Every word is available to listen to. Dictionary details are shown only when verified; these are not licensed Oxford entries.
adeterminerUS /ə/
used before a singular noun to mean one of a group, when it is not a particular one
From this reading THE NAVY-UNDER-THE-SEA The year or so before the war found the Submarine Service still in its infancy, untried, unsung, a jest among the big-ship folk of the Navy-that-floats, who pointed with inelegant gestures from these hundred-feet cigar-shaped egg-shells to their own towering steel-shod rams and the nineteen-thousand-odd tons behind each of them.
aboutprepositionUS /əˈbaʊt/
on the subject of; concerning
From this reading The Submarine Service had no leisure for jests at that time, even if they had seen anything particularly humorous about the comparison.
aiguillettes
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From this reading The Navy-that-Floats--the Navy of aiguillettes and “boiled shirts,” of bathrooms and Sunday-morning divisions--dubbed them pirates.
amongprepositionUS /əˈmʌŋ/
surrounded by; in the middle of a group
From this reading THE NAVY-UNDER-THE-SEA The year or so before the war found the Submarine Service still in its infancy, untried, unsung, a jest among the big-ship folk of the Navy-that-floats, who pointed with inelegant gestures from these hundred-feet cigar-shaped egg-shells to their own towering steel-shod rams and the nineteen-thousand-odd tons behind each of them.
andeterminerUS /æn/
the form of “a” used before a word that begins with a vowel sound
From this reading In an intensely grim and practical way they were dreamers, “greatly dreaming”: and they knew that the day was not far off when these little wet ships of theirs would come into their own and hold, in the bow and stern of each fragile hull, the keys of death and of hell.
andconjunctionUS /ənd/
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading THE NAVY-UNDER-THE-SEA The year or so before the war found the Submarine Service still in its infancy, untried, unsung, a jest among the big-ship folk of the Navy-that-floats, who pointed with inelegant gestures from these hundred-feet cigar-shaped egg-shells to their own towering steel-shod rams and the nineteen-thousand-odd tons behind each of them.
anythingpronounUS /ˈeniθɪŋ/
any thing at all
From this reading The Submarine Service had no leisure for jests at that time, even if they had seen anything particularly humorous about the comparison.
atprepositionUS /æt/
in or near a particular place or position
From this reading The Submarine Service had no leisure for jests at that time, even if they had seen anything particularly humorous about the comparison.
bath
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Pirates, because they went about His Majesty’s business in football sweaters and grey flannel trousers tucked into their huge sea-boots, returning to harbour with a week’s growth of beard and memories of their last bath grown dim.
bathrooms
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading The Navy-that-Floats--the Navy of aiguillettes and “boiled shirts,” of bathrooms and Sunday-morning divisions--dubbed them pirates.
beard
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Pirates, because they went about His Majesty’s business in football sweaters and grey flannel trousers tucked into their huge sea-boots, returning to harbour with a week’s growth of beard and memories of their last bath grown dim.
becauseconjunctionUS /bɪˈkɔːz/
for the reason that
From this reading Pirates, because they went about His Majesty’s business in football sweaters and grey flannel trousers tucked into their huge sea-boots, returning to harbour with a week’s growth of beard and memories of their last bath grown dim.
beforeprepositionUS /bɪˈfɔːr/
earlier than; in front of
From this reading THE NAVY-UNDER-THE-SEA The year or so before the war found the Submarine Service still in its infancy, untried, unsung, a jest among the big-ship folk of the Navy-that-floats, who pointed with inelegant gestures from these hundred-feet cigar-shaped egg-shells to their own towering steel-shod rams and the nineteen-thousand-odd tons behind each of them.
behindprepositionUS /bɪˈhaɪnd/
at or toward the back of something
From this reading THE NAVY-UNDER-THE-SEA The year or so before the war found the Submarine Service still in its infancy, untried, unsung, a jest among the big-ship folk of the Navy-that-floats, who pointed with inelegant gestures from these hundred-feet cigar-shaped egg-shells to their own towering steel-shod rams and the nineteen-thousand-odd tons behind each of them.
big-ship
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading THE NAVY-UNDER-THE-SEA The year or so before the war found the Submarine Service still in its infancy, untried, unsung, a jest among the big-ship folk of the Navy-that-floats, who pointed with inelegant gestures from these hundred-feet cigar-shaped egg-shells to their own towering steel-shod rams and the nineteen-thousand-odd tons behind each of them.
boiled
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading The Navy-that-Floats--the Navy of aiguillettes and “boiled shirts,” of bathrooms and Sunday-morning divisions--dubbed them pirates.
bow
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading In an intensely grim and practical way they were dreamers, “greatly dreaming”: and they knew that the day was not far off when these little wet ships of theirs would come into their own and hold, in the bow and stern of each fragile hull, the keys of death and of hell.
business
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Pirates, because they went about His Majesty’s business in football sweaters and grey flannel trousers tucked into their huge sea-boots, returning to harbour with a week’s growth of beard and memories of their last bath grown dim.
cigar-shaped
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading THE NAVY-UNDER-THE-SEA The year or so before the war found the Submarine Service still in its infancy, untried, unsung, a jest among the big-ship folk of the Navy-that-floats, who pointed with inelegant gestures from these hundred-feet cigar-shaped egg-shells to their own towering steel-shod rams and the nineteen-thousand-odd tons behind each of them.
comenounUS /come/
an important story-specific word used in this passage
From this reading In an intensely grim and practical way they were dreamers, “greatly dreaming”: and they knew that the day was not far off when these little wet ships of theirs would come into their own and hold, in the bow and stern of each fragile hull, the keys of death and of hell.
comparison
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From this reading The Submarine Service had no leisure for jests at that time, even if they had seen anything particularly humorous about the comparison.
day
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading In an intensely grim and practical way they were dreamers, “greatly dreaming”: and they knew that the day was not far off when these little wet ships of theirs would come into their own and hold, in the bow and stern of each fragile hull, the keys of death and of hell.
death
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading In an intensely grim and practical way they were dreamers, “greatly dreaming”: and they knew that the day was not far off when these little wet ships of theirs would come into their own and hold, in the bow and stern of each fragile hull, the keys of death and of hell.
dim
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From this reading Pirates, because they went about His Majesty’s business in football sweaters and grey flannel trousers tucked into their huge sea-boots, returning to harbour with a week’s growth of beard and memories of their last bath grown dim.
divisions
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading The Navy-that-Floats--the Navy of aiguillettes and “boiled shirts,” of bathrooms and Sunday-morning divisions--dubbed them pirates.
dreamers
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading In an intensely grim and practical way they were dreamers, “greatly dreaming”: and they knew that the day was not far off when these little wet ships of theirs would come into their own and hold, in the bow and stern of each fragile hull, the keys of death and of hell.
dreaming
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading In an intensely grim and practical way they were dreamers, “greatly dreaming”: and they knew that the day was not far off when these little wet ships of theirs would come into their own and hold, in the bow and stern of each fragile hull, the keys of death and of hell.
dubbed
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From this reading The Navy-that-Floats--the Navy of aiguillettes and “boiled shirts,” of bathrooms and Sunday-morning divisions--dubbed them pirates.
eachdeterminerUS /iːtʃ/
every one of two or more people or things, taken separately
From this reading THE NAVY-UNDER-THE-SEA The year or so before the war found the Submarine Service still in its infancy, untried, unsung, a jest among the big-ship folk of the Navy-that-floats, who pointed with inelegant gestures from these hundred-feet cigar-shaped egg-shells to their own towering steel-shod rams and the nineteen-thousand-odd tons behind each of them.
egg-shells
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading THE NAVY-UNDER-THE-SEA The year or so before the war found the Submarine Service still in its infancy, untried, unsung, a jest among the big-ship folk of the Navy-that-floats, who pointed with inelegant gestures from these hundred-feet cigar-shaped egg-shells to their own towering steel-shod rams and the nineteen-thousand-odd tons behind each of them.
evennounUS /even/
an important story-specific word used in this passage
From this reading The Submarine Service had no leisure for jests at that time, even if they had seen anything particularly humorous about the comparison.
far
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading In an intensely grim and practical way they were dreamers, “greatly dreaming”: and they knew that the day was not far off when these little wet ships of theirs would come into their own and hold, in the bow and stern of each fragile hull, the keys of death and of hell.
flannel
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Pirates, because they went about His Majesty’s business in football sweaters and grey flannel trousers tucked into their huge sea-boots, returning to harbour with a week’s growth of beard and memories of their last bath grown dim.
folk
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading THE NAVY-UNDER-THE-SEA The year or so before the war found the Submarine Service still in its infancy, untried, unsung, a jest among the big-ship folk of the Navy-that-floats, who pointed with inelegant gestures from these hundred-feet cigar-shaped egg-shells to their own towering steel-shod rams and the nineteen-thousand-odd tons behind each of them.
football
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Pirates, because they went about His Majesty’s business in football sweaters and grey flannel trousers tucked into their huge sea-boots, returning to harbour with a week’s growth of beard and memories of their last bath grown dim.
forprepositionUS /fɔːr/
intended to be given to, or used by, somebody
From this reading The Submarine Service had no leisure for jests at that time, even if they had seen anything particularly humorous about the comparison.
foundnounUS /found/
an important story-specific word used in this passage
From this reading THE NAVY-UNDER-THE-SEA The year or so before the war found the Submarine Service still in its infancy, untried, unsung, a jest among the big-ship folk of the Navy-that-floats, who pointed with inelegant gestures from these hundred-feet cigar-shaped egg-shells to their own towering steel-shod rams and the nineteen-thousand-odd tons behind each of them.
fragile
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading In an intensely grim and practical way they were dreamers, “greatly dreaming”: and they knew that the day was not far off when these little wet ships of theirs would come into their own and hold, in the bow and stern of each fragile hull, the keys of death and of hell.
fromprepositionUS /frʌm/
showing where something starts, or who sent it
From this reading THE NAVY-UNDER-THE-SEA The year or so before the war found the Submarine Service still in its infancy, untried, unsung, a jest among the big-ship folk of the Navy-that-floats, who pointed with inelegant gestures from these hundred-feet cigar-shaped egg-shells to their own towering steel-shod rams and the nineteen-thousand-odd tons behind each of them.
gestures
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading THE NAVY-UNDER-THE-SEA The year or so before the war found the Submarine Service still in its infancy, untried, unsung, a jest among the big-ship folk of the Navy-that-floats, who pointed with inelegant gestures from these hundred-feet cigar-shaped egg-shells to their own towering steel-shod rams and the nineteen-thousand-odd tons behind each of them.
greatly
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading In an intensely grim and practical way they were dreamers, “greatly dreaming”: and they knew that the day was not far off when these little wet ships of theirs would come into their own and hold, in the bow and stern of each fragile hull, the keys of death and of hell.
grey
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Pirates, because they went about His Majesty’s business in football sweaters and grey flannel trousers tucked into their huge sea-boots, returning to harbour with a week’s growth of beard and memories of their last bath grown dim.
grim
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading In an intensely grim and practical way they were dreamers, “greatly dreaming”: and they knew that the day was not far off when these little wet ships of theirs would come into their own and hold, in the bow and stern of each fragile hull, the keys of death and of hell.
grown
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Pirates, because they went about His Majesty’s business in football sweaters and grey flannel trousers tucked into their huge sea-boots, returning to harbour with a week’s growth of beard and memories of their last bath grown dim.
growth
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Pirates, because they went about His Majesty’s business in football sweaters and grey flannel trousers tucked into their huge sea-boots, returning to harbour with a week’s growth of beard and memories of their last bath grown dim.
hadauxiliary verbUS /hæd/
the past form of “have”, used to form the past perfect
From this reading The Submarine Service had no leisure for jests at that time, even if they had seen anything particularly humorous about the comparison.
harbour
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Pirates, because they went about His Majesty’s business in football sweaters and grey flannel trousers tucked into their huge sea-boots, returning to harbour with a week’s growth of beard and memories of their last bath grown dim.
hell
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading In an intensely grim and practical way they were dreamers, “greatly dreaming”: and they knew that the day was not far off when these little wet ships of theirs would come into their own and hold, in the bow and stern of each fragile hull, the keys of death and of hell.
HisdeterminerUS /hɪz/
belonging to a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned
From this reading Pirates, because they went about His Majesty’s business in football sweaters and grey flannel trousers tucked into their huge sea-boots, returning to harbour with a week’s growth of beard and memories of their last bath grown dim.
hold
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading In an intensely grim and practical way they were dreamers, “greatly dreaming”: and they knew that the day was not far off when these little wet ships of theirs would come into their own and hold, in the bow and stern of each fragile hull, the keys of death and of hell.
huge
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Pirates, because they went about His Majesty’s business in football sweaters and grey flannel trousers tucked into their huge sea-boots, returning to harbour with a week’s growth of beard and memories of their last bath grown dim.
hull
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading In an intensely grim and practical way they were dreamers, “greatly dreaming”: and they knew that the day was not far off when these little wet ships of theirs would come into their own and hold, in the bow and stern of each fragile hull, the keys of death and of hell.
humorous
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading The Submarine Service had no leisure for jests at that time, even if they had seen anything particularly humorous about the comparison.
hundred-feet
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading THE NAVY-UNDER-THE-SEA The year or so before the war found the Submarine Service still in its infancy, untried, unsung, a jest among the big-ship folk of the Navy-that-floats, who pointed with inelegant gestures from these hundred-feet cigar-shaped egg-shells to their own towering steel-shod rams and the nineteen-thousand-odd tons behind each of them.
ifconjunctionUS /ɪf/
on condition that; in the event that
From this reading The Submarine Service had no leisure for jests at that time, even if they had seen anything particularly humorous about the comparison.
inprepositionUS /ɪn/
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading THE NAVY-UNDER-THE-SEA The year or so before the war found the Submarine Service still in its infancy, untried, unsung, a jest among the big-ship folk of the Navy-that-floats, who pointed with inelegant gestures from these hundred-feet cigar-shaped egg-shells to their own towering steel-shod rams and the nineteen-thousand-odd tons behind each of them.
inelegant
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading THE NAVY-UNDER-THE-SEA The year or so before the war found the Submarine Service still in its infancy, untried, unsung, a jest among the big-ship folk of the Navy-that-floats, who pointed with inelegant gestures from these hundred-feet cigar-shaped egg-shells to their own towering steel-shod rams and the nineteen-thousand-odd tons behind each of them.
infancy
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading THE NAVY-UNDER-THE-SEA The year or so before the war found the Submarine Service still in its infancy, untried, unsung, a jest among the big-ship folk of the Navy-that-floats, who pointed with inelegant gestures from these hundred-feet cigar-shaped egg-shells to their own towering steel-shod rams and the nineteen-thousand-odd tons behind each of them.
intensely
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading In an intensely grim and practical way they were dreamers, “greatly dreaming”: and they knew that the day was not far off when these little wet ships of theirs would come into their own and hold, in the bow and stern of each fragile hull, the keys of death and of hell.
intoprepositionUS /ˈɪntuː/
moving to the inside of something
From this reading In an intensely grim and practical way they were dreamers, “greatly dreaming”: and they knew that the day was not far off when these little wet ships of theirs would come into their own and hold, in the bow and stern of each fragile hull, the keys of death and of hell.
itsdeterminerUS /ɪts/
belonging to the thing or animal already mentioned
From this reading THE NAVY-UNDER-THE-SEA The year or so before the war found the Submarine Service still in its infancy, untried, unsung, a jest among the big-ship folk of the Navy-that-floats, who pointed with inelegant gestures from these hundred-feet cigar-shaped egg-shells to their own towering steel-shod rams and the nineteen-thousand-odd tons behind each of them.
jest
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading THE NAVY-UNDER-THE-SEA The year or so before the war found the Submarine Service still in its infancy, untried, unsung, a jest among the big-ship folk of the Navy-that-floats, who pointed with inelegant gestures from these hundred-feet cigar-shaped egg-shells to their own towering steel-shod rams and the nineteen-thousand-odd tons behind each of them.
jests
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From this reading The Submarine Service had no leisure for jests at that time, even if they had seen anything particularly humorous about the comparison.
keys
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading In an intensely grim and practical way they were dreamers, “greatly dreaming”: and they knew that the day was not far off when these little wet ships of theirs would come into their own and hold, in the bow and stern of each fragile hull, the keys of death and of hell.
knew
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading In an intensely grim and practical way they were dreamers, “greatly dreaming”: and they knew that the day was not far off when these little wet ships of theirs would come into their own and hold, in the bow and stern of each fragile hull, the keys of death and of hell.
lastnounUS /last/
an important story-specific word used in this passage
From this reading Pirates, because they went about His Majesty’s business in football sweaters and grey flannel trousers tucked into their huge sea-boots, returning to harbour with a week’s growth of beard and memories of their last bath grown dim.
leisure
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading The Submarine Service had no leisure for jests at that time, even if they had seen anything particularly humorous about the comparison.
littlenounUS /little/
an important story-specific word used in this passage
From this reading In an intensely grim and practical way they were dreamers, “greatly dreaming”: and they knew that the day was not far off when these little wet ships of theirs would come into their own and hold, in the bow and stern of each fragile hull, the keys of death and of hell.
Majesty's
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Pirates, because they went about His Majesty’s business in football sweaters and grey flannel trousers tucked into their huge sea-boots, returning to harbour with a week’s growth of beard and memories of their last bath grown dim.
memoriesnounUS /ˈmɛm.ə.riz/
Recollections of past events.
From this reading Pirates, because they went about His Majesty’s business in football sweaters and grey flannel trousers tucked into their huge sea-boots, returning to harbour with a week’s growth of beard and memories of their last bath grown dim.
Navy
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading The Navy-that-Floats--the Navy of aiguillettes and “boiled shirts,” of bathrooms and Sunday-morning divisions--dubbed them pirates.
Navy-that-floats
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading THE NAVY-UNDER-THE-SEA The year or so before the war found the Submarine Service still in its infancy, untried, unsung, a jest among the big-ship folk of the Navy-that-floats, who pointed with inelegant gestures from these hundred-feet cigar-shaped egg-shells to their own towering steel-shod rams and the nineteen-thousand-odd tons behind each of them.
NAVY-UNDER-THE-SEA
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading THE NAVY-UNDER-THE-SEA The year or so before the war found the Submarine Service still in its infancy, untried, unsung, a jest among the big-ship folk of the Navy-that-floats, who pointed with inelegant gestures from these hundred-feet cigar-shaped egg-shells to their own towering steel-shod rams and the nineteen-thousand-odd tons behind each of them.
nineteen-thousand-odd
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading THE NAVY-UNDER-THE-SEA The year or so before the war found the Submarine Service still in its infancy, untried, unsung, a jest among the big-ship folk of the Navy-that-floats, who pointed with inelegant gestures from these hundred-feet cigar-shaped egg-shells to their own towering steel-shod rams and the nineteen-thousand-odd tons behind each of them.
nodeterminerUS /noʊ/
not any; not one
From this reading The Submarine Service had no leisure for jests at that time, even if they had seen anything particularly humorous about the comparison.
notadverbUS /nɑːt/
used to make a word, phrase, or sentence negative
From this reading In an intensely grim and practical way they were dreamers, “greatly dreaming”: and they knew that the day was not far off when these little wet ships of theirs would come into their own and hold, in the bow and stern of each fragile hull, the keys of death and of hell.
ofprepositionUS /ʌv/
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading THE NAVY-UNDER-THE-SEA The year or so before the war found the Submarine Service still in its infancy, untried, unsung, a jest among the big-ship folk of the Navy-that-floats, who pointed with inelegant gestures from these hundred-feet cigar-shaped egg-shells to their own towering steel-shod rams and the nineteen-thousand-odd tons behind each of them.
off
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading In an intensely grim and practical way they were dreamers, “greatly dreaming”: and they knew that the day was not far off when these little wet ships of theirs would come into their own and hold, in the bow and stern of each fragile hull, the keys of death and of hell.
orconjunctionUS /ɔːr/
used to join alternatives or possibilities
From this reading THE NAVY-UNDER-THE-SEA The year or so before the war found the Submarine Service still in its infancy, untried, unsung, a jest among the big-ship folk of the Navy-that-floats, who pointed with inelegant gestures from these hundred-feet cigar-shaped egg-shells to their own towering steel-shod rams and the nineteen-thousand-odd tons behind each of them.
own
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading THE NAVY-UNDER-THE-SEA The year or so before the war found the Submarine Service still in its infancy, untried, unsung, a jest among the big-ship folk of the Navy-that-floats, who pointed with inelegant gestures from these hundred-feet cigar-shaped egg-shells to their own towering steel-shod rams and the nineteen-thousand-odd tons behind each of them.
particularly
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading The Submarine Service had no leisure for jests at that time, even if they had seen anything particularly humorous about the comparison.
piratesnounUS /ˈpirates/
a story-specific word describing an important person, object, action, or idea in this passage
From this reading The Navy-that-Floats--the Navy of aiguillettes and “boiled shirts,” of bathrooms and Sunday-morning divisions--dubbed them pirates.
pointed
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From this reading THE NAVY-UNDER-THE-SEA The year or so before the war found the Submarine Service still in its infancy, untried, unsung, a jest among the big-ship folk of the Navy-that-floats, who pointed with inelegant gestures from these hundred-feet cigar-shaped egg-shells to their own towering steel-shod rams and the nineteen-thousand-odd tons behind each of them.
practical
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading In an intensely grim and practical way they were dreamers, “greatly dreaming”: and they knew that the day was not far off when these little wet ships of theirs would come into their own and hold, in the bow and stern of each fragile hull, the keys of death and of hell.
rams
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading THE NAVY-UNDER-THE-SEA The year or so before the war found the Submarine Service still in its infancy, untried, unsung, a jest among the big-ship folk of the Navy-that-floats, who pointed with inelegant gestures from these hundred-feet cigar-shaped egg-shells to their own towering steel-shod rams and the nineteen-thousand-odd tons behind each of them.
returning
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Pirates, because they went about His Majesty’s business in football sweaters and grey flannel trousers tucked into their huge sea-boots, returning to harbour with a week’s growth of beard and memories of their last bath grown dim.
sea-boots
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Pirates, because they went about His Majesty’s business in football sweaters and grey flannel trousers tucked into their huge sea-boots, returning to harbour with a week’s growth of beard and memories of their last bath grown dim.
seen
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading The Submarine Service had no leisure for jests at that time, even if they had seen anything particularly humorous about the comparison.
Service
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading THE NAVY-UNDER-THE-SEA The year or so before the war found the Submarine Service still in its infancy, untried, unsung, a jest among the big-ship folk of the Navy-that-floats, who pointed with inelegant gestures from these hundred-feet cigar-shaped egg-shells to their own towering steel-shod rams and the nineteen-thousand-odd tons behind each of them.
ships
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading In an intensely grim and practical way they were dreamers, “greatly dreaming”: and they knew that the day was not far off when these little wet ships of theirs would come into their own and hold, in the bow and stern of each fragile hull, the keys of death and of hell.
shirts
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading The Navy-that-Floats--the Navy of aiguillettes and “boiled shirts,” of bathrooms and Sunday-morning divisions--dubbed them pirates.
soconjunctionUS /soʊ/
for that reason; with the result that
From this reading THE NAVY-UNDER-THE-SEA The year or so before the war found the Submarine Service still in its infancy, untried, unsung, a jest among the big-ship folk of the Navy-that-floats, who pointed with inelegant gestures from these hundred-feet cigar-shaped egg-shells to their own towering steel-shod rams and the nineteen-thousand-odd tons behind each of them.
steel-shod
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading THE NAVY-UNDER-THE-SEA The year or so before the war found the Submarine Service still in its infancy, untried, unsung, a jest among the big-ship folk of the Navy-that-floats, who pointed with inelegant gestures from these hundred-feet cigar-shaped egg-shells to their own towering steel-shod rams and the nineteen-thousand-odd tons behind each of them.
stern
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading In an intensely grim and practical way they were dreamers, “greatly dreaming”: and they knew that the day was not far off when these little wet ships of theirs would come into their own and hold, in the bow and stern of each fragile hull, the keys of death and of hell.
stillnounUS /still/
an important story-specific word used in this passage
From this reading THE NAVY-UNDER-THE-SEA The year or so before the war found the Submarine Service still in its infancy, untried, unsung, a jest among the big-ship folk of the Navy-that-floats, who pointed with inelegant gestures from these hundred-feet cigar-shaped egg-shells to their own towering steel-shod rams and the nineteen-thousand-odd tons behind each of them.
Submarine
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading THE NAVY-UNDER-THE-SEA The year or so before the war found the Submarine Service still in its infancy, untried, unsung, a jest among the big-ship folk of the Navy-that-floats, who pointed with inelegant gestures from these hundred-feet cigar-shaped egg-shells to their own towering steel-shod rams and the nineteen-thousand-odd tons behind each of them.
Sunday-morning
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading The Navy-that-Floats--the Navy of aiguillettes and “boiled shirts,” of bathrooms and Sunday-morning divisions--dubbed them pirates.
sweaters
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Pirates, because they went about His Majesty’s business in football sweaters and grey flannel trousers tucked into their huge sea-boots, returning to harbour with a week’s growth of beard and memories of their last bath grown dim.
thatconjunctionUS /ðæt/
used to introduce what somebody said, thought, or felt
From this reading The Submarine Service had no leisure for jests at that time, even if they had seen anything particularly humorous about the comparison.
THEdeterminerUS /ðə/
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading THE NAVY-UNDER-THE-SEA The year or so before the war found the Submarine Service still in its infancy, untried, unsung, a jest among the big-ship folk of the Navy-that-floats, who pointed with inelegant gestures from these hundred-feet cigar-shaped egg-shells to their own towering steel-shod rams and the nineteen-thousand-odd tons behind each of them.
theirdeterminerUS /ðer/
belonging to the people or things already mentioned
From this reading THE NAVY-UNDER-THE-SEA The year or so before the war found the Submarine Service still in its infancy, untried, unsung, a jest among the big-ship folk of the Navy-that-floats, who pointed with inelegant gestures from these hundred-feet cigar-shaped egg-shells to their own towering steel-shod rams and the nineteen-thousand-odd tons behind each of them.
theirspronounUS /ðerz/
the one or ones belonging to them
From this reading In an intensely grim and practical way they were dreamers, “greatly dreaming”: and they knew that the day was not far off when these little wet ships of theirs would come into their own and hold, in the bow and stern of each fragile hull, the keys of death and of hell.
thempronounUS /ðem/
the people or things already mentioned, as the object
From this reading THE NAVY-UNDER-THE-SEA The year or so before the war found the Submarine Service still in its infancy, untried, unsung, a jest among the big-ship folk of the Navy-that-floats, who pointed with inelegant gestures from these hundred-feet cigar-shaped egg-shells to their own towering steel-shod rams and the nineteen-thousand-odd tons behind each of them.
thesedeterminerUS /ðiːz/
the plural of “this”: the people or things near, or just mentioned
From this reading THE NAVY-UNDER-THE-SEA The year or so before the war found the Submarine Service still in its infancy, untried, unsung, a jest among the big-ship folk of the Navy-that-floats, who pointed with inelegant gestures from these hundred-feet cigar-shaped egg-shells to their own towering steel-shod rams and the nineteen-thousand-odd tons behind each of them.
theypronounUS /ðeɪ/
the people, animals, or things already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading The Submarine Service had no leisure for jests at that time, even if they had seen anything particularly humorous about the comparison.
timenounUS /time/
an important story-specific word used in this passage
From this reading The Submarine Service had no leisure for jests at that time, even if they had seen anything particularly humorous about the comparison.
toparticleUS /tuː/
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading THE NAVY-UNDER-THE-SEA The year or so before the war found the Submarine Service still in its infancy, untried, unsung, a jest among the big-ship folk of the Navy-that-floats, who pointed with inelegant gestures from these hundred-feet cigar-shaped egg-shells to their own towering steel-shod rams and the nineteen-thousand-odd tons behind each of them.
tons
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading THE NAVY-UNDER-THE-SEA The year or so before the war found the Submarine Service still in its infancy, untried, unsung, a jest among the big-ship folk of the Navy-that-floats, who pointed with inelegant gestures from these hundred-feet cigar-shaped egg-shells to their own towering steel-shod rams and the nineteen-thousand-odd tons behind each of them.
towering
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading THE NAVY-UNDER-THE-SEA The year or so before the war found the Submarine Service still in its infancy, untried, unsung, a jest among the big-ship folk of the Navy-that-floats, who pointed with inelegant gestures from these hundred-feet cigar-shaped egg-shells to their own towering steel-shod rams and the nineteen-thousand-odd tons behind each of them.
trousers
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Pirates, because they went about His Majesty’s business in football sweaters and grey flannel trousers tucked into their huge sea-boots, returning to harbour with a week’s growth of beard and memories of their last bath grown dim.
tucked
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Pirates, because they went about His Majesty’s business in football sweaters and grey flannel trousers tucked into their huge sea-boots, returning to harbour with a week’s growth of beard and memories of their last bath grown dim.
unsung
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading THE NAVY-UNDER-THE-SEA The year or so before the war found the Submarine Service still in its infancy, untried, unsung, a jest among the big-ship folk of the Navy-that-floats, who pointed with inelegant gestures from these hundred-feet cigar-shaped egg-shells to their own towering steel-shod rams and the nineteen-thousand-odd tons behind each of them.
untried
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading THE NAVY-UNDER-THE-SEA The year or so before the war found the Submarine Service still in its infancy, untried, unsung, a jest among the big-ship folk of the Navy-that-floats, who pointed with inelegant gestures from these hundred-feet cigar-shaped egg-shells to their own towering steel-shod rams and the nineteen-thousand-odd tons behind each of them.
war
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading THE NAVY-UNDER-THE-SEA The year or so before the war found the Submarine Service still in its infancy, untried, unsung, a jest among the big-ship folk of the Navy-that-floats, who pointed with inelegant gestures from these hundred-feet cigar-shaped egg-shells to their own towering steel-shod rams and the nineteen-thousand-odd tons behind each of them.
wasauxiliary verbUS /wɑːz/
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading In an intensely grim and practical way they were dreamers, “greatly dreaming”: and they knew that the day was not far off when these little wet ships of theirs would come into their own and hold, in the bow and stern of each fragile hull, the keys of death and of hell.
way
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading In an intensely grim and practical way they were dreamers, “greatly dreaming”: and they knew that the day was not far off when these little wet ships of theirs would come into their own and hold, in the bow and stern of each fragile hull, the keys of death and of hell.
week's
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Pirates, because they went about His Majesty’s business in football sweaters and grey flannel trousers tucked into their huge sea-boots, returning to harbour with a week’s growth of beard and memories of their last bath grown dim.
wentnounUS /went/
an important story-specific word used in this passage
From this reading Pirates, because they went about His Majesty’s business in football sweaters and grey flannel trousers tucked into their huge sea-boots, returning to harbour with a week’s growth of beard and memories of their last bath grown dim.
wereauxiliary verbUS /wɜːr/
the past form of “be” used with you, we, they, or a plural noun
From this reading In an intensely grim and practical way they were dreamers, “greatly dreaming”: and they knew that the day was not far off when these little wet ships of theirs would come into their own and hold, in the bow and stern of each fragile hull, the keys of death and of hell.
wet
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading In an intensely grim and practical way they were dreamers, “greatly dreaming”: and they knew that the day was not far off when these little wet ships of theirs would come into their own and hold, in the bow and stern of each fragile hull, the keys of death and of hell.
whenconjunctionUS /wen/
at the time that
From this reading In an intensely grim and practical way they were dreamers, “greatly dreaming”: and they knew that the day was not far off when these little wet ships of theirs would come into their own and hold, in the bow and stern of each fragile hull, the keys of death and of hell.
whopronounUS /huː/
which person or people
From this reading THE NAVY-UNDER-THE-SEA The year or so before the war found the Submarine Service still in its infancy, untried, unsung, a jest among the big-ship folk of the Navy-that-floats, who pointed with inelegant gestures from these hundred-feet cigar-shaped egg-shells to their own towering steel-shod rams and the nineteen-thousand-odd tons behind each of them.
withprepositionUS /wɪð/
in the company of; together with
From this reading THE NAVY-UNDER-THE-SEA The year or so before the war found the Submarine Service still in its infancy, untried, unsung, a jest among the big-ship folk of the Navy-that-floats, who pointed with inelegant gestures from these hundred-feet cigar-shaped egg-shells to their own towering steel-shod rams and the nineteen-thousand-odd tons behind each of them.
wouldmodal verbUS /wʊd/
used for something imagined, polite, or habitual in the past
From this reading In an intensely grim and practical way they were dreamers, “greatly dreaming”: and they knew that the day was not far off when these little wet ships of theirs would come into their own and hold, in the bow and stern of each fragile hull, the keys of death and of hell.
year
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading THE NAVY-UNDER-THE-SEA The year or so before the war found the Submarine Service still in its infancy, untried, unsung, a jest among the big-ship folk of the Navy-that-floats, who pointed with inelegant gestures from these hundred-feet cigar-shaped egg-shells to their own towering steel-shod rams and the nineteen-thousand-odd tons behind each of them.
