used before a singular noun to mean one of a group, when it is not a particular one
From this reading A little woman with a furtive face, sharp nose, and blinking eyes was seated at one end of the kitchen table with playing-cards spread out in front of her.
the form of “a” used before a word that begins with a vowel sound
From this reading Nearly an hour elapsed before he reappeared, candle in hand, and entered the kitchen.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading On leaving his master's room Thalassa went swiftly downstairs and disappeared into some remote back region of the lonely old house.
in or near a particular place or position
From this reading A little woman with a furtive face, sharp nose, and blinking eyes was seated at one end of the kitchen table with playing-cards spread out in front of her.
in or to or toward a former location
From this reading On leaving his master's room Thalassa went swiftly downstairs and disappeared into some remote back region of the lonely old house.
used with a past participle to form the passive, or with -ing for continuous tenses
From this reading There was wood to be chopped, coal to be brought in, water to be drawn.
earlier than; in front of
From this reading He had other duties to perform before his day's work was finished.
blinkingadjectiveUS /ˈblɪŋkɪŋ/
closing the eyes intermittently and rapidly
From this reading A little woman with a furtive face, sharp nose, and blinking eyes was seated at one end of the kitchen table with playing-cards spread out in front of her.
inflected form of “bring” — take something or somebody with oneself somewhere
From this reading There was wood to be chopped, coal to be brought in, water to be drawn.
stick of wax with a wick in the middle
From this reading Nearly an hour elapsed before he reappeared, candle in hand, and entered the kitchen.
choppedadjectiveUS /tʃɑːpt/
prepared by cutting
From this reading There was wood to be chopped, coal to be brought in, water to be drawn.
coalnounUS /koʊl/
fossil fuel consisting of carbonized vegetable matter deposited in the Carboniferous period
From this reading There was wood to be chopped, coal to be brought in, water to be drawn.
day'snounUS /deɪz/
possessive form of “day” — time for Earth to make a complete rotation on its axis
From this reading He had other duties to perform before his day's work was finished.
past form of “disappear” — get lost, as without warning or explanation
From this reading On leaving his master's room Thalassa went swiftly downstairs and disappeared into some remote back region of the lonely old house.
downstairsadverbUS /ˈdaʊnˈsterz/
on a floor below
From this reading On leaving his master's room Thalassa went swiftly downstairs and disappeared into some remote back region of the lonely old house.
showing the wearing effects of overwork or care or suffering
From this reading There was wood to be chopped, coal to be brought in, water to be drawn.
plural of “duty” — the social force that binds you to the courses of action demanded by that force
From this reading He had other duties to perform before his day's work was finished.
elapsedadjectiveUS /ɪˈlæpst/
(of time) having passed or slipped by
From this reading Nearly an hour elapsed before he reappeared, candle in hand, and entered the kitchen.
either extremity of something that has length
From this reading A little woman with a furtive face, sharp nose, and blinking eyes was seated at one end of the kitchen table with playing-cards spread out in front of her.
past form of “enter” — to come or go into
From this reading Nearly an hour elapsed before he reappeared, candle in hand, and entered the kitchen.
opinion or judgment
From this reading A little woman with a furtive face, sharp nose, and blinking eyes was seated at one end of the kitchen table with playing-cards spread out in front of her.
the front of the human head from the forehead to the chin and ear to ear
From this reading A little woman with a furtive face, sharp nose, and blinking eyes was seated at one end of the kitchen table with playing-cards spread out in front of her.
(of materials or goods) brought to the desired final state
From this reading He had other duties to perform before his day's work was finished.
the side that is forward or prominent
From this reading A little woman with a furtive face, sharp nose, and blinking eyes was seated at one end of the kitchen table with playing-cards spread out in front of her.
furtiveadjectiveUS /ˈfɜːrtɪv/
marked by quiet and caution and secrecy; taking pains to avoid being observed
From this reading A little woman with a furtive face, sharp nose, and blinking eyes was seated at one end of the kitchen table with playing-cards spread out in front of her.
hadauxiliary verbUS /hæd/
the past form of “have”, used to form the past perfect
From this reading He had other duties to perform before his day's work was finished.
the (prehensile) extremity of the superior limb
From this reading Nearly an hour elapsed before he reappeared, candle in hand, and entered the kitchen.
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading He had other duties to perform before his day's work was finished.
belonging to a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned
From this reading A little woman with a furtive face, sharp nose, and blinking eyes was seated at one end of the kitchen table with playing-cards spread out in front of her.
belonging to a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned
From this reading On leaving his master's room Thalassa went swiftly downstairs and disappeared into some remote back region of the lonely old house.
a period of time equal to 1/24th of a day
From this reading Nearly an hour elapsed before he reappeared, candle in hand, and entered the kitchen.
a dwelling that serves as living quarters for one or more families
From this reading On leaving his master's room Thalassa went swiftly downstairs and disappeared into some remote back region of the lonely old house.
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading There was wood to be chopped, coal to be brought in, water to be drawn.
intoprepositionUS /ˈɪntuː/
moving to the inside of something
From this reading On leaving his master's room Thalassa went swiftly downstairs and disappeared into some remote back region of the lonely old house.
a room equipped for preparing meals
From this reading Nearly an hour elapsed before he reappeared, candle in hand, and entered the kitchen.
the act of departing
From this reading On leaving his master's room Thalassa went swiftly downstairs and disappeared into some remote back region of the lonely old house.
limited or below average in number or quantity or magnitude or extent
From this reading A little woman with a furtive face, sharp nose, and blinking eyes was seated at one end of the kitchen table with playing-cards spread out in front of her.
lacking companions or companionship
From this reading On leaving his master's room Thalassa went swiftly downstairs and disappeared into some remote back region of the lonely old house.
master'snounUS /ˈmæstərz/
possessive form of “master” — an artist of consummate skill
From this reading On leaving his master's room Thalassa went swiftly downstairs and disappeared into some remote back region of the lonely old house.
(of actions or states) slightly short of or not quite accomplished; all but
From this reading Nearly an hour elapsed before he reappeared, candle in hand, and entered the kitchen.
the organ of smell and entrance to the respiratory tract; the prominent part of the face of man or other mammals
From this reading A little woman with a furtive face, sharp nose, and blinking eyes was seated at one end of the kitchen table with playing-cards spread out in front of her.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading On leaving his master's room Thalassa went swiftly downstairs and disappeared into some remote back region of the lonely old house.
(used especially of persons) having lived for a relatively long time or attained a specific age
From this reading On leaving his master's room Thalassa went swiftly downstairs and disappeared into some remote back region of the lonely old house.
touching and supported by a surface
From this reading On leaving his master's room Thalassa went swiftly downstairs and disappeared into some remote back region of the lonely old house.
used to mean any person in general, including the speaker
From this reading A little woman with a furtive face, sharp nose, and blinking eyes was seated at one end of the kitchen table with playing-cards spread out in front of her.
not the same one or ones already mentioned or implied
From this reading He had other duties to perform before his day's work was finished.
not allowed to continue to bat or run
From this reading A little woman with a furtive face, sharp nose, and blinking eyes was seated at one end of the kitchen table with playing-cards spread out in front of her.
performverbUS /pərˈfɔːrm/
carry out or perform an action
From this reading He had other duties to perform before his day's work was finished.
playing-cards
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading A little woman with a furtive face, sharp nose, and blinking eyes was seated at one end of the kitchen table with playing-cards spread out in front of her.
reappearedverbUS /ˌriːəˈpɪrd/
past form of “reappear” — appear again
From this reading Nearly an hour elapsed before he reappeared, candle in hand, and entered the kitchen.
regionnounUS /ˈriːdʒən/
the extended spatial location of something
From this reading On leaving his master's room Thalassa went swiftly downstairs and disappeared into some remote back region of the lonely old house.
remoteadjectiveUS /rɪˈmoʊt/
located far away spatially
From this reading On leaving his master's room Thalassa went swiftly downstairs and disappeared into some remote back region of the lonely old house.
an area within a building enclosed by walls and floor and ceiling
From this reading On leaving his master's room Thalassa went swiftly downstairs and disappeared into some remote back region of the lonely old house.
(of persons) having the torso erect and legs bent with the body supported on the buttocks
From this reading A little woman with a furtive face, sharp nose, and blinking eyes was seated at one end of the kitchen table with playing-cards spread out in front of her.
(of something seen or heard) clearly defined
From this reading A little woman with a furtive face, sharp nose, and blinking eyes was seated at one end of the kitchen table with playing-cards spread out in front of her.
(quantifier) used with either mass nouns or plural count nouns to indicate an unspecified number or quantity
From this reading On leaving his master's room Thalassa went swiftly downstairs and disappeared into some remote back region of the lonely old house.
distribute or disperse widely
From this reading A little woman with a furtive face, sharp nose, and blinking eyes was seated at one end of the kitchen table with playing-cards spread out in front of her.
in a swift manner
From this reading On leaving his master's room Thalassa went swiftly downstairs and disappeared into some remote back region of the lonely old house.
a set of data arranged in rows and columns
From this reading A little woman with a furtive face, sharp nose, and blinking eyes was seated at one end of the kitchen table with playing-cards spread out in front of her.
Thalassa
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading On leaving his master's room Thalassa went swiftly downstairs and disappeared into some remote back region of the lonely old house.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading On leaving his master's room Thalassa went swiftly downstairs and disappeared into some remote back region of the lonely old house.
in or at that place or location
From this reading There was wood to be chopped, coal to be brought in, water to be drawn.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading He had other duties to perform before his day's work was finished.
wasauxiliary verbUS /wɑːz/
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading He had other duties to perform before his day's work was finished.
binary compound that occurs at room temperature as a clear colorless odorless tasteless liquid; freezes into ice below 0 degrees centigrade and boils above 100 degrees centigrade; widely used as a solvent
From this reading There was wood to be chopped, coal to be brought in, water to be drawn.
inflected form of “go” — change location; move, travel, or proceed, also metaphorically
From this reading On leaving his master's room Thalassa went swiftly downstairs and disappeared into some remote back region of the lonely old house.
in the company of; together with
From this reading A little woman with a furtive face, sharp nose, and blinking eyes was seated at one end of the kitchen table with playing-cards spread out in front of her.
an adult female person (as opposed to a man)
From this reading A little woman with a furtive face, sharp nose, and blinking eyes was seated at one end of the kitchen table with playing-cards spread out in front of her.
the hard fibrous lignified substance under the bark of trees
From this reading There was wood to be chopped, coal to be brought in, water to be drawn.
exert oneself by doing mental or physical work for a purpose or out of necessity
From this reading He had other duties to perform before his day's work was finished.
