used before a singular noun to mean one of a group, when it is not a particular one
From this reading The boys were delighted with the appearance of the Tagus, covered as it now was with a fleet of transports and merchantmen.
aboutprepositionUS /əˈbaʊt/
on the subject of; concerning
From this reading "I thought that you would be in a fix about clothes, my lads," he said.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading The boys were delighted with the appearance of the Tagus, covered as it now was with a fleet of transports and merchantmen.
outward or visible aspect of a person or thing
From this reading The boys were delighted with the appearance of the Tagus, covered as it now was with a fleet of transports and merchantmen.
at the same time that; because; in the way that
From this reading The boys were delighted with the appearance of the Tagus, covered as it now was with a fleet of transports and merchantmen.
in or near a particular place or position
From this reading As they were looking at it, the officer commanding the marines on board, who had talked a good deal to them upon the preceding day, came up to them.
used with a past participle to form the passive, or with -ing for continuous tenses
From this reading "I thought that you would be in a fix about clothes, my lads," he said.
a committee having supervisory powers
From this reading As they were looking at it, the officer commanding the marines on board, who had talked a good deal to them upon the preceding day, came up to them.
plural of “boy” — a youthful male person
From this reading The boys were delighted with the appearance of the Tagus, covered as it now was with a fleet of transports and merchantmen.
inflected form of “come” — move toward, travel toward something or somebody or approach something or somebody
From this reading As they were looking at it, the officer commanding the marines on board, who had talked a good deal to them upon the preceding day, came up to them.
clothing in general
From this reading "I thought that you would be in a fix about clothes, my lads," he said.
commandingadjectiveUS /kəˈmændɪŋ/
used of a height or viewpoint
From this reading As they were looking at it, the officer commanding the marines on board, who had talked a good deal to them upon the preceding day, came up to them.
corpsnounUS /kɔːr/
an army unit usually consisting of two or more divisions and their support
From this reading "You could not very well join in these midshipman's uniforms, so I set the tailor yesterday to cut down a couple of spare suits of my corps.
the past of “can”; used for possibility or polite requests
From this reading "You could not very well join in these midshipman's uniforms, so I set the tailor yesterday to cut down a couple of spare suits of my corps.
a pair who associate with one another
From this reading "You could not very well join in these midshipman's uniforms, so I set the tailor yesterday to cut down a couple of spare suits of my corps.
overlaid or spread or topped with or enclosed within something; sometimes used as a combining form
From this reading The boys were delighted with the appearance of the Tagus, covered as it now was with a fleet of transports and merchantmen.
separate with or as if with an instrument
From this reading "You could not very well join in these midshipman's uniforms, so I set the tailor yesterday to cut down a couple of spare suits of my corps.
time for Earth to make a complete rotation on its axis
From this reading As they were looking at it, the officer commanding the marines on board, who had talked a good deal to them upon the preceding day, came up to them.
act on verbally or in some form of artistic expression
From this reading As they were looking at it, the officer commanding the marines on board, who had talked a good deal to them upon the preceding day, came up to them.
greatly pleased
From this reading The boys were delighted with the appearance of the Tagus, covered as it now was with a fleet of transports and merchantmen.
being or moving lower in position or less in some value
From this reading "You could not very well join in these midshipman's uniforms, so I set the tailor yesterday to cut down a couple of spare suits of my corps.
fixverbUS /fɪks/
restore by replacing a part or putting together what is torn or broken
From this reading "I thought that you would be in a fix about clothes, my lads," he said.
fleetnounUS /fliːt/
group of aircraft operating together under the same ownership
From this reading The boys were delighted with the appearance of the Tagus, covered as it now was with a fleet of transports and merchantmen.
having desirable or positive qualities especially those suitable for a thing specified
From this reading As they were looking at it, the officer commanding the marines on board, who had talked a good deal to them upon the preceding day, came up to them.
hadauxiliary verbUS /hæd/
the past form of “have”, used to form the past perfect
From this reading As they were looking at it, the officer commanding the marines on board, who had talked a good deal to them upon the preceding day, came up to them.
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading "I thought that you would be in a fix about clothes, my lads," he said.
the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb
From this reading "I thought that you would be in a fix about clothes, my lads," he said.
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading "I thought that you would be in a fix about clothes, my lads," he said.
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading The boys were delighted with the appearance of the Tagus, covered as it now was with a fleet of transports and merchantmen.
become part of; become a member of a group or organization
From this reading "You could not very well join in these midshipman's uniforms, so I set the tailor yesterday to cut down a couple of spare suits of my corps.
ladsnounUS /lædz/
plural of “lad” — a boy or man
From this reading "I thought that you would be in a fix about clothes, my lads," he said.
the act of directing the eyes toward something and perceiving it visually
From this reading As they were looking at it, the officer commanding the marines on board, who had talked a good deal to them upon the preceding day, came up to them.
marinesnounUS /mərˈiːnz/
an amphibious division of the United States Navy
From this reading As they were looking at it, the officer commanding the marines on board, who had talked a good deal to them upon the preceding day, came up to them.
merchantmennounUS /ˈmɜːrtʃəntmɪn/
plural of “merchantman” — a cargo ship
From this reading The boys were delighted with the appearance of the Tagus, covered as it now was with a fleet of transports and merchantmen.
midshipman'snounUS /ˈmɪdˈʃɪpmənz/
possessive form of “midshipman” — a temporary rank held by young naval officers in training
From this reading "You could not very well join in these midshipman's uniforms, so I set the tailor yesterday to cut down a couple of spare suits of my corps.
belonging to the person speaking
From this reading "I thought that you would be in a fix about clothes, my lads," he said.
used to make a word, phrase, or sentence negative
From this reading "You could not very well join in these midshipman's uniforms, so I set the tailor yesterday to cut down a couple of spare suits of my corps.
in the historical present; at this point in the narration of a series of past events
From this reading The boys were delighted with the appearance of the Tagus, covered as it now was with a fleet of transports and merchantmen.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading The boys were delighted with the appearance of the Tagus, covered as it now was with a fleet of transports and merchantmen.
any person in the armed services who holds a position of authority or command
From this reading As they were looking at it, the officer commanding the marines on board, who had talked a good deal to them upon the preceding day, came up to them.
touching and supported by a surface
From this reading As they were looking at it, the officer commanding the marines on board, who had talked a good deal to them upon the preceding day, came up to them.
PORTUGALnounUS /ˈpɔːrtʃəɡəl/
a republic in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula; Portuguese explorers and colonists in the 15th and 16th centuries created a vast overseas empire (including Brazil)
From this reading PORTUGAL.
precedingadjectiveUS /priˈsiːdɪŋ/
existing or coming before
From this reading As they were looking at it, the officer commanding the marines on board, who had talked a good deal to them upon the preceding day, came up to them.
being the one previously mentioned or spoken of
From this reading "I thought that you would be in a fix about clothes, my lads," he said.
put into a certain place or abstract location
From this reading "You could not very well join in these midshipman's uniforms, so I set the tailor yesterday to cut down a couple of spare suits of my corps.
for that reason; with the result that
From this reading "You could not very well join in these midshipman's uniforms, so I set the tailor yesterday to cut down a couple of spare suits of my corps.
refrain from harming
From this reading "You could not very well join in these midshipman's uniforms, so I set the tailor yesterday to cut down a couple of spare suits of my corps.
suitsnounUS /suːts/
plural of “suit” — a set of garments (usually including a jacket and trousers or skirt) for outerwear all of the same fabric and color
From this reading "You could not very well join in these midshipman's uniforms, so I set the tailor yesterday to cut down a couple of spare suits of my corps.
Tagusnoun
a European river; flows into the North Atlantic
From this reading The boys were delighted with the appearance of the Tagus, covered as it now was with a fleet of transports and merchantmen.
tailorverbUS /ˈteɪlər/
adjust to a specific need or market
From this reading "You could not very well join in these midshipman's uniforms, so I set the tailor yesterday to cut down a couple of spare suits of my corps.
past form of “talk” — exchange thoughts; talk with
From this reading As they were looking at it, the officer commanding the marines on board, who had talked a good deal to them upon the preceding day, came up to them.
used to introduce what somebody said, thought, or felt
From this reading "I thought that you would be in a fix about clothes, my lads," he said.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading The boys were delighted with the appearance of the Tagus, covered as it now was with a fleet of transports and merchantmen.
the people or things already mentioned, as the object
From this reading As they were looking at it, the officer commanding the marines on board, who had talked a good deal to them upon the preceding day, came up to them.
the plural of “this”: the people or things near, or just mentioned
From this reading "You could not very well join in these midshipman's uniforms, so I set the tailor yesterday to cut down a couple of spare suits of my corps.
the people, animals, or things already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading As they were looking at it, the officer commanding the marines on board, who had talked a good deal to them upon the preceding day, came up to them.
the content of cognition; the main thing you are thinking about
From this reading "I thought that you would be in a fix about clothes, my lads," he said.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading As they were looking at it, the officer commanding the marines on board, who had talked a good deal to them upon the preceding day, came up to them.
transportsnounUS /trænˈspɔːrts/
plural of “transport” — something that serves as a means of transportation
From this reading The boys were delighted with the appearance of the Tagus, covered as it now was with a fleet of transports and merchantmen.
uniformsnounUS /ˈjuːnəfɔːrmz/
plural of “uniform” — clothing of distinctive design worn by members of a particular group as a means of identification
From this reading "You could not very well join in these midshipman's uniforms, so I set the tailor yesterday to cut down a couple of spare suits of my corps.
being or moving higher in position or greater in some value; being above a former position or level
From this reading As they were looking at it, the officer commanding the marines on board, who had talked a good deal to them upon the preceding day, came up to them.
uponprepositionUS /əˈpɑːn/
a formal word for “on”
From this reading As they were looking at it, the officer commanding the marines on board, who had talked a good deal to them upon the preceding day, came up to them.
precisely as stated
From this reading "You could not very well join in these midshipman's uniforms, so I set the tailor yesterday to cut down a couple of spare suits of my corps.
wasauxiliary verbUS /wɑːz/
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading The boys were delighted with the appearance of the Tagus, covered as it now was with a fleet of transports and merchantmen.
(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 "You could not very well join in these midshipman's uniforms, so I set the tailor yesterday to cut down a couple of spare suits of my corps.
wereauxiliary verbUS /wɜːr/
the past form of “be” used with you, we, they, or a plural noun
From this reading The boys were delighted with the appearance of the Tagus, covered as it now was with a fleet of transports and merchantmen.
which person or people
From this reading As they were looking at it, the officer commanding the marines on board, who had talked a good deal to them upon the preceding day, came up to them.
in the company of; together with
From this reading The boys were delighted with the appearance of the Tagus, covered as it now was with a fleet of transports and merchantmen.
used for something imagined, polite, or habitual in the past
From this reading "I thought that you would be in a fix about clothes, my lads," he said.
the day immediately before today
From this reading "You could not very well join in these midshipman's uniforms, so I set the tailor yesterday to cut down a couple of spare suits of my corps.
the person or people being spoken to
From this reading "I thought that you would be in a fix about clothes, my lads," he said.
