used before a singular noun to mean one of a group, when it is not a particular one
From this reading She was a tall, rather thin woman of about fifty; Irish by the look of her, and still with some share of earlier good looks.
aboutprepositionUS /əˈbaʊt/
on the subject of; concerning
From this reading She was a tall, rather thin woman of about fifty; Irish by the look of her, and still with some share of earlier good looks.
touching and pressing; in opposition to
From this reading She had fallen away from the door with her knees pressed closely against it, as though she had been trying to open it when the blow came.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading She was a tall, rather thin woman of about fifty; Irish by the look of her, and still with some share of earlier good looks.
at the same time that; because; in the way that
From this reading She had fallen away from the door with her knees pressed closely against it, as though she had been trying to open it when the blow came.
from a particular thing or place or position (“forth” is obsolete)
From this reading The hair that fell away loosely from her broad forehead was black and straight, showing only here and there a thread of silver.
beenauxiliary verbUS /bɪn/
the past participle of “be”
From this reading She had fallen away from the door with her knees pressed closely against it, as though she had been trying to open it when the blow came.
being of the achromatic color of maximum darkness; having little or no hue owing to absorption of almost all incident light
From this reading The hair that fell away loosely from her broad forehead was black and straight, showing only here and there a thread of silver.
exhale hard
From this reading She had fallen away from the door with her knees pressed closely against it, as though she had been trying to open it when the blow came.
having great (or a certain) extent from one side to the other
From this reading The hair that fell away loosely from her broad forehead was black and straight, showing only here and there a thread of silver.
showing who or what does the action
From this reading She was a tall, rather thin woman of about fifty; Irish by the look of her, and still with some share of earlier good looks.
inflected form of “come” — move toward, travel toward something or somebody or approach something or somebody
From this reading She had fallen away from the door with her knees pressed closely against it, as though she had been trying to open it when the blow came.
in a close relation or position in time or space
From this reading She had fallen away from the door with her knees pressed closely against it, as though she had been trying to open it when the blow came.
deathlyadjectiveUS /ˈdeθli/
having the physical appearance of death
From this reading The large hands lay limply open, and the face was deathly white.
a swinging or sliding barrier that will close the entrance to a room or building or vehicle
From this reading She had fallen away from the door with her knees pressed closely against it, as though she had been trying to open it when the blow came.
being or moving lower in position or less in some value
From this reading HOW WE ESCAPED FROM WHAT WE FOUND THERE We stood looking down upon her without speech.
earlier in time; previously
From this reading She was a tall, rather thin woman of about fifty; Irish by the look of her, and still with some share of earlier good looks.
having escaped, especially from confinement
From this reading HOW WE ESCAPED FROM WHAT WE FOUND THERE We stood looking down upon her without speech.
the front of the human head from the forehead to the chin and ear to ear
From this reading The large hands lay limply open, and the face was deathly white.
having dropped by the force of gravity
From this reading She had fallen away from the door with her knees pressed closely against it, as though she had been trying to open it when the blow came.
cause to fall by or as if by delivering a blow
From this reading The hair that fell away loosely from her broad forehead was black and straight, showing only here and there a thread of silver.
the cardinal number that is the product of ten and five
From this reading She was a tall, rather thin woman of about fifty; Irish by the look of her, and still with some share of earlier good looks.
the part of the face above the eyes
From this reading The hair that fell away loosely from her broad forehead was black and straight, showing only here and there a thread of silver.
set up or found
From this reading HOW WE ESCAPED FROM WHAT WE FOUND THERE We stood looking down upon her without speech.
showing where something starts, or who sent it
From this reading HOW WE ESCAPED FROM WHAT WE FOUND THERE We stood looking down upon her without speech.
having desirable or positive qualities especially those suitable for a thing specified
From this reading She was a tall, rather thin woman of about fifty; Irish by the look of her, and still with some share of earlier good looks.
hadauxiliary verbUS /hæd/
the past form of “have”, used to form the past perfect
From this reading She had fallen away from the door with her knees pressed closely against it, as though she had been trying to open it when the blow came.
a covering for the body (or parts of it) consisting of a dense growth of threadlike structures (as on the human head); helps to prevent heat loss
From this reading The hair that fell away loosely from her broad forehead was black and straight, showing only here and there a thread of silver.
(with “in”) guardianship over; in divorce cases it is the right to house and care for and discipline a child
From this reading The large hands lay limply open, and the face was deathly white.
belonging to a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned
From this reading HOW WE ESCAPED FROM WHAT WE FOUND THERE We stood looking down upon her without speech.
in or at this place; where the speaker or writer is
From this reading The hair that fell away loosely from her broad forehead was black and straight, showing only here and there a thread of silver.
HOW
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading HOW WE ESCAPED FROM WHAT WE FOUND THERE We stood looking down upon her without speech.
people of Ireland or of Irish extraction
From this reading She was a tall, rather thin woman of about fifty; Irish by the look of her, and still with some share of earlier good looks.
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading She had fallen away from the door with her knees pressed closely against it, as though she had been trying to open it when the blow came.
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 She had fallen away from the door with her knees pressed closely against it, as though she had been trying to open it when the blow came.
largeadjectiveUS /lɑːrdʒ/
above average in size or number or quantity or magnitude or extent
From this reading The large hands lay limply open, and the face was deathly white.
put into a certain place or abstract location
From this reading The large hands lay limply open, and the face was deathly white.
limplyadverb
without rigidity
From this reading The large hands lay limply open, and the face was deathly white.
perceive with attention; direct one's gaze towards
From this reading She was a tall, rather thin woman of about fifty; Irish by the look of her, and still with some share of earlier good looks.
the act of directing the eyes toward something and perceiving it visually
From this reading HOW WE ESCAPED FROM WHAT WE FOUND THERE We stood looking down upon her without speech.
plural of “look” — the feelings expressed on a person's face
From this reading She was a tall, rather thin woman of about fifty; Irish by the look of her, and still with some share of earlier good looks.
looselyadverbUS /ˈluːsli/
in a relaxed manner; not rigid
From this reading The hair that fell away loosely from her broad forehead was black and straight, showing only here and there a thread of silver.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading She was a tall, rather thin woman of about fifty; Irish by the look of her, and still with some share of earlier good looks.
and nothing more
From this reading The hair that fell away loosely from her broad forehead was black and straight, showing only here and there a thread of silver.
To move from a closed position.
From this reading The large hands lay limply open, and the face was deathly white.
compacted by ironing
From this reading She had fallen away from the door with her knees pressed closely against it, as though she had been trying to open it when the blow came.
on the contrary
From this reading She was a tall, rather thin woman of about fifty; Irish by the look of her, and still with some share of earlier good looks.
have in common
From this reading She was a tall, rather thin woman of about fifty; Irish by the look of her, and still with some share of earlier good looks.
a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading She was a tall, rather thin woman of about fifty; Irish by the look of her, and still with some share of earlier good looks.
the display of a motion picture
From this reading The hair that fell away loosely from her broad forehead was black and straight, showing only here and there a thread of silver.
a soft white precious univalent metallic element having the highest electrical and thermal conductivity of any metal; occurs in argentite and in free form; used in coins and jewelry and tableware and photography
From this reading The hair that fell away loosely from her broad forehead was black and straight, showing only here and there a thread of silver.
(quantifier) used with either mass nouns or plural count nouns to indicate an unspecified number or quantity
From this reading She was a tall, rather thin woman of about fifty; Irish by the look of her, and still with some share of earlier good looks.
the act of delivering a formal spoken communication to an audience
From this reading HOW WE ESCAPED FROM WHAT WE FOUND THERE We stood looking down upon her without speech.
not in physical motion
From this reading She was a tall, rather thin woman of about fifty; Irish by the look of her, and still with some share of earlier good looks.
Maintained an upright posture.
From this reading HOW WE ESCAPED FROM WHAT WE FOUND THERE We stood looking down upon her without speech.
successive (without a break)
From this reading The hair that fell away loosely from her broad forehead was black and straight, showing only here and there a thread of silver.
great in vertical dimension; high in stature
From this reading She was a tall, rather thin woman of about fifty; Irish by the look of her, and still with some share of earlier good looks.
used to introduce what somebody said, thought, or felt
From this reading The hair that fell away loosely from her broad forehead was black and straight, showing only here and there a thread of silver.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading She was a tall, rather thin woman of about fifty; Irish by the look of her, and still with some share of earlier good looks.
in or at that place or location
From this reading HOW WE ESCAPED FROM WHAT WE FOUND THERE We stood looking down upon her without speech.
Having little thickness or extent.
From this reading She was a tall, rather thin woman of about fifty; Irish by the look of her, and still with some share of earlier good looks.
in spite of the fact that
From this reading She had fallen away from the door with her knees pressed closely against it, as though she had been trying to open it when the blow came.
threadverbUS /θred/
to move or cause to move in a sinuous, spiral, or circular course
From this reading The hair that fell away loosely from her broad forehead was black and straight, showing only here and there a thread of silver.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading She had fallen away from the door with her knees pressed closely against it, as though she had been trying to open it when the blow came.
hard to endure
From this reading She had fallen away from the door with her knees pressed closely against it, as though she had been trying to open it when the blow came.
uponprepositionUS /əˈpɑːn/
a formal word for “on”
From this reading HOW WE ESCAPED FROM WHAT WE FOUND THERE We stood looking down upon her without speech.
wasauxiliary verbUS /wɑːz/
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading She was a tall, rather thin woman of about fifty; Irish by the look of her, and still with some share of earlier good looks.
the speaker together with one or more other people
From this reading HOW WE ESCAPED FROM WHAT WE FOUND THERE We stood looking down upon her without speech.
used to ask for information about something
From this reading HOW WE ESCAPED FROM WHAT WE FOUND THERE We stood looking down upon her without speech.
at the time that
From this reading She had fallen away from the door with her knees pressed closely against it, as though she had been trying to open it when the blow came.
a Caucasian
From this reading The large hands lay limply open, and the face was deathly white.
in the company of; together with
From this reading She was a tall, rather thin woman of about fifty; Irish by the look of her, and still with some share of earlier good looks.
not having, not using, or not accompanied by
From this reading HOW WE ESCAPED FROM WHAT WE FOUND THERE We stood looking down upon her without speech.
an adult female person (as opposed to a man)
From this reading She was a tall, rather thin woman of about fifty; Irish by the look of her, and still with some share of earlier good looks.
