used before a singular noun to mean one of a group, when it is not a particular one
From this reading The dining-room long table was so beautiful with lights, fruits, greens, and confections, with setting of plate and glass, that to Matilda it was almost as much of a sight as the Christmas tree had been.
aboutprepositionUS /əˈbaʊt/
on the subject of; concerning
From this reading But the others were accustomed to this sort of thing, and fell to tasting, with very little rapture about the seeing.
commonly used or practiced; usual
From this reading But the others were accustomed to this sort of thing, and fell to tasting, with very little rapture about the seeing.
(of actions or states) slightly short of or not quite accomplished; all but
From this reading The dining-room long table was so beautiful with lights, fruits, greens, and confections, with setting of plate and glass, that to Matilda it was almost as much of a sight as the Christmas tree had been.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading The dining-room long table was so beautiful with lights, fruits, greens, and confections, with setting of plate and glass, that to Matilda it was almost as much of a sight as the Christmas tree had been.
one more of the same kind, or a different one
From this reading It was another variety of this wonderful evening.
at the same time that; because; in the way that
From this reading The dining-room long table was so beautiful with lights, fruits, greens, and confections, with setting of plate and glass, that to Matilda it was almost as much of a sight as the Christmas tree had been.
used with a past participle to form the passive, or with -ing for continuous tenses
From this reading What a buzz the room was in, to be sure!
delighting the senses or exciting intellectual or emotional admiration
From this reading The dining-room long table was so beautiful with lights, fruits, greens, and confections, with setting of plate and glass, that to Matilda it was almost as much of a sight as the Christmas tree had been.
beenauxiliary verbUS /bɪn/
the past participle of “be”
From this reading The dining-room long table was so beautiful with lights, fruits, greens, and confections, with setting of plate and glass, that to Matilda it was almost as much of a sight as the Christmas tree had been.
used to introduce something that contrasts with what came before
From this reading But the others were accustomed to this sort of thing, and fell to tasting, with very little rapture about the seeing.
buzzverbUS /bʌz/
make a buzzing sound
From this reading What a buzz the room was in, to be sure!
period extending from Dec. 24 to Jan. 6
From this reading The dining-room long table was so beautiful with lights, fruits, greens, and confections, with setting of plate and glass, that to Matilda it was almost as much of a sight as the Christmas tree had been.
confectionsnounUS /kənˈfekʃənz/
plural of “confection” — a food rich in sugar
From this reading The dining-room long table was so beautiful with lights, fruits, greens, and confections, with setting of plate and glass, that to Matilda it was almost as much of a sight as the Christmas tree had been.
dining-roomnoun
a room used for dining
From this reading The dining-room long table was so beautiful with lights, fruits, greens, and confections, with setting of plate and glass, that to Matilda it was almost as much of a sight as the Christmas tree had been.
downstairsadverbUS /ˈdaʊnˈsterz/
on a floor below
From this reading Supper was just served when they got downstairs.
the latter part of the day (the period of decreasing daylight from late afternoon until nightfall)
From this reading It was another variety of this wonderful evening.
cause to fall by or as if by delivering a blow
From this reading But the others were accustomed to this sort of thing, and fell to tasting, with very little rapture about the seeing.
fruitsnounUS /fruːts/
plural of “fruit” — the ripened reproductive body of a seed plant
From this reading The dining-room long table was so beautiful with lights, fruits, greens, and confections, with setting of plate and glass, that to Matilda it was almost as much of a sight as the Christmas tree had been.
a brittle transparent solid with irregular atomic structure
From this reading The dining-room long table was so beautiful with lights, fruits, greens, and confections, with setting of plate and glass, that to Matilda it was almost as much of a sight as the Christmas tree had been.
inflected form of “get” — come into the possession of something concrete or abstract
From this reading Supper was just served when they got downstairs.
greensnounUS /ɡriːnz/
any of various leafy plants or their leaves and stems eaten as vegetables
From this reading The dining-room long table was so beautiful with lights, fruits, greens, and confections, with setting of plate and glass, that to Matilda it was almost as much of a sight as the Christmas tree had been.
hadauxiliary verbUS /hæd/
the past form of “have”, used to form the past perfect
From this reading The dining-room long table was so beautiful with lights, fruits, greens, and confections, with setting of plate and glass, that to Matilda it was almost as much of a sight as the Christmas tree had been.
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading What a buzz the room was in, to be sure!
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading It was another variety of this wonderful evening.
and nothing more
From this reading Supper was just served when they got downstairs.
plural of “light” — (physics) electromagnetic radiation that can produce a visual sensation
From this reading The dining-room long table was so beautiful with lights, fruits, greens, and confections, with setting of plate and glass, that to Matilda it was almost as much of a sight as the Christmas tree had been.
limited or below average in number or quantity or magnitude or extent
From this reading But the others were accustomed to this sort of thing, and fell to tasting, with very little rapture about the seeing.
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 The dining-room long table was so beautiful with lights, fruits, greens, and confections, with setting of plate and glass, that to Matilda it was almost as much of a sight as the Christmas tree had been.
Matilda
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading The dining-room long table was so beautiful with lights, fruits, greens, and confections, with setting of plate and glass, that to Matilda it was almost as much of a sight as the Christmas tree had been.
to a great degree or extent
From this reading The dining-room long table was so beautiful with lights, fruits, greens, and confections, with setting of plate and glass, that to Matilda it was almost as much of a sight as the Christmas tree had been.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading It was another variety of this wonderful evening.
others
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading But the others were accustomed to this sort of thing, and fell to tasting, with very little rapture about the seeing.
(baseball) base consisting of a rubber slab where the batter stands; it must be touched by a base runner in order to score
From this reading The dining-room long table was so beautiful with lights, fruits, greens, and confections, with setting of plate and glass, that to Matilda it was almost as much of a sight as the Christmas tree had been.
rapturenounUS /ˈræptʃər/
a state of being carried away by overwhelming emotion
From this reading But the others were accustomed to this sort of thing, and fell to tasting, with very little rapture about the seeing.
an area within a building enclosed by walls and floor and ceiling
From this reading What a buzz the room was in, to be sure!
perception by means of the eyes
From this reading But the others were accustomed to this sort of thing, and fell to tasting, with very little rapture about the seeing.
past form of “serve” — serve a purpose, role, or function
From this reading Supper was just served when they got downstairs.
the context and environment in which something is set
From this reading The dining-room long table was so beautiful with lights, fruits, greens, and confections, with setting of plate and glass, that to Matilda it was almost as much of a sight as the Christmas tree had been.
an instance of visual perception
From this reading The dining-room long table was so beautiful with lights, fruits, greens, and confections, with setting of plate and glass, that to Matilda it was almost as much of a sight as the Christmas tree had been.
for that reason; with the result that
From this reading The dining-room long table was so beautiful with lights, fruits, greens, and confections, with setting of plate and glass, that to Matilda it was almost as much of a sight as the Christmas tree had been.
a category of things distinguished by some common characteristic or quality
From this reading But the others were accustomed to this sort of thing, and fell to tasting, with very little rapture about the seeing.
a light evening meal; served in early evening if dinner is at midday or served late in the evening at bedtime
From this reading Supper was just served when they got downstairs.
having or feeling no doubt or uncertainty; confident and assured
From this reading What a buzz the room was in, to be sure!
a set of data arranged in rows and columns
From this reading The dining-room long table was so beautiful with lights, fruits, greens, and confections, with setting of plate and glass, that to Matilda it was almost as much of a sight as the Christmas tree had been.
tastingnounUS /ˈteɪstɪŋ/
a small amount (especially of food or wine)
From this reading But the others were accustomed to this sort of thing, and fell to tasting, with very little rapture about the seeing.
used to introduce what somebody said, thought, or felt
From this reading The dining-room long table was so beautiful with lights, fruits, greens, and confections, with setting of plate and glass, that to Matilda it was almost as much of a sight as the Christmas tree had been.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading The dining-room long table was so beautiful with lights, fruits, greens, and confections, with setting of plate and glass, that to Matilda it was almost as much of a sight as the Christmas tree had been.
the people, animals, or things already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading Supper was just served when they got downstairs.
a special situation
From this reading But the others were accustomed to this sort of thing, and fell to tasting, with very little rapture about the seeing.
used for a person or thing that is near, or that has just been mentioned
From this reading It was another variety of this wonderful evening.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading The dining-room long table was so beautiful with lights, fruits, greens, and confections, with setting of plate and glass, that to Matilda it was almost as much of a sight as the Christmas tree had been.
a tall perennial woody plant having a main trunk and branches forming a distinct elevated crown; includes both gymnosperms and angiosperms
From this reading The dining-room long table was so beautiful with lights, fruits, greens, and confections, with setting of plate and glass, that to Matilda it was almost as much of a sight as the Christmas tree had been.
varietynounUS /vərˈaɪəti/
a collection containing a variety of sorts of things
From this reading It was another variety of this wonderful evening.
precisely as stated
From this reading But the others were accustomed to this sort of thing, and fell to tasting, with very little rapture about the seeing.
wasauxiliary verbUS /wɑːz/
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading Supper was just served when they got downstairs.
wereauxiliary verbUS /wɜːr/
the past form of “be” used with you, we, they, or a plural noun
From this reading But the others were accustomed to this sort of thing, and fell to tasting, with very little rapture about the seeing.
used to ask for information about something
From this reading What a buzz the room was in, to be sure!
at the time that
From this reading Supper was just served when they got downstairs.
in the company of; together with
From this reading The dining-room long table was so beautiful with lights, fruits, greens, and confections, with setting of plate and glass, that to Matilda it was almost as much of a sight as the Christmas tree had been.
extraordinarily good or great; used especially as intensifiers
From this reading It was another variety of this wonderful evening.
