used before a singular noun to mean one of a group, when it is not a particular one
From this reading His song was heard for a moment or two in the boughs of a tree, then it grew faint and died in the distance.
afterprepositionUS /ˈæftər/
later than; following
From this reading ON THE GREAT TRAIL An hour after the little gray bird had announced that it was noon and all was well Henry awoke, and now he sat up.
(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 ON THE GREAT TRAIL An hour after the little gray bird had announced that it was noon and all was well Henry awoke, and now he sat up.
in addition
From this reading Henry put his hand on Sol's shoulder, and the shiftless one also sat up.
the form of “a” used before a word that begins with a vowel sound
From this reading ON THE GREAT TRAIL An hour after the little gray bird had announced that it was noon and all was well Henry awoke, and now he sat up.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading ON THE GREAT TRAIL An hour after the little gray bird had announced that it was noon and all was well Henry awoke, and now he sat up.
declared publicly; made widely known
From this reading ON THE GREAT TRAIL An hour after the little gray bird had announced that it was noon and all was well Henry awoke, and now he sat up.
from a particular thing or place or position (“forth” is obsolete)
From this reading The bird, hearing rustlings below, and feeling that his task of watchman was over, flew away.
inflected form of “awake” — stop sleeping
From this reading ON THE GREAT TRAIL An hour after the little gray bird had announced that it was noon and all was well Henry awoke, and now he sat up.
belowprepositionUS /bɪˈloʊ/
at or to a lower level than something
From this reading The bird, hearing rustlings below, and feeling that his task of watchman was over, flew away.
warm-blooded egg-laying vertebrates characterized by feathers and forelimbs modified as wings
From this reading ON THE GREAT TRAIL An hour after the little gray bird had announced that it was noon and all was well Henry awoke, and now he sat up.
boughsnounUS /baʊz/
plural of “bough” — any of the larger branches of a tree
From this reading His song was heard for a moment or two in the boughs of a tree, then it grew faint and died in the distance.
used to introduce something that contrasts with what came before
From this reading But his work was done and he had done it well.
past form of “die” — pass from physical life and lose all bodily attributes and functions necessary to sustain life
From this reading His song was heard for a moment or two in the boughs of a tree, then it grew faint and died in the distance.
the property created by the space between two objects or points
From this reading His song was heard for a moment or two in the boughs of a tree, then it grew faint and died in the distance.
having finished or arrived at completion
From this reading But his work was done and he had done it well.
deficient in magnitude; barely perceptible; lacking clarity or brightness or loudness etc
From this reading His song was heard for a moment or two in the boughs of a tree, then it grew faint and died in the distance.
the experiencing of affective and emotional states
From this reading The bird, hearing rustlings below, and feeling that his task of watchman was over, flew away.
inflected form of “fly” — travel through the air; be airborne
From this reading The bird, hearing rustlings below, and feeling that his task of watchman was over, flew away.
intended to be given to, or used by, somebody
From this reading His song was heard for a moment or two in the boughs of a tree, then it grew faint and died in the distance.
a neutral achromatic color midway between white and black
From this reading ON THE GREAT TRAIL An hour after the little gray bird had announced that it was noon and all was well Henry awoke, and now he sat up.
relatively large in size or number or extent; larger than others of its kind
From this reading ON THE GREAT TRAIL An hour after the little gray bird had announced that it was noon and all was well Henry awoke, and now he sat up.
inflected form of “grow” — pass into a condition gradually, take on a specific property or attribute; become
From this reading His song was heard for a moment or two in the boughs of a tree, then it grew faint and died in the distance.
hadauxiliary verbUS /hæd/
the past form of “have”, used to form the past perfect
From this reading ON THE GREAT TRAIL An hour after the little gray bird had announced that it was noon and all was well Henry awoke, and now he sat up.
the (prehensile) extremity of the superior limb
From this reading Henry put his hand on Sol's shoulder, and the shiftless one also sat up.
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading ON THE GREAT TRAIL An hour after the little gray bird had announced that it was noon and all was well Henry awoke, and now he sat up.
detected or perceived by the sense of hearing
From this reading His song was heard for a moment or two in the boughs of a tree, then it grew faint and died in the distance.
(law) a proceeding (usually by a court) where evidence is taken for the purpose of determining an issue of fact and reaching a decision based on that evidence
From this reading The bird, hearing rustlings below, and feeling that his task of watchman was over, flew away.
a unit of inductance in which an induced electromotive force of one volt is produced when the current is varied at the rate of one ampere per second
From this reading ON THE GREAT TRAIL An hour after the little gray bird had announced that it was noon and all was well Henry awoke, and now he sat up.
belonging to a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned
From this reading The bird, hearing rustlings below, and feeling that his task of watchman was over, flew away.
a period of time equal to 1/24th of a day
From this reading ON THE GREAT TRAIL An hour after the little gray bird had announced that it was noon and all was well Henry awoke, and now he sat up.
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading His song was heard for a moment or two in the boughs of a tree, then it grew faint and died in the distance.
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading ON THE GREAT TRAIL An hour after the little gray bird had announced that it was noon and all was well Henry awoke, and now he sat up.
limited or below average in number or quantity or magnitude or extent
From this reading ON THE GREAT TRAIL An hour after the little gray bird had announced that it was noon and all was well Henry awoke, and now he sat up.
a particular point in time
From this reading His song was heard for a moment or two in the boughs of a tree, then it grew faint and died in the distance.
the middle of the day
From this reading ON THE GREAT TRAIL An hour after the little gray bird had announced that it was noon and all was well Henry awoke, and now he sat up.
in the historical present; at this point in the narration of a series of past events
From this reading ON THE GREAT TRAIL An hour after the little gray bird had announced that it was noon and all was well Henry awoke, and now he sat up.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading The bird, hearing rustlings below, and feeling that his task of watchman was over, flew away.
touching and supported by a surface
From this reading ON THE GREAT TRAIL An hour after the little gray bird had announced that it was noon and all was well Henry awoke, and now he sat up.
used to mean any person in general, including the speaker
From this reading Henry put his hand on Sol's shoulder, and the shiftless one also sat up.
used to join alternatives or possibilities
From this reading His song was heard for a moment or two in the boughs of a tree, then it grew faint and died in the distance.
overprepositionUS /ˈoʊvər/
above and across; more than
From this reading The bird, hearing rustlings below, and feeling that his task of watchman was over, flew away.
put into a certain place or abstract location
From this reading Henry put his hand on Sol's shoulder, and the shiftless one also sat up.
rustlings
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading The bird, hearing rustlings below, and feeling that his task of watchman was over, flew away.
the seventh and last day of the week; observed as the Sabbath by Jews and some Christians
From this reading ON THE GREAT TRAIL An hour after the little gray bird had announced that it was noon and all was well Henry awoke, and now he sat up.
shiftlessadjectiveUS /ˈʃɪftlɪs/
lacking or characterized by lack of ambition or initiative; lazy
From this reading Henry put his hand on Sol's shoulder, and the shiftless one also sat up.
lift onto one's shoulders
From this reading Henry put his hand on Sol's shoulder, and the shiftless one also sat up.
Sol's
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Henry put his hand on Sol's shoulder, and the shiftless one also sat up.
a short musical composition with words
From this reading His song was heard for a moment or two in the boughs of a tree, then it grew faint and died in the distance.
any piece of work that is undertaken or attempted
From this reading The bird, hearing rustlings below, and feeling that his task of watchman was over, flew away.
used to introduce what somebody said, thought, or felt
From this reading ON THE GREAT TRAIL An hour after the little gray bird had announced that it was noon and all was well Henry awoke, and now he sat up.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading ON THE GREAT TRAIL An hour after the little gray bird had announced that it was noon and all was well Henry awoke, and now he sat up.
subsequently or soon afterward (often used as sentence connectors)
From this reading His song was heard for a moment or two in the boughs of a tree, then it grew faint and died in the distance.
a track or mark left by something that has passed
From this reading ON THE GREAT TRAIL An hour after the little gray bird had announced that it was noon and all was well Henry awoke, and now he sat up.
a tall perennial woody plant having a main trunk and branches forming a distinct elevated crown; includes both gymnosperms and angiosperms
From this reading His song was heard for a moment or two in the boughs of a tree, then it grew faint and died in the distance.
the cardinal number that is the sum of one and one or a numeral representing this number
From this reading His song was heard for a moment or two in the boughs of a tree, then it grew faint and died in the distance.
being or moving higher in position or greater in some value; being above a former position or level
From this reading ON THE GREAT TRAIL An hour after the little gray bird had announced that it was noon and all was well Henry awoke, and now he sat up.
wasauxiliary verbUS /wɑːz/
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading ON THE GREAT TRAIL An hour after the little gray bird had announced that it was noon and all was well Henry awoke, and now he sat up.
watchmannounUS /ˈwɑːtʃmən/
a guard who keeps watch
From this reading The bird, hearing rustlings below, and feeling that his task of watchman was over, flew away.
(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 ON THE GREAT TRAIL An hour after the little gray bird had announced that it was noon and all was well Henry awoke, and now he sat up.
exert oneself by doing mental or physical work for a purpose or out of necessity
From this reading But his work was done and he had done it well.
