used before a singular noun to mean one of a group, when it is not a particular one
From this reading DICK'S MIDNIGHT ADVENTURE A minute after the last of Lew Flapp's crowd left the hermit's den Dick leaped to his feet, went to the doorway, and listened intently.
take a risk in the hope of a favorable outcome
From this reading DICK'S MIDNIGHT ADVENTURE A minute after the last of Lew Flapp's crowd left the hermit's den Dick leaped to his feet, went to the doorway, and listened intently.
afterprepositionUS /ˈæftər/
later than; following
From this reading DICK'S MIDNIGHT ADVENTURE A minute after the last of Lew Flapp's crowd left the hermit's den Dick leaped to his feet, went to the doorway, and listened intently.
alongprepositionUS /əˈlɔːŋ/
following the length of something from one end toward the other
From this reading At a distance he heard the masked cadets stealing swiftly along through the woods.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading DICK'S MIDNIGHT ADVENTURE A minute after the last of Lew Flapp's crowd left the hermit's den Dick leaped to his feet, went to the doorway, and listened intently.
in or near a particular place or position
From this reading At a distance he heard the masked cadets stealing swiftly along through the woods.
cadetsnounUS /kəˈdets/
plural of “cadet” — a military trainee (as at a military academy)
From this reading At a distance he heard the masked cadets stealing swiftly along through the woods.
to a complete degree or to the full or entire extent (“whole” is often used informally for “wholly”)
From this reading Soon the crowd was completely out of hearing.
the past of “can”; used for possibility or polite requests
From this reading It was quite dark, so he could see little or nothing.
cause to herd, drive, or crowd together
From this reading DICK'S MIDNIGHT ADVENTURE A minute after the last of Lew Flapp's crowd left the hermit's den Dick leaped to his feet, went to the doorway, and listened intently.
absence of light or illumination
From this reading It was quite dark, so he could see little or nothing.
dennounUS /den/
the habitation of wild animals
From this reading DICK'S MIDNIGHT ADVENTURE A minute after the last of Lew Flapp's crowd left the hermit's den Dick leaped to his feet, went to the doorway, and listened intently.
someone who is a detective
From this reading DICK'S MIDNIGHT ADVENTURE A minute after the last of Lew Flapp's crowd left the hermit's den Dick leaped to his feet, went to the doorway, and listened intently.
DICK'SnounUS /dɪks/
possessive form of “dick” — someone who is a detective
From this reading DICK'S MIDNIGHT ADVENTURE A minute after the last of Lew Flapp's crowd left the hermit's den Dick leaped to his feet, went to the doorway, and listened intently.
the property created by the space between two objects or points
From this reading At a distance he heard the masked cadets stealing swiftly along through the woods.
the entrance (the space in a wall) through which you enter or leave a room or building; the space that a door can close
From this reading DICK'S MIDNIGHT ADVENTURE A minute after the last of Lew Flapp's crowd left the hermit's den Dick leaped to his feet, went to the doorway, and listened intently.
excursionsnounUS /ɪkˈskɜːrʒənz/
plural of “excursion” — a journey taken for pleasure
From this reading They had put out the lantern, knowing the road fairly well through repeated excursions to the den.
to certain extent or degree
From this reading They had put out the lantern, knowing the road fairly well through repeated excursions to the den.
plural of “foot” — the part of the leg of a human being below the ankle joint
From this reading DICK'S MIDNIGHT ADVENTURE A minute after the last of Lew Flapp's crowd left the hermit's den Dick leaped to his feet, went to the doorway, and listened intently.
Flapp's
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading DICK'S MIDNIGHT ADVENTURE A minute after the last of Lew Flapp's crowd left the hermit's den Dick leaped to his feet, went to the doorway, and listened intently.
hadauxiliary verbUS /hæd/
the past form of “have”, used to form the past perfect
From this reading They had put out the lantern, knowing the road fairly well through repeated excursions to the den.
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading It was quite dark, so he could see little or nothing.
detected or perceived by the sense of hearing
From this reading At a distance he heard the masked cadets stealing swiftly along through the woods.
(law) a proceeding (usually by a court) where evidence is taken for the purpose of determining an issue of fact and reaching a decision based on that evidence
From this reading Soon the crowd was completely out of hearing.
hermit's
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading DICK'S MIDNIGHT ADVENTURE A minute after the last of Lew Flapp's crowd left the hermit's den Dick leaped to his feet, went to the doorway, and listened intently.
belonging to a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned
From this reading DICK'S MIDNIGHT ADVENTURE A minute after the last of Lew Flapp's crowd left the hermit's den Dick leaped to his feet, went to the doorway, and listened intently.
intentlyadverbUS /ˌɪnˈtentli/
with strained or eager attention
From this reading DICK'S MIDNIGHT ADVENTURE A minute after the last of Lew Flapp's crowd left the hermit's den Dick leaped to his feet, went to the doorway, and listened intently.
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading It was quite dark, so he could see little or nothing.
evidencing the possession of inside information
From this reading They had put out the lantern, knowing the road fairly well through repeated excursions to the den.
lanternnounUS /ˈlæntərn/
light in a transparent protective case
From this reading They had put out the lantern, knowing the road fairly well through repeated excursions to the den.
immediately past
From this reading DICK'S MIDNIGHT ADVENTURE A minute after the last of Lew Flapp's crowd left the hermit's den Dick leaped to his feet, went to the doorway, and listened intently.
past form of “leap” — move forward by leaps and bounds
From this reading DICK'S MIDNIGHT ADVENTURE A minute after the last of Lew Flapp's crowd left the hermit's den Dick leaped to his feet, went to the doorway, and listened intently.
location near or direction toward the left side; i.e. the side to the north when a person or object faces east
From this reading DICK'S MIDNIGHT ADVENTURE A minute after the last of Lew Flapp's crowd left the hermit's den Dick leaped to his feet, went to the doorway, and listened intently.
Lew
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading DICK'S MIDNIGHT ADVENTURE A minute after the last of Lew Flapp's crowd left the hermit's den Dick leaped to his feet, went to the doorway, and listened intently.
past form of “listen” — hear with intention
From this reading DICK'S MIDNIGHT ADVENTURE A minute after the last of Lew Flapp's crowd left the hermit's den Dick leaped to his feet, went to the doorway, and listened intently.
limited or below average in number or quantity or magnitude or extent
From this reading It was quite dark, so he could see little or nothing.
maskedadjectiveUS /mæskt/
having its true character concealed with the intent of misleading
From this reading At a distance he heard the masked cadets stealing swiftly along through the woods.
12 o'clock at night; the middle of the night
From this reading DICK'S MIDNIGHT ADVENTURE A minute after the last of Lew Flapp's crowd left the hermit's den Dick leaped to his feet, went to the doorway, and listened intently.
a unit of time equal to 60 seconds or 1/60th of an hour
From this reading DICK'S MIDNIGHT ADVENTURE A minute after the last of Lew Flapp's crowd left the hermit's den Dick leaped to his feet, went to the doorway, and listened intently.
not one thing; not anything
From this reading It was quite dark, so he could see little or nothing.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading DICK'S MIDNIGHT ADVENTURE A minute after the last of Lew Flapp's crowd left the hermit's den Dick leaped to his feet, went to the doorway, and listened intently.
used to join alternatives or possibilities
From this reading It was quite dark, so he could see little or nothing.
not allowed to continue to bat or run
From this reading They had put out the lantern, knowing the road fairly well through repeated excursions to the den.
put into a certain place or abstract location
From this reading They had put out the lantern, knowing the road fairly well through repeated excursions to the den.
to a degree (not used with a negative)
From this reading It was quite dark, so he could see little or nothing.
recurring again and again
From this reading They had put out the lantern, knowing the road fairly well through repeated excursions to the den.
an open way (generally public) for travel or transportation
From this reading They had put out the lantern, knowing the road fairly well through repeated excursions to the den.
perceive by sight or have the power to perceive by sight
From this reading It was quite dark, so he could see little or nothing.
for that reason; with the result that
From this reading It was quite dark, so he could see little or nothing.
in the near future
From this reading Soon the crowd was completely out of hearing.
stealingnounUS /ˈstiːlɪŋ/
the act of taking something from someone unlawfully
From this reading At a distance he heard the masked cadets stealing swiftly along through the woods.
in a swift manner
From this reading At a distance he heard the masked cadets stealing swiftly along through the woods.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading DICK'S MIDNIGHT ADVENTURE A minute after the last of Lew Flapp's crowd left the hermit's den Dick leaped to his feet, went to the doorway, and listened intently.
the people, animals, or things already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading They had put out the lantern, knowing the road fairly well through repeated excursions to the den.
from one end or side of something to the other
From this reading At a distance he heard the masked cadets stealing swiftly along through the woods.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading DICK'S MIDNIGHT ADVENTURE A minute after the last of Lew Flapp's crowd left the hermit's den Dick leaped to his feet, went to the doorway, and listened intently.
wasauxiliary verbUS /wɑːz/
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading It was quite dark, so he could see little or nothing.
(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 They had put out the lantern, knowing the road fairly well through repeated excursions to the den.
inflected form of “go” — change location; move, travel, or proceed, also metaphorically
From this reading DICK'S MIDNIGHT ADVENTURE A minute after the last of Lew Flapp's crowd left the hermit's den Dick leaped to his feet, went to the doorway, and listened intently.
the trees and other plants in a large densely wooded area
From this reading At a distance he heard the masked cadets stealing swiftly along through the woods.
