used before a singular noun to mean one of a group, when it is not a particular one
From this reading She heard the seekers laughing down among the ruins some distance away as she did so, and for a few seconds she thought she might escape to the house unobserved.
amongprepositionUS /əˈmʌŋ/
surrounded by; in the middle of a group
From this reading The water was barely up to her knees, but she stumbled among slippery stones as she fled round the corner of the boat-house, and twice she nearly fell.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading The water was barely up to her knees, but she stumbled among slippery stones as she fled round the corner of the boat-house, and twice she nearly fell.
at the same time that; because; in the way that
From this reading The water was barely up to her knees, but she stumbled among slippery stones as she fled round the corner of the boat-house, and twice she nearly fell.
in or near a particular place or position
From this reading She was drenched nearly to the waist when at last she climbed up the grassy slope.
from a particular thing or place or position (“forth” is obsolete)
From this reading She heard the seekers laughing down among the ruins some distance away as she did so, and for a few seconds she thought she might escape to the house unobserved.
sloping land (especially the slope beside a body of water)
From this reading There were reeds growing by the bank; she struggled through them, frantically fighting her way.
barelyadverbUS /ˈberli/
only a very short time before
From this reading The water was barely up to her knees, but she stumbled among slippery stones as she fled round the corner of the boat-house, and twice she nearly fell.
boat-house
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading The water was barely up to her knees, but she stumbled among slippery stones as she fled round the corner of the boat-house, and twice she nearly fell.
used to introduce something that contrasts with what came before
From this reading The water was barely up to her knees, but she stumbled among slippery stones as she fled round the corner of the boat-house, and twice she nearly fell.
showing who or what does the action
From this reading There were reeds growing by the bank; she struggled through them, frantically fighting her way.
past form of “climb” — go upward with gradual or continuous progress
From this reading She was drenched nearly to the waist when at last she climbed up the grassy slope.
clingingverbUS /ˈklɪŋɪŋ/
-ing form of “cling” — come or be in close contact with; stick or hold together and resist separation
From this reading She turned in that direction, her wet skirts clinging round her.
a place off to the side of an area
From this reading The water was barely up to her knees, but she stumbled among slippery stones as she fled round the corner of the boat-house, and twice she nearly fell.
didauxiliary verbUS /dɪd/
the past form of “do”, used in questions and negatives
From this reading She heard the seekers laughing down among the ruins some distance away as she did so, and for a few seconds she thought she might escape to the house unobserved.
a line leading to a place or point
From this reading She turned in that direction, her wet skirts clinging round her.
the property created by the space between two objects or points
From this reading She heard the seekers laughing down among the ruins some distance away as she did so, and for a few seconds she thought she might escape to the house unobserved.
being or moving lower in position or less in some value
From this reading She heard the seekers laughing down among the ruins some distance away as she did so, and for a few seconds she thought she might escape to the house unobserved.
drenchedadjectiveUS /drentʃt/
abundantly covered or supplied with; often used in combination
From this reading She was drenched nearly to the waist when at last she climbed up the grassy slope.
the act of escaping physically
From this reading She heard the seekers laughing down among the ruins some distance away as she did so, and for a few seconds she thought she might escape to the house unobserved.
cause to fall by or as if by delivering a blow
From this reading The water was barely up to her knees, but she stumbled among slippery stones as she fled round the corner of the boat-house, and twice she nearly fell.
a quantifier that can be used with count nouns and is often preceded by “a”; a small but indefinite number
From this reading She heard the seekers laughing down among the ruins some distance away as she did so, and for a few seconds she thought she might escape to the house unobserved.
the act of fighting; any contest or struggle
From this reading There were reeds growing by the bank; she struggled through them, frantically fighting her way.
inflected form of “flee” — run away quickly
From this reading The water was barely up to her knees, but she stumbled among slippery stones as she fled round the corner of the boat-house, and twice she nearly fell.
intended to be given to, or used by, somebody
From this reading She heard the seekers laughing down among the ruins some distance away as she did so, and for a few seconds she thought she might escape to the house unobserved.
franticallyadverbUS /ˈfræntəkəli/
in an uncontrolled manner
From this reading There were reeds growing by the bank; she struggled through them, frantically fighting her way.
grassyadjectiveUS /ˈɡræsi/
abounding in grass
From this reading She was drenched nearly to the waist when at last she climbed up the grassy slope.
(biology) the process of an individual organism growing organically; a purely biological unfolding of events involved in an organism changing gradually from a simple to a more complex level
From this reading There were reeds growing by the bank; she struggled through them, frantically fighting her way.
detected or perceived by the sense of hearing
From this reading She heard the seekers laughing down among the ruins some distance away as she did so, and for a few seconds she thought she might escape to the house unobserved.
belonging to a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned
From this reading The water was barely up to her knees, but she stumbled among slippery stones as she fled round the corner of the boat-house, and twice she nearly fell.
a dwelling that serves as living quarters for one or more families
From this reading She heard the seekers laughing down among the ruins some distance away as she did so, and for a few seconds she thought she might escape to the house unobserved.
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading She turned in that direction, her wet skirts clinging round her.
plural of “knee” — hinge joint in the human leg connecting the tibia and fibula with the femur and protected in front by the patella
From this reading The water was barely up to her knees, but she stumbled among slippery stones as she fled round the corner of the boat-house, and twice she nearly fell.
immediately past
From this reading She was drenched nearly to the waist when at last she climbed up the grassy slope.
showing or feeling mirth or pleasure or happiness
From this reading She heard the seekers laughing down among the ruins some distance away as she did so, and for a few seconds she thought she might escape to the house unobserved.
used to say something is possible but not certain
From this reading She heard the seekers laughing down among the ruins some distance away as she did so, and for a few seconds she thought she might escape to the house unobserved.
(of actions or states) slightly short of or not quite accomplished; all but
From this reading The water was barely up to her knees, but she stumbled among slippery stones as she fled round the corner of the boat-house, and twice she nearly fell.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading The water was barely up to her knees, but she stumbled among slippery stones as she fled round the corner of the boat-house, and twice she nearly fell.
reedsnounUS /riːdz/
plural of “reed” — tall woody perennial grasses with hollow slender stems especially of the genera Arundo and Phragmites
From this reading There were reeds growing by the bank; she struggled through them, frantically fighting her way.
a charge of ammunition for a single shot
From this reading The water was barely up to her knees, but she stumbled among slippery stones as she fled round the corner of the boat-house, and twice she nearly fell.
ruinsnounUS /ˈruːənz/
plural of “ruin” — an irrecoverable state of devastation and destruction
From this reading She heard the seekers laughing down among the ruins some distance away as she did so, and for a few seconds she thought she might escape to the house unobserved.
secondsnounUS /ˈsekəndz/
plural of “second” — 1/60 of a minute; the basic unit of time adopted under the Systeme International d'Unites
From this reading She heard the seekers laughing down among the ruins some distance away as she did so, and for a few seconds she thought she might escape to the house unobserved.
seekersnounUS /ˈsiːkərz/
plural of “seeker” — someone making a search or inquiry
From this reading She heard the seekers laughing down among the ruins some distance away as she did so, and for a few seconds she thought she might escape to the house unobserved.
a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading The water was barely up to her knees, but she stumbled among slippery stones as she fled round the corner of the boat-house, and twice she nearly fell.
skirtsnounUS /skɜːrts/
plural of “skirt” — cloth covering that forms the part of a garment below the waist
From this reading She turned in that direction, her wet skirts clinging round her.
slipperyadjectiveUS /ˈslɪpəri/
causing or tending to cause things to slip or slide
From this reading The water was barely up to her knees, but she stumbled among slippery stones as she fled round the corner of the boat-house, and twice she nearly fell.
an elevated geological formation
From this reading She was drenched nearly to the waist when at last she climbed up the grassy slope.
for that reason; with the result that
From this reading She heard the seekers laughing down among the ruins some distance away as she did so, and for a few seconds she thought she might escape to the house unobserved.
(quantifier) used with either mass nouns or plural count nouns to indicate an unspecified number or quantity
From this reading She heard the seekers laughing down among the ruins some distance away as she did so, and for a few seconds she thought she might escape to the house unobserved.
plural of “stone” — a lump or mass of hard consolidated mineral matter
From this reading The water was barely up to her knees, but she stumbled among slippery stones as she fled round the corner of the boat-house, and twice she nearly fell.
struggledverbUS /ˈstrʌɡəld/
past form of “struggle” — make a strenuous or labored effort
From this reading There were reeds growing by the bank; she struggled through them, frantically fighting her way.
stumbledverbUS /ˈstʌmbəld/
past form of “stumble” — walk unsteadily
From this reading The water was barely up to her knees, but she stumbled among slippery stones as she fled round the corner of the boat-house, and twice she nearly fell.
used to introduce what somebody said, thought, or felt
From this reading She turned in that direction, her wet skirts clinging round her.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading The water was barely up to her knees, but she stumbled among slippery stones as she fled round the corner of the boat-house, and twice she nearly fell.
the people or things already mentioned, as the object
From this reading There were reeds growing by the bank; she struggled through them, frantically fighting her way.
in or at that place or location
From this reading There were reeds growing by the bank; she struggled through them, frantically fighting her way.
the content of cognition; the main thing you are thinking about
From this reading She heard the seekers laughing down among the ruins some distance away as she did so, and for a few seconds she thought she might escape to the house unobserved.
from one end or side of something to the other
From this reading There were reeds growing by the bank; she struggled through them, frantically fighting her way.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading The water was barely up to her knees, but she stumbled among slippery stones as she fled round the corner of the boat-house, and twice she nearly fell.
moved around an axis or center
From this reading She turned in that direction, her wet skirts clinging round her.
two times
From this reading The water was barely up to her knees, but she stumbled among slippery stones as she fled round the corner of the boat-house, and twice she nearly fell.
unobservedadjective
not seen or observed
From this reading She heard the seekers laughing down among the ruins some distance away as she did so, and for a few seconds she thought she might escape to the house unobserved.
being or moving higher in position or greater in some value; being above a former position or level
From this reading The water was barely up to her knees, but she stumbled among slippery stones as she fled round the corner of the boat-house, and twice she nearly fell.
the narrowing of the body between the ribs and hips
From this reading She was drenched nearly to the waist when at last she climbed up the grassy slope.
wasauxiliary verbUS /wɑːz/
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading The water was barely up to her knees, but she stumbled among slippery stones as she fled round the corner of the boat-house, and twice she nearly fell.
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 The water was barely up to her knees, but she stumbled among slippery stones as she fled round the corner of the boat-house, and twice she nearly fell.
how something is done or how it happens
From this reading There were reeds growing by the bank; she struggled through them, frantically fighting her way.
wereauxiliary verbUS /wɜːr/
the past form of “be” used with you, we, they, or a plural noun
From this reading There were reeds growing by the bank; she struggled through them, frantically fighting her way.
covered or soaked with a liquid such as water
From this reading She turned in that direction, her wet skirts clinging round her.
at the time that
From this reading She was drenched nearly to the waist when at last she climbed up the grassy slope.
