used before a singular noun to mean one of a group, when it is not a particular one
From this reading En Route BERTHA gave a little gasp of surprise.
declare to be true or admit the existence or reality or truth of
From this reading An hour ago she would have been most dreadfully dismayed at such a disaster, but now it seemed like a providential chance which would admit of her going to railhead without seriously upsetting the plans of anyone.
in the past
From this reading An hour ago she would have been most dreadfully dismayed at such a disaster, but now it seemed like a providential chance which would admit of her going to railhead without seriously upsetting the plans of anyone.
in spite of the fact that
From this reading “So I must, even though I have to walk every step of the way, although luckily that is not necessary, as I can ride one of the horses,” he answered.
the form of “a” used before a word that begins with a vowel sound
From this reading An hour ago she would have been most dreadfully dismayed at such a disaster, but now it seemed like a providential chance which would admit of her going to railhead without seriously upsetting the plans of anyone.
past form of “answer” — react verbally
From this reading “It is not so much what shall I do, as what you can do yourself,” she answered slowly.
any person at all
From this reading An hour ago she would have been most dreadfully dismayed at such a disaster, but now it seemed like a providential chance which would admit of her going to railhead without seriously upsetting the plans of anyone.
at the same time that; because; in the way that
From this reading “It is not so much what shall I do, as what you can do yourself,” she answered slowly.
in or near a particular place or position
From this reading An hour ago she would have been most dreadfully dismayed at such a disaster, but now it seemed like a providential chance which would admit of her going to railhead without seriously upsetting the plans of anyone.
for the reason that
From this reading “I thought that you said you must get home to-night, because you had some work to do.”
beenauxiliary verbUS /bɪn/
the past participle of “be”
From this reading An hour ago she would have been most dreadfully dismayed at such a disaster, but now it seemed like a providential chance which would admit of her going to railhead without seriously upsetting the plans of anyone.
BERTHA
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading En Route BERTHA gave a little gasp of surprise.
used to introduce something that contrasts with what came before
From this reading An hour ago she would have been most dreadfully dismayed at such a disaster, but now it seemed like a providential chance which would admit of her going to railhead without seriously upsetting the plans of anyone.
to be able to, or to be allowed to
From this reading “It is not so much what shall I do, as what you can do yourself,” she answered slowly.
a possibility due to a favorable combination of circumstances
From this reading An hour ago she would have been most dreadfully dismayed at such a disaster, but now it seemed like a providential chance which would admit of her going to railhead without seriously upsetting the plans of anyone.
disasternounUS /dɪˈzæstər/
a state of extreme (usually irremediable) ruin and misfortune
From this reading An hour ago she would have been most dreadfully dismayed at such a disaster, but now it seemed like a providential chance which would admit of her going to railhead without seriously upsetting the plans of anyone.
dismayedadjectiveUS /dɪˈsmeɪd/
struck with fear, dread, or consternation
From this reading An hour ago she would have been most dreadfully dismayed at such a disaster, but now it seemed like a providential chance which would admit of her going to railhead without seriously upsetting the plans of anyone.
used to form questions and negatives, and to give emphasis
From this reading “It is not so much what shall I do, as what you can do yourself,” she answered slowly.
dreadfullyadverbUS /ˈdredfəli/
of a dreadful kind
From this reading An hour ago she would have been most dreadfully dismayed at such a disaster, but now it seemed like a providential chance which would admit of her going to railhead without seriously upsetting the plans of anyone.
half the width of an em
From this reading En Route BERTHA gave a little gasp of surprise.
divisible by two
From this reading “So I must, even though I have to walk every step of the way, although luckily that is not necessary, as I can ride one of the horses,” he answered.
everydeterminerUS /ˈevəri/
all the members of a group, with none left out
From this reading “So I must, even though I have to walk every step of the way, although luckily that is not necessary, as I can ride one of the horses,” he answered.
gaspnounUS /ɡæsp/
a short labored intake of breath with the mouth open
From this reading En Route BERTHA gave a little gasp of surprise.
inflected form of “give” — cause to have, in the abstract sense or physical sense
From this reading En Route BERTHA gave a little gasp of surprise.
come into the possession of something concrete or abstract
From this reading “I thought that you said you must get home to-night, because you had some work to do.”
the act of departing
From this reading An hour ago she would have been most dreadfully dismayed at such a disaster, but now it seemed like a providential chance which would admit of her going to railhead without seriously upsetting the plans of anyone.
hadauxiliary verbUS /hæd/
the past form of “have”, used to form the past perfect
From this reading “I thought that you said you must get home to-night, because you had some work to do.”
haveauxiliary verbUS /hæv/
used with a past participle to form the perfect tenses
From this reading An hour ago she would have been most dreadfully dismayed at such a disaster, but now it seemed like a providential chance which would admit of her going to railhead without seriously upsetting the plans of anyone.
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading “So I must, even though I have to walk every step of the way, although luckily that is not necessary, as I can ride one of the horses,” he answered.
belonging to a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned
From this reading An hour ago she would have been most dreadfully dismayed at such a disaster, but now it seemed like a providential chance which would admit of her going to railhead without seriously upsetting the plans of anyone.
where you live at a particular time
From this reading “I thought that you said you must get home to-night, because you had some work to do.”
plural of “horse” — solid-hoofed herbivorous quadruped domesticated since prehistoric times
From this reading “So I must, even though I have to walk every step of the way, although luckily that is not necessary, as I can ride one of the horses,” he answered.
a period of time equal to 1/24th of a day
From this reading An hour ago she would have been most dreadfully dismayed at such a disaster, but now it seemed like a providential chance which would admit of her going to railhead without seriously upsetting the plans of anyone.
the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb
From this reading “It is not so much what shall I do, as what you can do yourself,” she answered slowly.
the form of “be” used with he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading “It is not so much what shall I do, as what you can do yourself,” she answered slowly.
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading An hour ago she would have been most dreadfully dismayed at such a disaster, but now it seemed like a providential chance which would admit of her going to railhead without seriously upsetting the plans of anyone.
prefer or wish to do something
From this reading An hour ago she would have been most dreadfully dismayed at such a disaster, but now it seemed like a providential chance which would admit of her going to railhead without seriously upsetting the plans of anyone.
limited or below average in number or quantity or magnitude or extent
From this reading En Route BERTHA gave a little gasp of surprise.
luckilyadverbUS /ˈlʌkəli/
by good fortune
From this reading “So I must, even though I have to walk every step of the way, although luckily that is not necessary, as I can ride one of the horses,” he answered.
used to form the superlative
From this reading An hour ago she would have been most dreadfully dismayed at such a disaster, but now it seemed like a providential chance which would admit of her going to railhead without seriously upsetting the plans of anyone.
to a great degree or extent
From this reading “It is not so much what shall I do, as what you can do yourself,” she answered slowly.
used to say something is necessary, or almost certainly true
From this reading “I thought that you said you must get home to-night, because you had some work to do.”
absolutely essential
From this reading “So I must, even though I have to walk every step of the way, although luckily that is not necessary, as I can ride one of the horses,” he answered.
used to make a word, phrase, or sentence negative
From this reading “It is not so much what shall I do, as what you can do yourself,” she answered slowly.
in the historical present; at this point in the narration of a series of past events
From this reading An hour ago she would have been most dreadfully dismayed at such a disaster, but now it seemed like a providential chance which would admit of her going to railhead without seriously upsetting the plans of anyone.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading En Route BERTHA gave a little gasp of surprise.
used to mean any person in general, including the speaker
From this reading “So I must, even though I have to walk every step of the way, although luckily that is not necessary, as I can ride one of the horses,” he answered.
plural of “plan” — a series of steps to be carried out or goals to be accomplished
From this reading An hour ago she would have been most dreadfully dismayed at such a disaster, but now it seemed like a providential chance which would admit of her going to railhead without seriously upsetting the plans of anyone.
providentialadjectiveUS /ˌprɑːvəˈdenʃəl/
peculiarly fortunate or appropriate; as if by divine intervention
From this reading An hour ago she would have been most dreadfully dismayed at such a disaster, but now it seemed like a providential chance which would admit of her going to railhead without seriously upsetting the plans of anyone.
railheadnoun
a railroad depot in a theater of operations where military supplies are unloaded for distribution
From this reading An hour ago she would have been most dreadfully dismayed at such a disaster, but now it seemed like a providential chance which would admit of her going to railhead without seriously upsetting the plans of anyone.
sit and travel on the back of animal, usually while controlling its motions
From this reading “So I must, even though I have to walk every step of the way, although luckily that is not necessary, as I can ride one of the horses,” he answered.
RoutenounUS /ruːt/
an established line of travel or access
From this reading En Route BERTHA gave a little gasp of surprise.
being the one previously mentioned or spoken of
From this reading “I thought that you said you must get home to-night, because you had some work to do.”
past form of “seem” — give a certain impression or have a certain outward aspect
From this reading An hour ago she would have been most dreadfully dismayed at such a disaster, but now it seemed like a providential chance which would admit of her going to railhead without seriously upsetting the plans of anyone.
in a serious manner
From this reading An hour ago she would have been most dreadfully dismayed at such a disaster, but now it seemed like a providential chance which would admit of her going to railhead without seriously upsetting the plans of anyone.
used with I and we for the future, or to offer and suggest
From this reading “It is not so much what shall I do, as what you can do yourself,” she answered slowly.
a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading An hour ago she would have been most dreadfully dismayed at such a disaster, but now it seemed like a providential chance which would admit of her going to railhead without seriously upsetting the plans of anyone.
without speed (“slow” is sometimes used informally for “slowly”)
From this reading “It is not so much what shall I do, as what you can do yourself,” she answered slowly.
for that reason; with the result that
From this reading “It is not so much what shall I do, as what you can do yourself,” she answered slowly.
(quantifier) used with either mass nouns or plural count nouns to indicate an unspecified number or quantity
From this reading “I thought that you said you must get home to-night, because you had some work to do.”
any maneuver made as part of progress toward a goal
From this reading “So I must, even though I have to walk every step of the way, although luckily that is not necessary, as I can ride one of the horses,” he answered.
of the kind already mentioned
From this reading An hour ago she would have been most dreadfully dismayed at such a disaster, but now it seemed like a providential chance which would admit of her going to railhead without seriously upsetting the plans of anyone.
the astonishment you feel when something totally unexpected happens to you
From this reading En Route BERTHA gave a little gasp of surprise.
used to introduce what somebody said, thought, or felt
From this reading “I thought that you said you must get home to-night, because you had some work to do.”
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading An hour ago she would have been most dreadfully dismayed at such a disaster, but now it seemed like a providential chance which would admit of her going to railhead without seriously upsetting the plans of anyone.
in spite of the fact that
From this reading “So I must, even though I have to walk every step of the way, although luckily that is not necessary, as I can ride one of the horses,” he answered.
the content of cognition; the main thing you are thinking about
From this reading “I thought that you said you must get home to-night, because you had some work to do.”
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading An hour ago she would have been most dreadfully dismayed at such a disaster, but now it seemed like a providential chance which would admit of her going to railhead without seriously upsetting the plans of anyone.
to-night
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading “I thought that you said you must get home to-night, because you had some work to do.”
upsettingadjectiveUS /əpˈsetɪŋ/
causing an emotional disturbance
From this reading An hour ago she would have been most dreadfully dismayed at such a disaster, but now it seemed like a providential chance which would admit of her going to railhead without seriously upsetting the plans of anyone.
the act of traveling by foot
From this reading “So I must, even though I have to walk every step of the way, although luckily that is not necessary, as I can ride one of the horses,” he answered.
how something is done or how it happens
From this reading “So I must, even though I have to walk every step of the way, although luckily that is not necessary, as I can ride one of the horses,” he answered.
used to ask for information about something
From this reading “It is not so much what shall I do, as what you can do yourself,” she answered slowly.
used to introduce a clause giving more about a thing just mentioned
From this reading An hour ago she would have been most dreadfully dismayed at such a disaster, but now it seemed like a providential chance which would admit of her going to railhead without seriously upsetting the plans of anyone.
not having, not using, or not accompanied by
From this reading An hour ago she would have been most dreadfully dismayed at such a disaster, but now it seemed like a providential chance which would admit of her going to railhead without seriously upsetting the plans of anyone.
exert oneself by doing mental or physical work for a purpose or out of necessity
From this reading “I thought that you said you must get home to-night, because you had some work to do.”
used for something imagined, polite, or habitual in the past
From this reading An hour ago she would have been most dreadfully dismayed at such a disaster, but now it seemed like a providential chance which would admit of her going to railhead without seriously upsetting the plans of anyone.
the person or people being spoken to
From this reading “It is not so much what shall I do, as what you can do yourself,” she answered slowly.
used when the person spoken to is also the object of the action
From this reading “It is not so much what shall I do, as what you can do yourself,” she answered slowly.
