used before a singular noun to mean one of a group, when it is not a particular one
From this reading There would be no more guests for a week, then would come a merry half-dozen for the Christmas holidays.
(of actions or states) slightly short of or not quite accomplished; all but
From this reading She came down to breakfast with dark circles under her eyes, and she ate almost nothing, to the great, though silent, distress of the family.
aloneadjectiveUS /əˈloʊn/
Having no one else present.
From this reading The Spencers were alone now.
at all times; all the time and on every occasion
From this reading Always she heard the roar and the click-clack of the mills, and everywhere she saw the weary little workers with their closely-bound skirts, and their strained, anxious faces.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading Always she heard the roar and the click-clack of the mills, and everywhere she saw the weary little workers with their closely-bound skirts, and their strained, anxious faces.
eagerly desirous
From this reading Always she heard the roar and the click-clack of the mills, and everywhere she saw the weary little workers with their closely-bound skirts, and their strained, anxious faces.
goddess of criminal rashness and its punishment
From this reading She came down to breakfast with dark circles under her eyes, and she ate almost nothing, to the great, though silent, distress of the family.
used with a past participle to form the passive, or with -ing for continuous tenses
From this reading There would be no more guests for a week, then would come a merry half-dozen for the Christmas holidays.
eat an early morning meal
From this reading She came down to breakfast with dark circles under her eyes, and she ate almost nothing, to the great, though silent, distress of the family.
inflected form of “come” — move toward, travel toward something or somebody or approach something or somebody
From this reading She came down to breakfast with dark circles under her eyes, and she ate almost nothing, to the great, though silent, distress of the family.
period extending from Dec. 24 to Jan. 6
From this reading There would be no more guests for a week, then would come a merry half-dozen for the Christmas holidays.
circlesnounUS /ˈsɜːrkəlz/
plural of “circle” — ellipse in which the two axes are of equal length; a plane curve generated by one point moving at a constant distance from a fixed point
From this reading She came down to breakfast with dark circles under her eyes, and she ate almost nothing, to the great, though silent, distress of the family.
click-clacknoun
a succession of clicks
From this reading Always she heard the roar and the click-clack of the mills, and everywhere she saw the weary little workers with their closely-bound skirts, and their strained, anxious faces.
closely-bound
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Always she heard the roar and the click-clack of the mills, and everywhere she saw the weary little workers with their closely-bound skirts, and their strained, anxious faces.
move toward, travel toward something or somebody or approach something or somebody
From this reading There would be no more guests for a week, then would come a merry half-dozen for the Christmas holidays.
absence of light or illumination
From this reading She came down to breakfast with dark circles under her eyes, and she ate almost nothing, to the great, though silent, distress of the family.
didauxiliary verbUS /dɪd/
the past form of “do”, used in questions and negatives
From this reading Margaret did not sleep well in her lavender-scented sheets that night.
psychological suffering
From this reading She came down to breakfast with dark circles under her eyes, and she ate almost nothing, to the great, though silent, distress of the family.
being or moving lower in position or less in some value
From this reading She came down to breakfast with dark circles under her eyes, and she ate almost nothing, to the great, though silent, distress of the family.
to or in any or all places
From this reading Always she heard the roar and the click-clack of the mills, and everywhere she saw the weary little workers with their closely-bound skirts, and their strained, anxious faces.
opinion or judgment
From this reading She came down to breakfast with dark circles under her eyes, and she ate almost nothing, to the great, though silent, distress of the family.
plural of “face” — the front of the human head from the forehead to the chin and ear to ear
From this reading Always she heard the roar and the click-clack of the mills, and everywhere she saw the weary little workers with their closely-bound skirts, and their strained, anxious faces.
a social unit living together
From this reading She came down to breakfast with dark circles under her eyes, and she ate almost nothing, to the great, though silent, distress of the family.
intended to be given to, or used by, somebody
From this reading There would be no more guests for a week, then would come a merry half-dozen for the Christmas holidays.
relatively large in size or number or extent; larger than others of its kind
From this reading She came down to breakfast with dark circles under her eyes, and she ate almost nothing, to the great, though silent, distress of the family.
plural of “guest” — a visitor to whom hospitality is extended
From this reading There would be no more guests for a week, then would come a merry half-dozen for the Christmas holidays.
half-dozenadjectiveUS /ˈhæfdʌzən/
denoting a quantity consisting of six items or units
From this reading There would be no more guests for a week, then would come a merry half-dozen for the Christmas holidays.
detected or perceived by the sense of hearing
From this reading Always she heard the roar and the click-clack of the mills, and everywhere she saw the weary little workers with their closely-bound skirts, and their strained, anxious faces.
belonging to a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned
From this reading Margaret did not sleep well in her lavender-scented sheets that night.
holidaysnounUS /ˈhɑːlədeɪz/
plural of “holiday” — leisure time away from work devoted to rest or pleasure
From this reading There would be no more guests for a week, then would come a merry half-dozen for the Christmas holidays.
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading Margaret did not sleep well in her lavender-scented sheets that night.
lavender-scented
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Margaret did not sleep well in her lavender-scented sheets that night.
limited or below average in number or quantity or magnitude or extent
From this reading Always she heard the roar and the click-clack of the mills, and everywhere she saw the weary little workers with their closely-bound skirts, and their strained, anxious faces.
Margaret
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Margaret did not sleep well in her lavender-scented sheets that night.
full of or showing high-spirited merriment
From this reading There would be no more guests for a week, then would come a merry half-dozen for the Christmas holidays.
millsnounUS /mɪlz/
United States architect who was the presidentially appointed architect of Washington D.C. (1781-1855)
From this reading Always she heard the roar and the click-clack of the mills, and everywhere she saw the weary little workers with their closely-bound skirts, and their strained, anxious faces.
(comparative of “much” used with mass nouns) a quantifier meaning greater in size or amount or extent or degree
From this reading There would be no more guests for a week, then would come a merry half-dozen for the Christmas holidays.
the time after sunset and before sunrise while it is dark outside
From this reading Margaret did not sleep well in her lavender-scented sheets that night.
not any; not one
From this reading There would be no more guests for a week, then would come a merry half-dozen for the Christmas holidays.
used to make a word, phrase, or sentence negative
From this reading Margaret did not sleep well in her lavender-scented sheets that night.
not one thing; not anything
From this reading She came down to breakfast with dark circles under her eyes, and she ate almost nothing, to the great, though silent, distress of the family.
in the historical present; at this point in the narration of a series of past events
From this reading The Spencers were alone now.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading Always she heard the roar and the click-clack of the mills, and everywhere she saw the weary little workers with their closely-bound skirts, and their strained, anxious faces.
make a loud noise, as of wind, water, or vehicles
From this reading Always she heard the roar and the click-clack of the mills, and everywhere she saw the weary little workers with their closely-bound skirts, and their strained, anxious faces.
cut with a saw
From this reading Always she heard the roar and the click-clack of the mills, and everywhere she saw the weary little workers with their closely-bound skirts, and their strained, anxious faces.
a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading Always she heard the roar and the click-clack of the mills, and everywhere she saw the weary little workers with their closely-bound skirts, and their strained, anxious faces.
sheetsnounUS /ʃiːts/
plural of “sheet” — any broad thin expanse or surface
From this reading Margaret did not sleep well in her lavender-scented sheets that night.
marked by absence of sound
From this reading She came down to breakfast with dark circles under her eyes, and she ate almost nothing, to the great, though silent, distress of the family.
skirtsnounUS /skɜːrts/
plural of “skirt” — cloth covering that forms the part of a garment below the waist
From this reading Always she heard the roar and the click-clack of the mills, and everywhere she saw the weary little workers with their closely-bound skirts, and their strained, anxious faces.
a natural and periodic state of rest during which consciousness of the world is suspended
From this reading Margaret did not sleep well in her lavender-scented sheets that night.
SpencersnounUS /ˈspensərz/
plural of “spencer” — English philosopher and sociologist who applied the theory of natural selection to human societies (1820-1903)
From this reading The Spencers were alone now.
strainedadjectiveUS /streɪnd/
lacking natural ease
From this reading Always she heard the roar and the click-clack of the mills, and everywhere she saw the weary little workers with their closely-bound skirts, and their strained, anxious faces.
used to introduce what somebody said, thought, or felt
From this reading Margaret did not sleep well in her lavender-scented sheets that night.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading Always she heard the roar and the click-clack of the mills, and everywhere she saw the weary little workers with their closely-bound skirts, and their strained, anxious faces.
belonging to the people or things already mentioned
From this reading Always she heard the roar and the click-clack of the mills, and everywhere she saw the weary little workers with their closely-bound skirts, and their strained, anxious faces.
subsequently or soon afterward (often used as sentence connectors)
From this reading There would be no more guests for a week, then would come a merry half-dozen for the Christmas holidays.
in or at that place or location
From this reading There would be no more guests for a week, then would come a merry half-dozen for the Christmas holidays.
in spite of the fact that
From this reading She came down to breakfast with dark circles under her eyes, and she ate almost nothing, to the great, though silent, distress of the family.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading She came down to breakfast with dark circles under her eyes, and she ate almost nothing, to the great, though silent, distress of the family.
underprepositionUS /ˈʌndər/
below or beneath something; less than
From this reading She came down to breakfast with dark circles under her eyes, and she ate almost nothing, to the great, though silent, distress of the family.
exhaust or get tired through overuse or great strain or stress
From this reading Always she heard the roar and the click-clack of the mills, and everywhere she saw the weary little workers with their closely-bound skirts, and their strained, anxious faces.
any period of seven consecutive days
From this reading There would be no more guests for a week, then would come a merry half-dozen for the Christmas holidays.
(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 Margaret did not sleep well in her lavender-scented sheets that night.
wereauxiliary verbUS /wɜːr/
the past form of “be” used with you, we, they, or a plural noun
From this reading The Spencers were alone now.
in the company of; together with
From this reading Always she heard the roar and the click-clack of the mills, and everywhere she saw the weary little workers with their closely-bound skirts, and their strained, anxious faces.
workersnounUS /ˈwɜːrkərz/
plural of “worker” — a person who works at a specific occupation
From this reading Always she heard the roar and the click-clack of the mills, and everywhere she saw the weary little workers with their closely-bound skirts, and their strained, anxious faces.
used for something imagined, polite, or habitual in the past
From this reading There would be no more guests for a week, then would come a merry half-dozen for the Christmas holidays.
