used before a singular noun to mean one of a group, when it is not a particular one
From this reading His hand came in contact with a dried bush and several sticks of wood, all of which had probably floated in at one time on the stream, and these at once made him think of a fire.
aboutprepositionUS /əˈbaʊt/
on the subject of; concerning
From this reading The Cave in the Mountain Allen was too exhausted to do more than move about cautiously.
(quantifier) used with either mass or count nouns to indicate the whole number or amount of or every one of a class
From this reading His hand came in contact with a dried bush and several sticks of wood, all of which had probably floated in at one time on the stream, and these at once made him think of a fire.
AllennounUS /ˈælən/
United States comedienne remembered as the confused but imperturbable partner of her husband, George Burns (1906-1964)
From this reading The Cave in the Mountain Allen was too exhausted to do more than move about cautiously.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading He felt for the edge of the stream, and then moved away from it for several yards.
in or near a particular place or position
From this reading His hand came in contact with a dried bush and several sticks of wood, all of which had probably floated in at one time on the stream, and these at once made him think of a fire.
from a particular thing or place or position (“forth” is obsolete)
From this reading He felt for the edge of the stream, and then moved away from it for several yards.
used with a past participle to form the passive, or with -ing for continuous tenses
From this reading What a relief a bit of light would be!
a small piece or quantity of something
From this reading What a relief a bit of light would be!
a low woody perennial plant usually having several major stems
From this reading His hand came in contact with a dried bush and several sticks of wood, all of which had probably floated in at one time on the stream, and these at once made him think of a fire.
inflected form of “come” — move toward, travel toward something or somebody or approach something or somebody
From this reading His hand came in contact with a dried bush and several sticks of wood, all of which had probably floated in at one time on the stream, and these at once made him think of a fire.
cautiouslyadverbUS /ˈkɔːʃəsli/
as if with kid gloves; with caution or prudence or tact
From this reading The Cave in the Mountain Allen was too exhausted to do more than move about cautiously.
a geological formation consisting of an underground enclosure with access from the surface of the ground or from the sea
From this reading The Cave in the Mountain Allen was too exhausted to do more than move about cautiously.
contactnounUS /ˈkɑːntækt/
close interaction
From this reading His hand came in contact with a dried bush and several sticks of wood, all of which had probably floated in at one time on the stream, and these at once made him think of a fire.
used to form questions and negatives, and to give emphasis
From this reading The Cave in the Mountain Allen was too exhausted to do more than move about cautiously.
driedadjectiveUS /draɪd/
not still wet
From this reading His hand came in contact with a dried bush and several sticks of wood, all of which had probably floated in at one time on the stream, and these at once made him think of a fire.
the boundary of a surface
From this reading He felt for the edge of the stream, and then moved away from it for several yards.
drained of energy or effectiveness; extremely tired; completely exhausted
From this reading The Cave in the Mountain Allen was too exhausted to do more than move about cautiously.
mat together and make felt-like
From this reading He felt for the edge of the stream, and then moved away from it for several yards.
start firing a weapon
From this reading His hand came in contact with a dried bush and several sticks of wood, all of which had probably floated in at one time on the stream, and these at once made him think of a fire.
floatedverbUS /ˈfloʊtəd/
past form of “float” — be in motion due to some air or water current
From this reading His hand came in contact with a dried bush and several sticks of wood, all of which had probably floated in at one time on the stream, and these at once made him think of a fire.
intended to be given to, or used by, somebody
From this reading He felt for the edge of the stream, and then moved away from it for several yards.
set up or found
From this reading In his life on the long range, Allen had found a watertight matchbox very useful.
showing where something starts, or who sent it
From this reading He felt for the edge of the stream, and then moved away from it for several yards.
hadauxiliary verbUS /hæd/
the past form of “have”, used to form the past perfect
From this reading His hand came in contact with a dried bush and several sticks of wood, all of which had probably floated in at one time on the stream, and these at once made him think of a fire.
the (prehensile) extremity of the superior limb
From this reading His hand came in contact with a dried bush and several sticks of wood, all of which had probably floated in at one time on the stream, and these at once made him think of a fire.
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading He felt for the edge of the stream, and then moved away from it for several yards.
the male already mentioned, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading His hand came in contact with a dried bush and several sticks of wood, all of which had probably floated in at one time on the stream, and these at once made him think of a fire.
belonging to a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned
From this reading His hand came in contact with a dried bush and several sticks of wood, all of which had probably floated in at one time on the stream, and these at once made him think of a fire.
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading The Cave in the Mountain Allen was too exhausted to do more than move about cautiously.
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading He felt for the edge of the stream, and then moved away from it for several yards.
a characteristic state or mode of living
From this reading In his life on the long range, Allen had found a watertight matchbox very useful.
of comparatively little physical weight or density
From this reading What a relief a bit of light would be!
primarily temporal sense; being or indicating a relatively great or greater than average duration or passage of time or a duration as specified
From this reading In his life on the long range, Allen had found a watertight matchbox very useful.
produced by a manufacturing process
From this reading His hand came in contact with a dried bush and several sticks of wood, all of which had probably floated in at one time on the stream, and these at once made him think of a fire.
matchboxnounUS /ˈmætʃbɑːks/
a box for holding matches
From this reading In his life on the long range, Allen had found a watertight matchbox very useful.
(comparative of “much” used with mass nouns) a quantifier meaning greater in size or amount or extent or degree
From this reading The Cave in the Mountain Allen was too exhausted to do more than move about cautiously.
a land mass that projects well above its surroundings; higher than a hill
From this reading The Cave in the Mountain Allen was too exhausted to do more than move about cautiously.
change location; move, travel, or proceed, also metaphorically
From this reading The Cave in the Mountain Allen was too exhausted to do more than move about cautiously.
being excited or provoked to the expression of an emotion
From this reading He felt for the edge of the stream, and then moved away from it for several yards.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading He felt for the edge of the stream, and then moved away from it for several yards.
touching and supported by a surface
From this reading His hand came in contact with a dried bush and several sticks of wood, all of which had probably floated in at one time on the stream, and these at once made him think of a fire.
on one occasion
From this reading His hand came in contact with a dried bush and several sticks of wood, all of which had probably floated in at one time on the stream, and these at once made him think of a fire.
used to mean any person in general, including the speaker
From this reading His hand came in contact with a dried bush and several sticks of wood, all of which had probably floated in at one time on the stream, and these at once made him think of a fire.
with considerable certainty; without much doubt
From this reading His hand came in contact with a dried bush and several sticks of wood, all of which had probably floated in at one time on the stream, and these at once made him think of a fire.
an area in which something acts or operates or has power or control: "the range of a supersonic jet"
From this reading In his life on the long range, Allen had found a watertight matchbox very useful.
the feeling that comes when something burdensome is removed or reduced
From this reading What a relief a bit of light would be!
(used with count nouns) of an indefinite number more than 2 or 3 but not many
From this reading He felt for the edge of the stream, and then moved away from it for several yards.
sticksnounUS /stɪks/
plural of “stick” — an implement consisting of a length of wood
From this reading His hand came in contact with a dried bush and several sticks of wood, all of which had probably floated in at one time on the stream, and these at once made him think of a fire.
a natural body of running water flowing on or under the earth
From this reading He felt for the edge of the stream, and then moved away from it for several yards.
used to introduce the second part of a comparison
From this reading The Cave in the Mountain Allen was too exhausted to do more than move about cautiously.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading The Cave in the Mountain Allen was too exhausted to do more than move about cautiously.
subsequently or soon afterward (often used as sentence connectors)
From this reading He felt for the edge of the stream, and then moved away from it for several yards.
the plural of “this”: the people or things near, or just mentioned
From this reading His hand came in contact with a dried bush and several sticks of wood, all of which had probably floated in at one time on the stream, and these at once made him think of a fire.
judge or regard; look upon; judge
From this reading His hand came in contact with a dried bush and several sticks of wood, all of which had probably floated in at one time on the stream, and these at once made him think of a fire.
an instance or single occasion for some event
From this reading His hand came in contact with a dried bush and several sticks of wood, all of which had probably floated in at one time on the stream, and these at once made him think of a fire.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading The Cave in the Mountain Allen was too exhausted to do more than move about cautiously.
to a degree exceeding normal or proper limits
From this reading The Cave in the Mountain Allen was too exhausted to do more than move about cautiously.
being of use or service
From this reading In his life on the long range, Allen had found a watertight matchbox very useful.
precisely as stated
From this reading In his life on the long range, Allen had found a watertight matchbox very useful.
wasauxiliary verbUS /wɑːz/
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading The Cave in the Mountain Allen was too exhausted to do more than move about cautiously.
watertightadjectiveUS /ˈwɔːtərtaɪt/
not allowing water to pass in or out
From this reading In his life on the long range, Allen had found a watertight matchbox very useful.
used to ask for information about something
From this reading What a relief a bit of light would be!
used to introduce a clause giving more about a thing just mentioned
From this reading His hand came in contact with a dried bush and several sticks of wood, all of which had probably floated in at one time on the stream, and these at once made him think of a fire.
in the company of; together with
From this reading His hand came in contact with a dried bush and several sticks of wood, all of which had probably floated in at one time on the stream, and these at once made him think of a fire.
the hard fibrous lignified substance under the bark of trees
From this reading His hand came in contact with a dried bush and several sticks of wood, all of which had probably floated in at one time on the stream, and these at once made him think of a fire.
used for something imagined, polite, or habitual in the past
From this reading What a relief a bit of light would be!
plural of “yard” — a unit of length equal to 3 feet; defined as 91.44 centimeters; originally taken to be the average length of a stride
From this reading He felt for the edge of the stream, and then moved away from it for several yards.
