AfireadjectiveUS /əˈfaɪr/
lighted up by or as by fire or flame
From this reading The Forest Afire The earliest rays of light had hardly penetrated beneath the giant pines the next morning before the two boys were astir.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading Their breakfast was quickly cooked and eaten.
at the same time that; because; in the way that
From this reading They carried as well their books of flies.
astiradjective
out of bed
From this reading The Forest Afire The earliest rays of light had hardly penetrated beneath the giant pines the next morning before the two boys were astir.
axenounUS /æks/
an edge tool with a heavy bladed head mounted across a handle
From this reading And Charley slipped the little axe into his belt, to have something to chop with in case they wanted to hunt for whiteworms.
baitverbUS /beɪt/
harass with persistent criticism or carping
From this reading Then they buckled on their bait boxes, now bulging with worms and crayfish.
earlier than; in front of
From this reading The Forest Afire The earliest rays of light had hardly penetrated beneath the giant pines the next morning before the two boys were astir.
beltnounUS /belt/
endless loop of flexible material between two rotating shafts or pulleys
From this reading And Charley slipped the little axe into his belt, to have something to chop with in case they wanted to hunt for whiteworms.
Directly under; in or to a lower position than.
From this reading The Forest Afire The earliest rays of light had hardly penetrated beneath the giant pines the next morning before the two boys were astir.
Bound written or printed works.
From this reading They carried as well their books of flies.
boxesnounUS /ˈbɑːksəz/
plural of “box” — a (usually rectangular) container; may have a lid
From this reading Then they buckled on their bait boxes, now bulging with worms and crayfish.
plural of “boy” — a youthful male person
From this reading The Forest Afire The earliest rays of light had hardly penetrated beneath the giant pines the next morning before the two boys were astir.
eat an early morning meal
From this reading Their breakfast was quickly cooked and eaten.
buckledverbUS /ˈbʌkəld/
past form of “buckle” — fasten with a buckle or buckles
From this reading Then they buckled on their bait boxes, now bulging with worms and crayfish.
bulgingadjectiveUS /ˈbʌldʒɪŋ/
curving or bulging outward
From this reading Then they buckled on their bait boxes, now bulging with worms and crayfish.
inflected form of “carry” — move while supporting, either in a vehicle or in one's hands or on one's body
From this reading They carried as well their books of flies.
an occurrence of something
From this reading And Charley slipped the little axe into his belt, to have something to chop with in case they wanted to hunt for whiteworms.
Charley
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading And Charley slipped the little axe into his belt, to have something to chop with in case they wanted to hunt for whiteworms.
chopverbUS /tʃɑːp/
cut into pieces
From this reading And Charley slipped the little axe into his belt, to have something to chop with in case they wanted to hunt for whiteworms.
cookedadjectiveUS /kʊkt/
having been prepared for eating by the application of heat
From this reading Their breakfast was quickly cooked and eaten.
crayfishnounUS /ˈkreɪfɪʃ/
warm-water lobsters without claws; those from Australia and South Africa usually marketed as frozen tails; caught also in Florida and California
From this reading Then they buckled on their bait boxes, now bulging with worms and crayfish.
earliestadjectiveUS /ˈɜːrliəst/
(comparative and superlative of “early”) more early than; most early
From this reading The Forest Afire The earliest rays of light had hardly penetrated beneath the giant pines the next morning before the two boys were astir.
inflected form of “eat” — take in solid food
From this reading Their breakfast was quickly cooked and eaten.
fliesnounUS /flaɪz/
(theater) the space over the stage (out of view of the audience) used to store scenery (drop curtains)
From this reading They carried as well their books of flies.
intended to be given to, or used by, somebody
From this reading And Charley slipped the little axe into his belt, to have something to chop with in case they wanted to hunt for whiteworms.
the trees and other plants in a large densely wooded area
From this reading The Forest Afire The earliest rays of light had hardly penetrated beneath the giant pines the next morning before the two boys were astir.
any creature of exceptional size
From this reading The Forest Afire The earliest rays of light had hardly penetrated beneath the giant pines the next morning before the two boys were astir.
hadauxiliary verbUS /hæd/
the past form of “have”, used to form the past perfect
From this reading The Forest Afire The earliest rays of light had hardly penetrated beneath the giant pines the next morning before the two boys were astir.
only a very short time before
From this reading The Forest Afire The earliest rays of light had hardly penetrated beneath the giant pines the next morning before the two boys were astir.
haveauxiliary verbUS /hæv/
used with a past participle to form the perfect tenses
From this reading And Charley slipped the little axe into his belt, to have something to chop with in case they wanted to hunt for whiteworms.
belonging to a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned
From this reading And Charley slipped the little axe into his belt, to have something to chop with in case they wanted to hunt for whiteworms.
pursue for food or sport (as of wild animals)
From this reading And Charley slipped the little axe into his belt, to have something to chop with in case they wanted to hunt for whiteworms.
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading And Charley slipped the little axe into his belt, to have something to chop with in case they wanted to hunt for whiteworms.
intoprepositionUS /ˈɪntuː/
moving to the inside of something
From this reading And Charley slipped the little axe into his belt, to have something to chop with in case they wanted to hunt for whiteworms.
of comparatively little physical weight or density
From this reading The Forest Afire The earliest rays of light had hardly penetrated beneath the giant pines the next morning before the two boys were astir.
limited or below average in number or quantity or magnitude or extent
From this reading And Charley slipped the little axe into his belt, to have something to chop with in case they wanted to hunt for whiteworms.
the time period between dawn and noon
From this reading The Forest Afire The earliest rays of light had hardly penetrated beneath the giant pines the next morning before the two boys were astir.
immediately following in time or order
From this reading The Forest Afire The earliest rays of light had hardly penetrated beneath the giant pines the next morning before the two boys were astir.
in the historical present; at this point in the narration of a series of past events
From this reading Then they buckled on their bait boxes, now bulging with worms and crayfish.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading The Forest Afire The earliest rays of light had hardly penetrated beneath the giant pines the next morning before the two boys were astir.
touching and supported by a surface
From this reading Then they buckled on their bait boxes, now bulging with worms and crayfish.
penetratedverbUS /ˈpenətreɪtɪd/
past form of “penetrate” — pass into or through, often by overcoming resistance
From this reading The Forest Afire The earliest rays of light had hardly penetrated beneath the giant pines the next morning before the two boys were astir.
pinesnounUS /paɪnz/
plural of “pine” — a coniferous tree
From this reading The Forest Afire The earliest rays of light had hardly penetrated beneath the giant pines the next morning before the two boys were astir.
with speed
From this reading Their breakfast was quickly cooked and eaten.
raysnounUS /reɪz/
plural of “ray” — a column of light (as from a beacon)
From this reading The Forest Afire The earliest rays of light had hardly penetrated beneath the giant pines the next morning before the two boys were astir.
inflected form of “slip” — move stealthily
From this reading And Charley slipped the little axe into his belt, to have something to chop with in case they wanted to hunt for whiteworms.
a thing, without saying which
From this reading And Charley slipped the little axe into his belt, to have something to chop with in case they wanted to hunt for whiteworms.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading The Forest Afire The earliest rays of light had hardly penetrated beneath the giant pines the next morning before the two boys were astir.
belonging to the people or things already mentioned
From this reading Their breakfast was quickly cooked and eaten.
subsequently or soon afterward (often used as sentence connectors)
From this reading Then they buckled on their bait boxes, now bulging with worms and crayfish.
the people, animals, or things already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading Then they buckled on their bait boxes, now bulging with worms and crayfish.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading And Charley slipped the little axe into his belt, to have something to chop with in case they wanted to hunt for whiteworms.
the cardinal number that is the sum of one and one or a numeral representing this number
From this reading The Forest Afire The earliest rays of light had hardly penetrated beneath the giant pines the next morning before the two boys were astir.
desired or wished for or sought
From this reading And Charley slipped the little axe into his belt, to have something to chop with in case they wanted to hunt for whiteworms.
wasauxiliary verbUS /wɑːz/
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading Their breakfast was quickly cooked and eaten.
(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 carried as well their books of flies.
wereauxiliary verbUS /wɜːr/
the past form of “be” used with you, we, they, or a plural noun
From this reading The Forest Afire The earliest rays of light had hardly penetrated beneath the giant pines the next morning before the two boys were astir.
whiteworms
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading And Charley slipped the little axe into his belt, to have something to chop with in case they wanted to hunt for whiteworms.
in the company of; together with
From this reading Then they buckled on their bait boxes, now bulging with worms and crayfish.
wormsnounUS /wɜːrmz/
plural of “worm” — any of numerous relatively small elongated soft-bodied animals especially of the phyla Annelida and Chaetognatha and Nematoda and Nemertea and Platyhelminthes; also many insect larvae
From this reading Then they buckled on their bait boxes, now bulging with worms and crayfish.
