“good” is a nonstandard dialectal variant for “well”)
From this reading It was well he did so.
in the company of; together with
From this reading A bullet sang above his head as he clung, swinging on his frail support, and flattened itself with an angry "ping!" against the rock wall above him.
