used before a singular noun to mean one of a group, when it is not a particular one
From this reading “The skipper thought he could fight it (Here Mr. Brown nodded knowingly to Jack as if to say, “I told you so”), and we battled with it for a long time.
aboutprepositionUS /əˈbaʊt/
on the subject of; concerning
From this reading “Well, it all came about so blessed quickly that I doubt if anyone knows just what the start of it was,” came the reply.
(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 “Well, it all came about so blessed quickly that I doubt if anyone knows just what the start of it was,” came the reply.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading “The skipper thought he could fight it (Here Mr. Brown nodded knowingly to Jack as if to say, “I told you so”), and we battled with it for a long time.
any person at all
From this reading “Well, it all came about so blessed quickly that I doubt if anyone knows just what the start of it was,” came the reply.
at the same time that; because; in the way that
From this reading “How did the fire happen?” asked Mr. Brown of the wireless man of the _Halcyon_ as they rowed back to the ship, for the wind had now entirely dropped.
past form of “ask” — make a request or demand for something to somebody
From this reading “How did the fire happen?” asked Mr. Brown of the wireless man of the _Halcyon_ as they rowed back to the ship, for the wind had now entirely dropped.
in or to or toward a former location
From this reading “How did the fire happen?” asked Mr. Brown of the wireless man of the _Halcyon_ as they rowed back to the ship, for the wind had now entirely dropped.
battledverbUS /ˈbætəld/
past form of “battle” — battle or contend against in or as if in a battle
From this reading “The skipper thought he could fight it (Here Mr. Brown nodded knowingly to Jack as if to say, “I told you so”), and we battled with it for a long time.
highly favored or fortunate (as e.g. by divine grace)
From this reading “Well, it all came about so blessed quickly that I doubt if anyone knows just what the start of it was,” came the reply.
an orange of low brightness and saturation
From this reading “How did the fire happen?” asked Mr. Brown of the wireless man of the _Halcyon_ as they rowed back to the ship, for the wind had now entirely dropped.
inflected form of “come” — move toward, travel toward something or somebody or approach something or somebody
From this reading “Well, it all came about so blessed quickly that I doubt if anyone knows just what the start of it was,” came the reply.
the past of “can”; used for possibility or polite requests
From this reading “The skipper thought he could fight it (Here Mr. Brown nodded knowingly to Jack as if to say, “I told you so”), and we battled with it for a long time.
didauxiliary verbUS /dɪd/
the past form of “do”, used in questions and negatives
From this reading “How did the fire happen?” asked Mr. Brown of the wireless man of the _Halcyon_ as they rowed back to the ship, for the wind had now entirely dropped.
the state of being unsure of something
From this reading “Well, it all came about so blessed quickly that I doubt if anyone knows just what the start of it was,” came the reply.
inflected form of “drop” — let fall to the ground
From this reading “How did the fire happen?” asked Mr. Brown of the wireless man of the _Halcyon_ as they rowed back to the ship, for the wind had now entirely dropped.
to a complete degree or to the full or entire extent (“whole” is often used informally for “wholly”)
From this reading “How did the fire happen?” asked Mr. Brown of the wireless man of the _Halcyon_ as they rowed back to the ship, for the wind had now entirely dropped.
be engaged in a fight; carry on a fight
From this reading “The skipper thought he could fight it (Here Mr. Brown nodded knowingly to Jack as if to say, “I told you so”), and we battled with it for a long time.
start firing a weapon
From this reading “How did the fire happen?” asked Mr. Brown of the wireless man of the _Halcyon_ as they rowed back to the ship, for the wind had now entirely dropped.
intended to be given to, or used by, somebody
From this reading “How did the fire happen?” asked Mr. Brown of the wireless man of the _Halcyon_ as they rowed back to the ship, for the wind had now entirely dropped.
hadauxiliary verbUS /hæd/
the past form of “have”, used to form the past perfect
From this reading “How did the fire happen?” asked Mr. Brown of the wireless man of the _Halcyon_ as they rowed back to the ship, for the wind had now entirely dropped.
HalcyonnounUS /ˈhælsiən/
(Greek mythology) a woman who was turned into a kingfisher
From this reading “How did the fire happen?” asked Mr. Brown of the wireless man of the _Halcyon_ as they rowed back to the ship, for the wind had now entirely dropped.
come to pass
From this reading “How did the fire happen?” asked Mr. Brown of the wireless man of the _Halcyon_ as they rowed back to the ship, for the wind had now entirely dropped.
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading “The skipper thought he could fight it (Here Mr. Brown nodded knowingly to Jack as if to say, “I told you so”), and we battled with it for a long time.
in or at this place; where the speaker or writer is
From this reading “The skipper thought he could fight it (Here Mr. Brown nodded knowingly to Jack as if to say, “I told you so”), and we battled with it for a long time.
How
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading “How did the fire happen?” asked Mr. Brown of the wireless man of the _Halcyon_ as they rowed back to the ship, for the wind had now entirely dropped.
the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb
From this reading “Well, it all came about so blessed quickly that I doubt if anyone knows just what the start of it was,” came the reply.
on condition that; in the event that
From this reading “Well, it all came about so blessed quickly that I doubt if anyone knows just what the start of it was,” came the reply.
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading “Well, it all came about so blessed quickly that I doubt if anyone knows just what the start of it was,” came the reply.
a small worthless amount
From this reading “The skipper thought he could fight it (Here Mr. Brown nodded knowingly to Jack as if to say, “I told you so”), and we battled with it for a long time.
JUKESnounUS /dʒuːks/
plural of “juke” — a small roadside establishment in the southeastern United States where you can eat and drink and dance to music provided by a jukebox
From this reading JUKES.
and nothing more
From this reading “Well, it all came about so blessed quickly that I doubt if anyone knows just what the start of it was,” came the reply.
knowinglyadverbUS /ˈnoʊɪŋli/
with full knowledge and deliberation
From this reading “The skipper thought he could fight it (Here Mr. Brown nodded knowingly to Jack as if to say, “I told you so”), and we battled with it for a long time.
plural of “know” — the fact of being aware of information that is known to few people
From this reading “Well, it all came about so blessed quickly that I doubt if anyone knows just what the start of it was,” came the reply.
primarily temporal sense; being or indicating a relatively great or greater than average duration or passage of time or a duration as specified
From this reading “The skipper thought he could fight it (Here Mr. Brown nodded knowingly to Jack as if to say, “I told you so”), and we battled with it for a long time.
an adult person who is male (as opposed to a woman)
From this reading “How did the fire happen?” asked Mr. Brown of the wireless man of the _Halcyon_ as they rowed back to the ship, for the wind had now entirely dropped.
a form of address for a man
From this reading THE RESCUE OF MR.
inflected form of “nod” — express or signify by nodding
From this reading “The skipper thought he could fight it (Here Mr. Brown nodded knowingly to Jack as if to say, “I told you so”), and we battled with it for a long time.
in the historical present; at this point in the narration of a series of past events
From this reading “How did the fire happen?” asked Mr. Brown of the wireless man of the _Halcyon_ as they rowed back to the ship, for the wind had now entirely dropped.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading THE RESCUE OF MR.
with speed
From this reading “Well, it all came about so blessed quickly that I doubt if anyone knows just what the start of it was,” came the reply.
a statement (either spoken or written) that is made to reply to a question or request or criticism or accusation
From this reading “Well, it all came about so blessed quickly that I doubt if anyone knows just what the start of it was,” came the reply.
free from harm or evil
From this reading THE RESCUE OF MR.
rowedverbUS /roʊd/
past form of “row” — propel with oars
From this reading “How did the fire happen?” asked Mr. Brown of the wireless man of the _Halcyon_ as they rowed back to the ship, for the wind had now entirely dropped.
express in words
From this reading “The skipper thought he could fight it (Here Mr. Brown nodded knowingly to Jack as if to say, “I told you so”), and we battled with it for a long time.
transport commercially
From this reading “How did the fire happen?” asked Mr. Brown of the wireless man of the _Halcyon_ as they rowed back to the ship, for the wind had now entirely dropped.
skippernounUS /ˈskɪpər/
a student who fails to attend classes
From this reading “The skipper thought he could fight it (Here Mr. Brown nodded knowingly to Jack as if to say, “I told you so”), and we battled with it for a long time.
for that reason; with the result that
From this reading “Well, it all came about so blessed quickly that I doubt if anyone knows just what the start of it was,” came the reply.
take the first step or steps in carrying out an action
From this reading “Well, it all came about so blessed quickly that I doubt if anyone knows just what the start of it was,” came the reply.
used to introduce what somebody said, thought, or felt
From this reading “Well, it all came about so blessed quickly that I doubt if anyone knows just what the start of it was,” came the reply.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading THE RESCUE OF MR.
the people, animals, or things already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading “How did the fire happen?” asked Mr. Brown of the wireless man of the _Halcyon_ as they rowed back to the ship, for the wind had now entirely dropped.
the content of cognition; the main thing you are thinking about
From this reading “The skipper thought he could fight it (Here Mr. Brown nodded knowingly to Jack as if to say, “I told you so”), and we battled with it for a long time.
an instance or single occasion for some event
From this reading “The skipper thought he could fight it (Here Mr. Brown nodded knowingly to Jack as if to say, “I told you so”), and we battled with it for a long time.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading “How did the fire happen?” asked Mr. Brown of the wireless man of the _Halcyon_ as they rowed back to the ship, for the wind had now entirely dropped.
inflected form of “tell” — express in words
From this reading “The skipper thought he could fight it (Here Mr. Brown nodded knowingly to Jack as if to say, “I told you so”), and we battled with it for a long time.
wasauxiliary verbUS /wɑːz/
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading “Well, it all came about so blessed quickly that I doubt if anyone knows just what the start of it was,” came the reply.
the speaker together with one or more other people
From this reading “The skipper thought he could fight it (Here Mr. Brown nodded knowingly to Jack as if to say, “I told you so”), and we battled with it for a long time.
(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 “Well, it all came about so blessed quickly that I doubt if anyone knows just what the start of it was,” came the reply.
used to ask for information about something
From this reading “Well, it all came about so blessed quickly that I doubt if anyone knows just what the start of it was,” came the reply.
air moving (sometimes with considerable force) from an area of high pressure to an area of low pressure
From this reading “How did the fire happen?” asked Mr. Brown of the wireless man of the _Halcyon_ as they rowed back to the ship, for the wind had now entirely dropped.
wirelessnounUS /ˈwaɪrlɪs/
medium for communication
From this reading “How did the fire happen?” asked Mr. Brown of the wireless man of the _Halcyon_ as they rowed back to the ship, for the wind had now entirely dropped.
in the company of; together with
From this reading “The skipper thought he could fight it (Here Mr. Brown nodded knowingly to Jack as if to say, “I told you so”), and we battled with it for a long time.
the person or people being spoken to
From this reading “The skipper thought he could fight it (Here Mr. Brown nodded knowingly to Jack as if to say, “I told you so”), and we battled with it for a long time.
