Every word is available to listen to. Dictionary details are shown only when verified; these are not licensed Oxford entries.
adeterminerUS /ə/
used before a singular noun to mean one of a group, when it is not a particular one
From this reading It spread out in a gentle slope, surrounded by tall thickets and superb beeches with straight regular trunks, which formed a white colonnade patched with green lichens; fallen giants were also lying in the grass, while on the left a mass of logs formed a geometrical cube.
aboveprepositionUS /əˈbʌv/
higher than, or over, something
From this reading There was black darkness on the earth while the tall branches showed against the pale sky, where a full moon coming above the horizon would soon extinguish the stars.
afar
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Nearly three thousand colliers had come to the rendezvous, a swarming crowd of men, women, and children, gradually filling the glade and spreading out afar beneath the trees.
againstprepositionUS /əˈɡenst/
touching and pressing; in opposition to
From this reading There was black darkness on the earth while the tall branches showed against the pale sky, where a full moon coming above the horizon would soon extinguish the stars.
also
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading It spread out in a gentle slope, surrounded by tall thickets and superb beeches with straight regular trunks, which formed a white colonnade patched with green lichens; fallen giants were also lying in the grass, while on the left a mass of logs formed a geometrical cube.
andconjunctionUS /ənd/
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading It spread out in a gentle slope, surrounded by tall thickets and superb beeches with straight regular trunks, which formed a white colonnade patched with green lichens; fallen giants were also lying in the grass, while on the left a mass of logs formed a geometrical cube.
beeches
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading It spread out in a gentle slope, surrounded by tall thickets and superb beeches with straight regular trunks, which formed a white colonnade patched with green lichens; fallen giants were also lying in the grass, while on the left a mass of logs formed a geometrical cube.
beneathprepositionUS /bɪˈniːθ/
Directly under; in or to a lower position than.
From this reading The cold was sharpening with the twilight and the frozen moss crackled beneath the feet.
black
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading There was black darkness on the earth while the tall branches showed against the pale sky, where a full moon coming above the horizon would soon extinguish the stars.
branches
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading There was black darkness on the earth while the tall branches showed against the pale sky, where a full moon coming above the horizon would soon extinguish the stars.
byprepositionUS /baɪ/
showing who or what does the action
From this reading It was the Plan-des-Dames, that vast glade just opened up by the felling of trees.
children
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Nearly three thousand colliers had come to the rendezvous, a swarming crowd of men, women, and children, gradually filling the glade and spreading out afar beneath the trees.
cold
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading The cold was sharpening with the twilight and the frozen moss crackled beneath the feet.
colliers
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Nearly three thousand colliers had come to the rendezvous, a swarming crowd of men, women, and children, gradually filling the glade and spreading out afar beneath the trees.
colonnade
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading It spread out in a gentle slope, surrounded by tall thickets and superb beeches with straight regular trunks, which formed a white colonnade patched with green lichens; fallen giants were also lying in the grass, while on the left a mass of logs formed a geometrical cube.
comenounUS /come/
an important story-specific word used in this passage
From this reading Nearly three thousand colliers had come to the rendezvous, a swarming crowd of men, women, and children, gradually filling the glade and spreading out afar beneath the trees.
coming
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading There was black darkness on the earth while the tall branches showed against the pale sky, where a full moon coming above the horizon would soon extinguish the stars.
crackled
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading The cold was sharpening with the twilight and the frozen moss crackled beneath the feet.
crowd
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Nearly three thousand colliers had come to the rendezvous, a swarming crowd of men, women, and children, gradually filling the glade and spreading out afar beneath the trees.
cube
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading It spread out in a gentle slope, surrounded by tall thickets and superb beeches with straight regular trunks, which formed a white colonnade patched with green lichens; fallen giants were also lying in the grass, while on the left a mass of logs formed a geometrical cube.
darkness
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading There was black darkness on the earth while the tall branches showed against the pale sky, where a full moon coming above the horizon would soon extinguish the stars.
earth
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading There was black darkness on the earth while the tall branches showed against the pale sky, where a full moon coming above the horizon would soon extinguish the stars.
extinguish
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading There was black darkness on the earth while the tall branches showed against the pale sky, where a full moon coming above the horizon would soon extinguish the stars.
fallen
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading It spread out in a gentle slope, surrounded by tall thickets and superb beeches with straight regular trunks, which formed a white colonnade patched with green lichens; fallen giants were also lying in the grass, while on the left a mass of logs formed a geometrical cube.
feet
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading The cold was sharpening with the twilight and the frozen moss crackled beneath the feet.
felling
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading It was the Plan-des-Dames, that vast glade just opened up by the felling of trees.
filling
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Nearly three thousand colliers had come to the rendezvous, a swarming crowd of men, women, and children, gradually filling the glade and spreading out afar beneath the trees.
formed
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading It spread out in a gentle slope, surrounded by tall thickets and superb beeches with straight regular trunks, which formed a white colonnade patched with green lichens; fallen giants were also lying in the grass, while on the left a mass of logs formed a geometrical cube.
frozen
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading The cold was sharpening with the twilight and the frozen moss crackled beneath the feet.
full
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading There was black darkness on the earth while the tall branches showed against the pale sky, where a full moon coming above the horizon would soon extinguish the stars.
gentle
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading It spread out in a gentle slope, surrounded by tall thickets and superb beeches with straight regular trunks, which formed a white colonnade patched with green lichens; fallen giants were also lying in the grass, while on the left a mass of logs formed a geometrical cube.
geometrical
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading It spread out in a gentle slope, surrounded by tall thickets and superb beeches with straight regular trunks, which formed a white colonnade patched with green lichens; fallen giants were also lying in the grass, while on the left a mass of logs formed a geometrical cube.
giants
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading It spread out in a gentle slope, surrounded by tall thickets and superb beeches with straight regular trunks, which formed a white colonnade patched with green lichens; fallen giants were also lying in the grass, while on the left a mass of logs formed a geometrical cube.
glade
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading It was the Plan-des-Dames, that vast glade just opened up by the felling of trees.
gradually
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Nearly three thousand colliers had come to the rendezvous, a swarming crowd of men, women, and children, gradually filling the glade and spreading out afar beneath the trees.
grass
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading It spread out in a gentle slope, surrounded by tall thickets and superb beeches with straight regular trunks, which formed a white colonnade patched with green lichens; fallen giants were also lying in the grass, while on the left a mass of logs formed a geometrical cube.
green
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading It spread out in a gentle slope, surrounded by tall thickets and superb beeches with straight regular trunks, which formed a white colonnade patched with green lichens; fallen giants were also lying in the grass, while on the left a mass of logs formed a geometrical cube.
hadauxiliary verbUS /hæd/
the past form of “have”, used to form the past perfect
From this reading Nearly three thousand colliers had come to the rendezvous, a swarming crowd of men, women, and children, gradually filling the glade and spreading out afar beneath the trees.
horizon
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading There was black darkness on the earth while the tall branches showed against the pale sky, where a full moon coming above the horizon would soon extinguish the stars.
inprepositionUS /ɪn/
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading It spread out in a gentle slope, surrounded by tall thickets and superb beeches with straight regular trunks, which formed a white colonnade patched with green lichens; fallen giants were also lying in the grass, while on the left a mass of logs formed a geometrical cube.
ItpronounUS /ɪt/
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading It was the Plan-des-Dames, that vast glade just opened up by the felling of trees.
just
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading It was the Plan-des-Dames, that vast glade just opened up by the felling of trees.
leftnounUS /left/
an important story-specific word used in this passage
From this reading It spread out in a gentle slope, surrounded by tall thickets and superb beeches with straight regular trunks, which formed a white colonnade patched with green lichens; fallen giants were also lying in the grass, while on the left a mass of logs formed a geometrical cube.
lichens
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading It spread out in a gentle slope, surrounded by tall thickets and superb beeches with straight regular trunks, which formed a white colonnade patched with green lichens; fallen giants were also lying in the grass, while on the left a mass of logs formed a geometrical cube.
logs
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading It spread out in a gentle slope, surrounded by tall thickets and superb beeches with straight regular trunks, which formed a white colonnade patched with green lichens; fallen giants were also lying in the grass, while on the left a mass of logs formed a geometrical cube.
lying
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading It spread out in a gentle slope, surrounded by tall thickets and superb beeches with straight regular trunks, which formed a white colonnade patched with green lichens; fallen giants were also lying in the grass, while on the left a mass of logs formed a geometrical cube.
mass
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading It spread out in a gentle slope, surrounded by tall thickets and superb beeches with straight regular trunks, which formed a white colonnade patched with green lichens; fallen giants were also lying in the grass, while on the left a mass of logs formed a geometrical cube.
men
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Nearly three thousand colliers had come to the rendezvous, a swarming crowd of men, women, and children, gradually filling the glade and spreading out afar beneath the trees.
moon
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading There was black darkness on the earth while the tall branches showed against the pale sky, where a full moon coming above the horizon would soon extinguish the stars.
moss
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading The cold was sharpening with the twilight and the frozen moss crackled beneath the feet.
Nearly
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Nearly three thousand colliers had come to the rendezvous, a swarming crowd of men, women, and children, gradually filling the glade and spreading out afar beneath the trees.
ofprepositionUS /ʌv/
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading It was the Plan-des-Dames, that vast glade just opened up by the felling of trees.
onprepositionUS /ɑːn/
touching and supported by a surface
From this reading It spread out in a gentle slope, surrounded by tall thickets and superb beeches with straight regular trunks, which formed a white colonnade patched with green lichens; fallen giants were also lying in the grass, while on the left a mass of logs formed a geometrical cube.
opened
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading It was the Plan-des-Dames, that vast glade just opened up by the felling of trees.
out
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading It spread out in a gentle slope, surrounded by tall thickets and superb beeches with straight regular trunks, which formed a white colonnade patched with green lichens; fallen giants were also lying in the grass, while on the left a mass of logs formed a geometrical cube.
pale
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading There was black darkness on the earth while the tall branches showed against the pale sky, where a full moon coming above the horizon would soon extinguish the stars.
patched
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading It spread out in a gentle slope, surrounded by tall thickets and superb beeches with straight regular trunks, which formed a white colonnade patched with green lichens; fallen giants were also lying in the grass, while on the left a mass of logs formed a geometrical cube.
Plan-des-Dames
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading It was the Plan-des-Dames, that vast glade just opened up by the felling of trees.
regular
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading It spread out in a gentle slope, surrounded by tall thickets and superb beeches with straight regular trunks, which formed a white colonnade patched with green lichens; fallen giants were also lying in the grass, while on the left a mass of logs formed a geometrical cube.
rendezvous
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Nearly three thousand colliers had come to the rendezvous, a swarming crowd of men, women, and children, gradually filling the glade and spreading out afar beneath the trees.
sharpening
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading The cold was sharpening with the twilight and the frozen moss crackled beneath the feet.
showed
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading There was black darkness on the earth while the tall branches showed against the pale sky, where a full moon coming above the horizon would soon extinguish the stars.
sky
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading There was black darkness on the earth while the tall branches showed against the pale sky, where a full moon coming above the horizon would soon extinguish the stars.
slope
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading It spread out in a gentle slope, surrounded by tall thickets and superb beeches with straight regular trunks, which formed a white colonnade patched with green lichens; fallen giants were also lying in the grass, while on the left a mass of logs formed a geometrical cube.
soon
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading There was black darkness on the earth while the tall branches showed against the pale sky, where a full moon coming above the horizon would soon extinguish the stars.
spread
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading It spread out in a gentle slope, surrounded by tall thickets and superb beeches with straight regular trunks, which formed a white colonnade patched with green lichens; fallen giants were also lying in the grass, while on the left a mass of logs formed a geometrical cube.
spreading
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Nearly three thousand colliers had come to the rendezvous, a swarming crowd of men, women, and children, gradually filling the glade and spreading out afar beneath the trees.
stars
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading There was black darkness on the earth while the tall branches showed against the pale sky, where a full moon coming above the horizon would soon extinguish the stars.
straight
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading It spread out in a gentle slope, surrounded by tall thickets and superb beeches with straight regular trunks, which formed a white colonnade patched with green lichens; fallen giants were also lying in the grass, while on the left a mass of logs formed a geometrical cube.
superb
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading It spread out in a gentle slope, surrounded by tall thickets and superb beeches with straight regular trunks, which formed a white colonnade patched with green lichens; fallen giants were also lying in the grass, while on the left a mass of logs formed a geometrical cube.
surrounded
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading It spread out in a gentle slope, surrounded by tall thickets and superb beeches with straight regular trunks, which formed a white colonnade patched with green lichens; fallen giants were also lying in the grass, while on the left a mass of logs formed a geometrical cube.
swarming
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Nearly three thousand colliers had come to the rendezvous, a swarming crowd of men, women, and children, gradually filling the glade and spreading out afar beneath the trees.
tall
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading It spread out in a gentle slope, surrounded by tall thickets and superb beeches with straight regular trunks, which formed a white colonnade patched with green lichens; fallen giants were also lying in the grass, while on the left a mass of logs formed a geometrical cube.
thatconjunctionUS /ðæt/
used to introduce what somebody said, thought, or felt
From this reading It was the Plan-des-Dames, that vast glade just opened up by the felling of trees.
thedeterminerUS /ðə/
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading It was the Plan-des-Dames, that vast glade just opened up by the felling of trees.
There
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading There was black darkness on the earth while the tall branches showed against the pale sky, where a full moon coming above the horizon would soon extinguish the stars.
thickets
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading It spread out in a gentle slope, surrounded by tall thickets and superb beeches with straight regular trunks, which formed a white colonnade patched with green lichens; fallen giants were also lying in the grass, while on the left a mass of logs formed a geometrical cube.
thousand
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Nearly three thousand colliers had come to the rendezvous, a swarming crowd of men, women, and children, gradually filling the glade and spreading out afar beneath the trees.
three
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Nearly three thousand colliers had come to the rendezvous, a swarming crowd of men, women, and children, gradually filling the glade and spreading out afar beneath the trees.
toparticleUS /tuː/
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading Nearly three thousand colliers had come to the rendezvous, a swarming crowd of men, women, and children, gradually filling the glade and spreading out afar beneath the trees.
trees
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading It was the Plan-des-Dames, that vast glade just opened up by the felling of trees.
trunks
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading It spread out in a gentle slope, surrounded by tall thickets and superb beeches with straight regular trunks, which formed a white colonnade patched with green lichens; fallen giants were also lying in the grass, while on the left a mass of logs formed a geometrical cube.
twilightnounUS /ˈtwaɪlaɪt/
the dim light before night or sunrise
From this reading The cold was sharpening with the twilight and the frozen moss crackled beneath the feet.
up
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading It was the Plan-des-Dames, that vast glade just opened up by the felling of trees.
vast
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading It was the Plan-des-Dames, that vast glade just opened up by the felling of trees.
wasauxiliary verbUS /wɑːz/
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading It was the Plan-des-Dames, that vast glade just opened up by the felling of trees.
wereauxiliary verbUS /wɜːr/
the past form of “be” used with you, we, they, or a plural noun
From this reading It spread out in a gentle slope, surrounded by tall thickets and superb beeches with straight regular trunks, which formed a white colonnade patched with green lichens; fallen giants were also lying in the grass, while on the left a mass of logs formed a geometrical cube.
whereconjunctionUS /wer/
in or at the place that
From this reading There was black darkness on the earth while the tall branches showed against the pale sky, where a full moon coming above the horizon would soon extinguish the stars.
whichpronounUS /wɪtʃ/
used to introduce a clause giving more about a thing just mentioned
From this reading It spread out in a gentle slope, surrounded by tall thickets and superb beeches with straight regular trunks, which formed a white colonnade patched with green lichens; fallen giants were also lying in the grass, while on the left a mass of logs formed a geometrical cube.
whileconjunctionUS /waɪl/
during the time that
From this reading It spread out in a gentle slope, surrounded by tall thickets and superb beeches with straight regular trunks, which formed a white colonnade patched with green lichens; fallen giants were also lying in the grass, while on the left a mass of logs formed a geometrical cube.
white
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading It spread out in a gentle slope, surrounded by tall thickets and superb beeches with straight regular trunks, which formed a white colonnade patched with green lichens; fallen giants were also lying in the grass, while on the left a mass of logs formed a geometrical cube.
withprepositionUS /wɪð/
in the company of; together with
From this reading It spread out in a gentle slope, surrounded by tall thickets and superb beeches with straight regular trunks, which formed a white colonnade patched with green lichens; fallen giants were also lying in the grass, while on the left a mass of logs formed a geometrical cube.
women
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Nearly three thousand colliers had come to the rendezvous, a swarming crowd of men, women, and children, gradually filling the glade and spreading out afar beneath the trees.
wouldmodal verbUS /wʊd/
used for something imagined, polite, or habitual in the past
From this reading There was black darkness on the earth while the tall branches showed against the pale sky, where a full moon coming above the horizon would soon extinguish the stars.
