Every word is available to listen to. Dictionary details are shown only when verified; these are not licensed Oxford entries.
Abner
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading It was after dark before Abner Pickett came home.
aboutprepositionUS /əˈbaʊt/
on the subject of; concerning
From this reading He knew, from long experience, what to expect when his grandfather should learn about the railroad survey through the gap and the graveyard.
afterprepositionUS /ˈæftər/
later than; following
From this reading It was after dark before Abner Pickett came home.
andconjunctionUS /ənd/
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading Dannie had waited long for him at the gate, his loneliness and anxiety increasing as the minutes went by.
anxiety
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Dannie had waited long for him at the gate, his loneliness and anxiety increasing as the minutes went by.
asconjunctionUS /æz/
at the same time that; because; in the way that
From this reading Dannie had waited long for him at the gate, his loneliness and anxiety increasing as the minutes went by.
atprepositionUS /æt/
in or near a particular place or position
From this reading Dannie had waited long for him at the gate, his loneliness and anxiety increasing as the minutes went by.
beauxiliary verbUS /biː/
used with a past participle to form the passive, or with -ing for continuous tenses
From this reading Not that he, himself, stood in fear of his grandfather, very far from that; but he dreaded to be the bearer to him of evil tidings.
bearer
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Not that he, himself, stood in fear of his grandfather, very far from that; but he dreaded to be the bearer to him of evil tidings.
beforeprepositionUS /bɪˈfɔːr/
earlier than; in front of
From this reading It was after dark before Abner Pickett came home.
butconjunctionUS /bʌt/
used to introduce something that contrasts with what came before
From this reading Not that he, himself, stood in fear of his grandfather, very far from that; but he dreaded to be the bearer to him of evil tidings.
byprepositionUS /baɪ/
showing who or what does the action
From this reading Dannie had waited long for him at the gate, his loneliness and anxiety increasing as the minutes went by.
came
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading It was after dark before Abner Pickett came home.
Dannie
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Dannie had waited long for him at the gate, his loneliness and anxiety increasing as the minutes went by.
dark
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading It was after dark before Abner Pickett came home.
dreaded
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Not that he, himself, stood in fear of his grandfather, very far from that; but he dreaded to be the bearer to him of evil tidings.
evil
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Not that he, himself, stood in fear of his grandfather, very far from that; but he dreaded to be the bearer to him of evil tidings.
expectverbUS /ɪkˈspekt/
to think that something will happen
From this reading He knew, from long experience, what to expect when his grandfather should learn about the railroad survey through the gap and the graveyard.
experience
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading He knew, from long experience, what to expect when his grandfather should learn about the railroad survey through the gap and the graveyard.
far
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Not that he, himself, stood in fear of his grandfather, very far from that; but he dreaded to be the bearer to him of evil tidings.
fear
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Not that he, himself, stood in fear of his grandfather, very far from that; but he dreaded to be the bearer to him of evil tidings.
forprepositionUS /fɔːr/
intended to be given to, or used by, somebody
From this reading Dannie had waited long for him at the gate, his loneliness and anxiety increasing as the minutes went by.
fromprepositionUS /frʌm/
showing where something starts, or who sent it
From this reading He knew, from long experience, what to expect when his grandfather should learn about the railroad survey through the gap and the graveyard.
gap
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading He knew, from long experience, what to expect when his grandfather should learn about the railroad survey through the gap and the graveyard.
gate
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Dannie had waited long for him at the gate, his loneliness and anxiety increasing as the minutes went by.
grandfather
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading He knew, from long experience, what to expect when his grandfather should learn about the railroad survey through the gap and the graveyard.
graveyard
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading He knew, from long experience, what to expect when his grandfather should learn about the railroad survey through the gap and the graveyard.
hadauxiliary verbUS /hæd/
the past form of “have”, used to form the past perfect
From this reading Dannie had waited long for him at the gate, his loneliness and anxiety increasing as the minutes went by.
HepronounUS /hiː/
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading He knew, from long experience, what to expect when his grandfather should learn about the railroad survey through the gap and the graveyard.
himpronounUS /hɪm/
the male already mentioned, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading Dannie had waited long for him at the gate, his loneliness and anxiety increasing as the minutes went by.
himselfpronounUS /hɪmˈself/
used when the man or boy doing the action is also its object
From this reading Not that he, himself, stood in fear of his grandfather, very far from that; but he dreaded to be the bearer to him of evil tidings.
hisdeterminerUS /hɪz/
belonging to a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned
From this reading Dannie had waited long for him at the gate, his loneliness and anxiety increasing as the minutes went by.
home
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading It was after dark before Abner Pickett came home.
hoped
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading He sincerely hoped that he would learn about it before he reached home.
inprepositionUS /ɪn/
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading Not that he, himself, stood in fear of his grandfather, very far from that; but he dreaded to be the bearer to him of evil tidings.
increasing
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Dannie had waited long for him at the gate, his loneliness and anxiety increasing as the minutes went by.
ItpronounUS /ɪt/
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading It was after dark before Abner Pickett came home.
knew
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading He knew, from long experience, what to expect when his grandfather should learn about the railroad survey through the gap and the graveyard.
learn
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading He knew, from long experience, what to expect when his grandfather should learn about the railroad survey through the gap and the graveyard.
loneliness
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Dannie had waited long for him at the gate, his loneliness and anxiety increasing as the minutes went by.
longnounUS /long/
an important story-specific word used in this passage
From this reading Dannie had waited long for him at the gate, his loneliness and anxiety increasing as the minutes went by.
minutes
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Dannie had waited long for him at the gate, his loneliness and anxiety increasing as the minutes went by.
NotadverbUS /nɑːt/
used to make a word, phrase, or sentence negative
From this reading Not that he, himself, stood in fear of his grandfather, very far from that; but he dreaded to be the bearer to him of evil tidings.
ofprepositionUS /ʌv/
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading Not that he, himself, stood in fear of his grandfather, very far from that; but he dreaded to be the bearer to him of evil tidings.
Pickett
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading It was after dark before Abner Pickett came home.
railroad
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading He knew, from long experience, what to expect when his grandfather should learn about the railroad survey through the gap and the graveyard.
reached
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading He sincerely hoped that he would learn about it before he reached home.
shouldmodal verbUS /ʃʊd/
used to say what is right, expected, or advisable
From this reading He knew, from long experience, what to expect when his grandfather should learn about the railroad survey through the gap and the graveyard.
sincerely
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading He sincerely hoped that he would learn about it before he reached home.
stoodnounUS /stood/
an important story-specific word used in this passage
From this reading Not that he, himself, stood in fear of his grandfather, very far from that; but he dreaded to be the bearer to him of evil tidings.
survey
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading He knew, from long experience, what to expect when his grandfather should learn about the railroad survey through the gap and the graveyard.
thatconjunctionUS /ðæt/
used to introduce what somebody said, thought, or felt
From this reading He sincerely hoped that he would learn about it before he reached home.
thedeterminerUS /ðə/
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading Dannie had waited long for him at the gate, his loneliness and anxiety increasing as the minutes went by.
throughnounUS /ˈthrough/
a story-specific word describing an important person, object, action, or idea in this passage
From this reading He knew, from long experience, what to expect when his grandfather should learn about the railroad survey through the gap and the graveyard.
tidings
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Not that he, himself, stood in fear of his grandfather, very far from that; but he dreaded to be the bearer to him of evil tidings.
toparticleUS /tuː/
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading He knew, from long experience, what to expect when his grandfather should learn about the railroad survey through the gap and the graveyard.
very
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Not that he, himself, stood in fear of his grandfather, very far from that; but he dreaded to be the bearer to him of evil tidings.
waited
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Dannie had waited long for him at the gate, his loneliness and anxiety increasing as the minutes went by.
wasauxiliary verbUS /wɑːz/
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading It was after dark before Abner Pickett came home.
wentnounUS /went/
an important story-specific word used in this passage
From this reading Dannie had waited long for him at the gate, his loneliness and anxiety increasing as the minutes went by.
whatpronounUS /wʌt/
used to ask for information about something
From this reading He knew, from long experience, what to expect when his grandfather should learn about the railroad survey through the gap and the graveyard.
whenconjunctionUS /wen/
at the time that
From this reading He knew, from long experience, what to expect when his grandfather should learn about the railroad survey through the gap and the graveyard.
wouldmodal verbUS /wʊd/
used for something imagined, polite, or habitual in the past
From this reading He sincerely hoped that he would learn about it before he reached home.
