used before a singular noun to mean one of a group, when it is not a particular one
From this reading From the first corner he extracted a magnificent specimen of a black pearl.
(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 In a few moments the twenty-two black pearls lay on the table in front of them—none the worse to all appearances for their three hundred odd years’ concealment.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading The Riddle of the Black Twenty-Two He laid the dirty padded mass on the library table, and started to pull the soft fleecy substance to pieces.
appearancesnounUS /əˈpɪrənsəz/
plural of “appearance” — outward or visible aspect of a person or thing
From this reading In a few moments the twenty-two black pearls lay on the table in front of them—none the worse to all appearances for their three hundred odd years’ concealment.
the activity of contributing to the fulfillment of a need or furtherance of an effort or purpose
From this reading Then the others came to his assistance with exclamations of delight, wonder and incredulity.
being of the achromatic color of maximum darkness; having little or no hue owing to absorption of almost all incident light
From this reading The Riddle of the Black Twenty-Two He laid the dirty padded mass on the library table, and started to pull the soft fleecy substance to pieces.
inflected form of “come” — move toward, travel toward something or somebody or approach something or somebody
From this reading Then the others came to his assistance with exclamations of delight, wonder and incredulity.
concealmentnounUS /kənˈsiːlmənt/
the condition of being concealed or hidden
From this reading In a few moments the twenty-two black pearls lay on the table in front of them—none the worse to all appearances for their three hundred odd years’ concealment.
a place off to the side of an area
From this reading From the first corner he extracted a magnificent specimen of a black pearl.
give pleasure to or be pleasing to
From this reading Then the others came to his assistance with exclamations of delight, wonder and incredulity.
dirtyadjectiveUS /ˈdɜːrti/
soiled or likely to soil with dirt or grime
From this reading The Riddle of the Black Twenty-Two He laid the dirty padded mass on the library table, and started to pull the soft fleecy substance to pieces.
EverydeterminerUS /ˈevəri/
all the members of a group, with none left out
From this reading Every one was a truly magnificent specimen.
exclamationsnounUS /ˌekskləˈmeɪʃənz/
plural of “exclamation” — an abrupt excited utterance
From this reading Then the others came to his assistance with exclamations of delight, wonder and incredulity.
extractedverbUS /ekˈstræktɪd/
past form of “extract” — remove, usually with some force or effort; also used in an abstract sense
From this reading From the first corner he extracted a magnificent specimen of a black pearl.
a quantifier that can be used with count nouns and is often preceded by “a”; a small but indefinite number
From this reading In a few moments the twenty-two black pearls lay on the table in front of them—none the worse to all appearances for their three hundred odd years’ concealment.
firstadjectiveUS /fɜːrst/
preceding all others in time or space or degree
From this reading From the first corner he extracted a magnificent specimen of a black pearl.
fleecyadjectiveUS /ˈfliːsi/
(of fabrics) having soft nap produced by brushing
From this reading The Riddle of the Black Twenty-Two He laid the dirty padded mass on the library table, and started to pull the soft fleecy substance to pieces.
intended to be given to, or used by, somebody
From this reading In a few moments the twenty-two black pearls lay on the table in front of them—none the worse to all appearances for their three hundred odd years’ concealment.
showing where something starts, or who sent it
From this reading From the first corner he extracted a magnificent specimen of a black pearl.
the side that is forward or prominent
From this reading In a few moments the twenty-two black pearls lay on the table in front of them—none the worse to all appearances for their three hundred odd years’ concealment.
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading The Riddle of the Black Twenty-Two He laid the dirty padded mass on the library table, and started to pull the soft fleecy substance to pieces.
belonging to a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned
From this reading Then the others came to his assistance with exclamations of delight, wonder and incredulity.
ten 10s
From this reading In a few moments the twenty-two black pearls lay on the table in front of them—none the worse to all appearances for their three hundred odd years’ concealment.
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading In a few moments the twenty-two black pearls lay on the table in front of them—none the worse to all appearances for their three hundred odd years’ concealment.
incredulitynounUS /ˌɪnkrəˈduːlɪti/
doubt about the truth of something
From this reading Then the others came to his assistance with exclamations of delight, wonder and incredulity.
set down according to a plan
From this reading The Riddle of the Black Twenty-Two He laid the dirty padded mass on the library table, and started to pull the soft fleecy substance to pieces.
put into a certain place or abstract location
From this reading In a few moments the twenty-two black pearls lay on the table in front of them—none the worse to all appearances for their three hundred odd years’ concealment.
a room where books are kept
From this reading The Riddle of the Black Twenty-Two He laid the dirty padded mass on the library table, and started to pull the soft fleecy substance to pieces.
characterized by grandeur
From this reading From the first corner he extracted a magnificent specimen of a black pearl.
the property of a body that causes it to have weight in a gravitational field
From this reading The Riddle of the Black Twenty-Two He laid the dirty padded mass on the library table, and started to pull the soft fleecy substance to pieces.
plural of “moment” — a particular point in time
From this reading In a few moments the twenty-two black pearls lay on the table in front of them—none the worse to all appearances for their three hundred odd years’ concealment.
not one, and not any
From this reading In a few moments the twenty-two black pearls lay on the table in front of them—none the worse to all appearances for their three hundred odd years’ concealment.
not divisible by two
From this reading In a few moments the twenty-two black pearls lay on the table in front of them—none the worse to all appearances for their three hundred odd years’ concealment.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading The Riddle of the Black Twenty-Two He laid the dirty padded mass on the library table, and started to pull the soft fleecy substance to pieces.
touching and supported by a surface
From this reading The Riddle of the Black Twenty-Two He laid the dirty padded mass on the library table, and started to pull the soft fleecy substance to pieces.
used to mean any person in general, including the speaker
From this reading Every one was a truly magnificent specimen.
others
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Then the others came to his assistance with exclamations of delight, wonder and incredulity.
paddedadjectiveUS /ˈpædɪd/
softened by the addition of cushions or padding
From this reading The Riddle of the Black Twenty-Two He laid the dirty padded mass on the library table, and started to pull the soft fleecy substance to pieces.
pearlnounUS /pɜːrl/
a smooth lustrous round structure inside the shell of a clam or oyster; much valued as a jewel
From this reading From the first corner he extracted a magnificent specimen of a black pearl.
pearlsnounUS /pɜːrlz/
plural of “pearl” — a smooth lustrous round structure inside the shell of a clam or oyster; much valued as a jewel
From this reading In a few moments the twenty-two black pearls lay on the table in front of them—none the worse to all appearances for their three hundred odd years’ concealment.
plural of “piece” — a separate part of a whole
From this reading The Riddle of the Black Twenty-Two He laid the dirty padded mass on the library table, and started to pull the soft fleecy substance to pieces.
cause to move by pulling
From this reading The Riddle of the Black Twenty-Two He laid the dirty padded mass on the library table, and started to pull the soft fleecy substance to pieces.
RiddleverbUS /ˈrɪdəl/
pierce with many holes
From this reading The Riddle of the Black Twenty-Two He laid the dirty padded mass on the library table, and started to pull the soft fleecy substance to pieces.
yielding readily to pressure or weight
From this reading The Riddle of the Black Twenty-Two He laid the dirty padded mass on the library table, and started to pull the soft fleecy substance to pieces.
specimennounUS /ˈspesəmən/
an example regarded as typical of its class
From this reading From the first corner he extracted a magnificent specimen of a black pearl.
past form of “start” — take the first step or steps in carrying out an action
From this reading The Riddle of the Black Twenty-Two He laid the dirty padded mass on the library table, and started to pull the soft fleecy substance to pieces.
substancenounUS /ˈsʌbstəns/
the real physical matter of which a person or thing consists
From this reading The Riddle of the Black Twenty-Two He laid the dirty padded mass on the library table, and started to pull the soft fleecy substance to pieces.
a set of data arranged in rows and columns
From this reading The Riddle of the Black Twenty-Two He laid the dirty padded mass on the library table, and started to pull the soft fleecy substance to pieces.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading The Riddle of the Black Twenty-Two He laid the dirty padded mass on the library table, and started to pull the soft fleecy substance to pieces.
belonging to the people or things already mentioned
From this reading In a few moments the twenty-two black pearls lay on the table in front of them—none the worse to all appearances for their three hundred odd years’ concealment.
the people or things already mentioned, as the object
From this reading In a few moments the twenty-two black pearls lay on the table in front of them—none the worse to all appearances for their three hundred odd years’ concealment.
subsequently or soon afterward (often used as sentence connectors)
From this reading Then the others came to his assistance with exclamations of delight, wonder and incredulity.
the cardinal number that is the sum of one and one and one
From this reading In a few moments the twenty-two black pearls lay on the table in front of them—none the worse to all appearances for their three hundred odd years’ concealment.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading The Riddle of the Black Twenty-Two He laid the dirty padded mass on the library table, and started to pull the soft fleecy substance to pieces.
in accordance with truth or fact or reality
From this reading Every one was a truly magnificent specimen.
Twenty-TwonounUS /ˈtwentituː/
the cardinal number that is the sum of twenty-one and one
From this reading The Riddle of the Black Twenty-Two He laid the dirty padded mass on the library table, and started to pull the soft fleecy substance to pieces.
wasauxiliary verbUS /wɑːz/
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading Every one was a truly magnificent specimen.
in the company of; together with
From this reading Then the others came to his assistance with exclamations of delight, wonder and incredulity.
the feeling aroused by something strange and surprising
From this reading Then the others came to his assistance with exclamations of delight, wonder and incredulity.
(comparative of “bad”) inferior to another in quality or condition or desirability
From this reading In a few moments the twenty-two black pearls lay on the table in front of them—none the worse to all appearances for their three hundred odd years’ concealment.
a late time of life
From this reading In a few moments the twenty-two black pearls lay on the table in front of them—none the worse to all appearances for their three hundred odd years’ concealment.
