used before a singular noun to mean one of a group, when it is not a particular one
From this reading THE ATTACK When after this I looked across the parapet I was as a man of highly tempered steel.
aboutprepositionUS /əˈbaʊt/
on the subject of; concerning
From this reading On a guess I judged their line to be quite fifteen hundred yards away because each unit looked about the size of a pea; and, as these represented the upper halves of men, the distance was too great to open fire.
from one side of something to the other
From this reading THE ATTACK When after this I looked across the parapet I was as a man of highly tempered steel.
farther along in physical or mental development
From this reading Then they advanced.
afterprepositionUS /ˈæftər/
later than; following
From this reading THE ATTACK When after this I looked across the parapet I was as a man of highly tempered steel.
the form of “a” used before a word that begins with a vowel sound
From this reading The compact mass had begun to disintegrate, spreading in both directions until their flanks must have been an eighth of a mile apart.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading On a guess I judged their line to be quite fifteen hundred yards away because each unit looked about the size of a pea; and, as these represented the upper halves of men, the distance was too great to open fire.
separated or at a distance in place or position or time
From this reading The compact mass had begun to disintegrate, spreading in both directions until their flanks must have been an eighth of a mile apart.
at the same time that; because; in the way that
From this reading THE ATTACK When after this I looked across the parapet I was as a man of highly tempered steel.
(military) an offensive against an enemy (using weapons)
From this reading THE ATTACK When after this I looked across the parapet I was as a man of highly tempered steel.
from a particular thing or place or position (“forth” is obsolete)
From this reading On a guess I judged their line to be quite fifteen hundred yards away because each unit looked about the size of a pea; and, as these represented the upper halves of men, the distance was too great to open fire.
used with a past participle to form the passive, or with -ing for continuous tenses
From this reading On a guess I judged their line to be quite fifteen hundred yards away because each unit looked about the size of a pea; and, as these represented the upper halves of men, the distance was too great to open fire.
for the reason that
From this reading On a guess I judged their line to be quite fifteen hundred yards away because each unit looked about the size of a pea; and, as these represented the upper halves of men, the distance was too great to open fire.
beenauxiliary verbUS /bɪn/
the past participle of “be”
From this reading The compact mass had begun to disintegrate, spreading in both directions until their flanks must have been an eighth of a mile apart.
inflected form of “begin” — take the first step or steps in carrying out an action
From this reading The compact mass had begun to disintegrate, spreading in both directions until their flanks must have been an eighth of a mile apart.
the two together, not just one
From this reading The compact mass had begun to disintegrate, spreading in both directions until their flanks must have been an eighth of a mile apart.
compactnounUS /ˈkɑːmpækt/
a small cosmetics case with a mirror; to be carried in a woman's purse
From this reading The compact mass had begun to disintegrate, spreading in both directions until their flanks must have been an eighth of a mile apart.
plural of “direction” — a line leading to a place or point
From this reading The compact mass had begun to disintegrate, spreading in both directions until their flanks must have been an eighth of a mile apart.
disintegrateverbUS /dɪˈsɪntəɡreɪt/
break into parts or components or lose cohesion or unity
From this reading The compact mass had begun to disintegrate, spreading in both directions until their flanks must have been an eighth of a mile apart.
the property created by the space between two objects or points
From this reading On a guess I judged their line to be quite fifteen hundred yards away because each unit looked about the size of a pea; and, as these represented the upper halves of men, the distance was too great to open fire.
every one of two or more people or things, taken separately
From this reading On a guess I judged their line to be quite fifteen hundred yards away because each unit looked about the size of a pea; and, as these represented the upper halves of men, the distance was too great to open fire.
eighthadjectiveUS /eɪtθ/
coming next after the seventh and just before the ninth in position
From this reading The compact mass had begun to disintegrate, spreading in both directions until their flanks must have been an eighth of a mile apart.
the cardinal number that is the sum of fourteen and one
From this reading On a guess I judged their line to be quite fifteen hundred yards away because each unit looked about the size of a pea; and, as these represented the upper halves of men, the distance was too great to open fire.
start firing a weapon
From this reading On a guess I judged their line to be quite fifteen hundred yards away because each unit looked about the size of a pea; and, as these represented the upper halves of men, the distance was too great to open fire.
flanksnounUS /flæŋks/
plural of “flank” — the side of military or naval formation
From this reading The compact mass had begun to disintegrate, spreading in both directions until their flanks must have been an eighth of a mile apart.
relatively large in size or number or extent; larger than others of its kind
From this reading On a guess I judged their line to be quite fifteen hundred yards away because each unit looked about the size of a pea; and, as these represented the upper halves of men, the distance was too great to open fire.
expect, believe, or suppose
From this reading On a guess I judged their line to be quite fifteen hundred yards away because each unit looked about the size of a pea; and, as these represented the upper halves of men, the distance was too great to open fire.
hadauxiliary verbUS /hæd/
the past form of “have”, used to form the past perfect
From this reading The compact mass had begun to disintegrate, spreading in both directions until their flanks must have been an eighth of a mile apart.
halvesnounUS /hævz/
plural of “half” — one of two equal parts of a divisible whole
From this reading On a guess I judged their line to be quite fifteen hundred yards away because each unit looked about the size of a pea; and, as these represented the upper halves of men, the distance was too great to open fire.
haveauxiliary verbUS /hæv/
used with a past participle to form the perfect tenses
From this reading The compact mass had begun to disintegrate, spreading in both directions until their flanks must have been an eighth of a mile apart.
to a high degree or extent; favorably or with much respect
From this reading THE ATTACK When after this I looked across the parapet I was as a man of highly tempered steel.
ten 10s
From this reading On a guess I judged their line to be quite fifteen hundred yards away because each unit looked about the size of a pea; and, as these represented the upper halves of men, the distance was too great to open fire.
the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb
From this reading THE ATTACK When after this I looked across the parapet I was as a man of highly tempered steel.
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading The compact mass had begun to disintegrate, spreading in both directions until their flanks must have been an eighth of a mile apart.
judgedverbUS /dʒʌdʒd/
past form of “judge” — determine the result of (a competition)
From this reading On a guess I judged their line to be quite fifteen hundred yards away because each unit looked about the size of a pea; and, as these represented the upper halves of men, the distance was too great to open fire.
a formation of people or things one beside another
From this reading On a guess I judged their line to be quite fifteen hundred yards away because each unit looked about the size of a pea; and, as these represented the upper halves of men, the distance was too great to open fire.
past form of “look” — perceive with attention; direct one's gaze towards
From this reading THE ATTACK When after this I looked across the parapet I was as a man of highly tempered steel.
an adult person who is male (as opposed to a woman)
From this reading THE ATTACK When after this I looked across the parapet I was as a man of highly tempered steel.
the property of a body that causes it to have weight in a gravitational field
From this reading The compact mass had begun to disintegrate, spreading in both directions until their flanks must have been an eighth of a mile apart.
the force of workers available
From this reading On a guess I judged their line to be quite fifteen hundred yards away because each unit looked about the size of a pea; and, as these represented the upper halves of men, the distance was too great to open fire.
a unit of length equal to 1,760 yards or 5,280 feet; exactly 1609.344 meters
From this reading The compact mass had begun to disintegrate, spreading in both directions until their flanks must have been an eighth of a mile apart.
used to say something is necessary, or almost certainly true
From this reading The compact mass had begun to disintegrate, spreading in both directions until their flanks must have been an eighth of a mile apart.
belonging to the person speaking
From this reading So I raised my sight to a thousand yards and waited.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading THE ATTACK When after this I looked across the parapet I was as a man of highly tempered steel.
touching and supported by a surface
From this reading On a guess I judged their line to be quite fifteen hundred yards away because each unit looked about the size of a pea; and, as these represented the upper halves of men, the distance was too great to open fire.
To move from a closed position.
From this reading On a guess I judged their line to be quite fifteen hundred yards away because each unit looked about the size of a pea; and, as these represented the upper halves of men, the distance was too great to open fire.
parapetnounUS /ˈperəpet/
a low wall along the edge of a roof or balcony
From this reading THE ATTACK When after this I looked across the parapet I was as a man of highly tempered steel.
peanounUS /piː/
seed of a pea plant used for food
From this reading On a guess I judged their line to be quite fifteen hundred yards away because each unit looked about the size of a pea; and, as these represented the upper halves of men, the distance was too great to open fire.
to a degree (not used with a negative)
From this reading On a guess I judged their line to be quite fifteen hundred yards away because each unit looked about the size of a pea; and, as these represented the upper halves of men, the distance was too great to open fire.
located or moved above the surround or above the normal position
From this reading So I raised my sight to a thousand yards and waited.
representedadjectiveUS /ˌreprɪˈzentɪd/
represented accurately or precisely
From this reading On a guess I judged their line to be quite fifteen hundred yards away because each unit looked about the size of a pea; and, as these represented the upper halves of men, the distance was too great to open fire.
an instance of visual perception
From this reading So I raised my sight to a thousand yards and waited.
the physical magnitude of something (how big it is)
From this reading On a guess I judged their line to be quite fifteen hundred yards away because each unit looked about the size of a pea; and, as these represented the upper halves of men, the distance was too great to open fire.
for that reason; with the result that
From this reading So I raised my sight to a thousand yards and waited.
spreadingnounUS /ˈspredɪŋ/
process or result of distributing or extending over a wide expanse of space
From this reading The compact mass had begun to disintegrate, spreading in both directions until their flanks must have been an eighth of a mile apart.
an alloy of iron with small amounts of carbon; widely used in construction; mechanical properties can be varied over a wide range
From this reading THE ATTACK When after this I looked across the parapet I was as a man of highly tempered steel.
temperedadjectiveUS /ˈtempərd/
made hard or flexible or resilient especially by heat treatment
From this reading THE ATTACK When after this I looked across the parapet I was as a man of highly tempered steel.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading THE ATTACK When after this I looked across the parapet I was as a man of highly tempered steel.
belonging to the people or things already mentioned
From this reading The compact mass had begun to disintegrate, spreading in both directions until their flanks must have been an eighth of a mile apart.
subsequently or soon afterward (often used as sentence connectors)
From this reading Then they advanced.
the plural of “this”: the people or things near, or just mentioned
From this reading On a guess I judged their line to be quite fifteen hundred yards away because each unit looked about the size of a pea; and, as these represented the upper halves of men, the distance was too great to open fire.
the people, animals, or things already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading Then they advanced.
used for a person or thing that is near, or that has just been mentioned
From this reading THE ATTACK When after this I looked across the parapet I was as a man of highly tempered steel.
the cardinal number that is the product of 10 and 100
From this reading So I raised my sight to a thousand yards and waited.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading The compact mass had begun to disintegrate, spreading in both directions until their flanks must have been an eighth of a mile apart.
to a degree exceeding normal or proper limits
From this reading On a guess I judged their line to be quite fifteen hundred yards away because each unit looked about the size of a pea; and, as these represented the upper halves of men, the distance was too great to open fire.
unitnounUS /ˈjuːnət/
any division of quantity accepted as a standard of measurement or exchange
From this reading On a guess I judged their line to be quite fifteen hundred yards away because each unit looked about the size of a pea; and, as these represented the upper halves of men, the distance was too great to open fire.
untilprepositionUS /ənˈtɪl/
up to a particular time
From this reading The compact mass had begun to disintegrate, spreading in both directions until their flanks must have been an eighth of a mile apart.
the topmost one of two
From this reading On a guess I judged their line to be quite fifteen hundred yards away because each unit looked about the size of a pea; and, as these represented the upper halves of men, the distance was too great to open fire.
past form of “wait” — stay in one place and anticipate or expect something
From this reading So I raised my sight to a thousand yards and waited.
wasauxiliary verbUS /wɑːz/
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading THE ATTACK When after this I looked across the parapet I was as a man of highly tempered steel.
at the time that
From this reading THE ATTACK When after this I looked across the parapet I was as a man of highly tempered steel.
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 On a guess I judged their line to be quite fifteen hundred yards away because each unit looked about the size of a pea; and, as these represented the upper halves of men, the distance was too great to open fire.
