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 He found Eleanor where he had left her a few minutes before, at the piano, busy with a difficult passage of Brahms.
addressed
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From this reading One was addressed to Ross Mallard, Esq., care of Edward Spence, Esq.; another, to Mrs. Spence; the third, to Mrs. Baske.
afterprepositionUS /ˈæftər/
later than; following
From this reading LETTERS On the thirteenth day after the flight from Capri, Edward Spence, leaving the villa for his afternoon walk, encountered the postman and received from him three letters.
afternoonnounUS /ˈafternoon/
a story-specific word describing an important person, object, action, or idea in this passage
From this reading LETTERS On the thirteenth day after the flight from Capri, Edward Spence, leaving the villa for his afternoon walk, encountered the postman and received from him three letters.
andconjunctionUS /ənd/
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading LETTERS On the thirteenth day after the flight from Capri, Edward Spence, leaving the villa for his afternoon walk, encountered the postman and received from him three letters.
anothernounUS /ˈanother/
a story-specific word describing an important person, object, action, or idea in this passage
From this reading One was addressed to Ross Mallard, Esq., care of Edward Spence, Esq.; another, to Mrs. Spence; the third, to Mrs. Baske.
AsconjunctionUS /æz/
at the same time that; because; in the way that
From this reading As he reascended the stairs, somewhat more quickly than his wont, Spence gave narrow attention to the handwriting on the envelopes.
atprepositionUS /æt/
in or near a particular place or position
From this reading He found Eleanor where he had left her a few minutes before, at the piano, busy with a difficult passage of Brahms.
attention
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From this reading As he reascended the stairs, somewhat more quickly than his wont, Spence gave narrow attention to the handwriting on the envelopes.
Baske
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From this reading One was addressed to Ross Mallard, Esq., care of Edward Spence, Esq.; another, to Mrs. Spence; the third, to Mrs. Baske.
beforeprepositionUS /bɪˈfɔːr/
earlier than; in front of
From this reading He found Eleanor where he had left her a few minutes before, at the piano, busy with a difficult passage of Brahms.
Brahms
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From this reading He found Eleanor where he had left her a few minutes before, at the piano, busy with a difficult passage of Brahms.
busy
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From this reading He found Eleanor where he had left her a few minutes before, at the piano, busy with a difficult passage of Brahms.
Capri
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From this reading LETTERS On the thirteenth day after the flight from Capri, Edward Spence, leaving the villa for his afternoon walk, encountered the postman and received from him three letters.
care
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From this reading One was addressed to Ross Mallard, Esq., care of Edward Spence, Esq.; another, to Mrs. Spence; the third, to Mrs. Baske.
day
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From this reading LETTERS On the thirteenth day after the flight from Capri, Edward Spence, leaving the villa for his afternoon walk, encountered the postman and received from him three letters.
difficult
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From this reading He found Eleanor where he had left her a few minutes before, at the piano, busy with a difficult passage of Brahms.
eagerly
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From this reading She looked round in surprise, and on seeing the letters started up eagerly.
Edward
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From this reading LETTERS On the thirteenth day after the flight from Capri, Edward Spence, leaving the villa for his afternoon walk, encountered the postman and received from him three letters.
Eleanor
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From this reading He found Eleanor where he had left her a few minutes before, at the piano, busy with a difficult passage of Brahms.
encountered
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From this reading LETTERS On the thirteenth day after the flight from Capri, Edward Spence, leaving the villa for his afternoon walk, encountered the postman and received from him three letters.
envelopes
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From this reading As he reascended the stairs, somewhat more quickly than his wont, Spence gave narrow attention to the handwriting on the envelopes.
Esq
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From this reading One was addressed to Ross Mallard, Esq., care of Edward Spence, Esq.; another, to Mrs. Spence; the third, to Mrs. Baske.
few
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From this reading He found Eleanor where he had left her a few minutes before, at the piano, busy with a difficult passage of Brahms.
flight
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From this reading LETTERS On the thirteenth day after the flight from Capri, Edward Spence, leaving the villa for his afternoon walk, encountered the postman and received from him three letters.
forprepositionUS /fɔːr/
intended to be given to, or used by, somebody
From this reading LETTERS On the thirteenth day after the flight from Capri, Edward Spence, leaving the villa for his afternoon walk, encountered the postman and received from him three letters.
foundnounUS /found/
an important story-specific word used in this passage
From this reading He found Eleanor where he had left her a few minutes before, at the piano, busy with a difficult passage of Brahms.
fromprepositionUS /frʌm/
showing where something starts, or who sent it
From this reading LETTERS On the thirteenth day after the flight from Capri, Edward Spence, leaving the villa for his afternoon walk, encountered the postman and received from him three letters.
gave
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From this reading As he reascended the stairs, somewhat more quickly than his wont, Spence gave narrow attention to the handwriting on the envelopes.
hadauxiliary verbUS /hæd/
the past form of “have”, used to form the past perfect
From this reading He found Eleanor where he had left her a few minutes before, at the piano, busy with a difficult passage of Brahms.
handwriting
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading As he reascended the stairs, somewhat more quickly than his wont, Spence gave narrow attention to the handwriting on the envelopes.
hepronounUS /hiː/
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading As he reascended the stairs, somewhat more quickly than his wont, Spence gave narrow attention to the handwriting on the envelopes.
herdeterminerUS /hɜːr/
belonging to a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned
From this reading He found Eleanor where he had left her a few minutes before, at the piano, busy with a difficult passage of Brahms.
himpronounUS /hɪm/
the male already mentioned, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading LETTERS On the thirteenth day after the flight from Capri, Edward Spence, leaving the villa for his afternoon walk, encountered the postman and received from him three letters.
hisdeterminerUS /hɪz/
belonging to a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned
From this reading LETTERS On the thirteenth day after the flight from Capri, Edward Spence, leaving the villa for his afternoon walk, encountered the postman and received from him three letters.
inprepositionUS /ɪn/
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading She looked round in surprise, and on seeing the letters started up eagerly.
leaving
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From this reading LETTERS On the thirteenth day after the flight from Capri, Edward Spence, leaving the villa for his afternoon walk, encountered the postman and received from him three letters.
leftnounUS /left/
an important story-specific word used in this passage
From this reading He found Eleanor where he had left her a few minutes before, at the piano, busy with a difficult passage of Brahms.
LETTERS
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From this reading LETTERS On the thirteenth day after the flight from Capri, Edward Spence, leaving the villa for his afternoon walk, encountered the postman and received from him three letters.
lookednounUS /looked/
an important story-specific word used in this passage
From this reading She looked round in surprise, and on seeing the letters started up eagerly.
Mallard
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading One was addressed to Ross Mallard, Esq., care of Edward Spence, Esq.; another, to Mrs. Spence; the third, to Mrs. Baske.
minutes
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From this reading He found Eleanor where he had left her a few minutes before, at the piano, busy with a difficult passage of Brahms.
more
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From this reading As he reascended the stairs, somewhat more quickly than his wont, Spence gave narrow attention to the handwriting on the envelopes.
Mrs
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading One was addressed to Ross Mallard, Esq., care of Edward Spence, Esq.; another, to Mrs. Spence; the third, to Mrs. Baske.
narrow
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From this reading As he reascended the stairs, somewhat more quickly than his wont, Spence gave narrow attention to the handwriting on the envelopes.
ofprepositionUS /ʌv/
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading One was addressed to Ross Mallard, Esq., care of Edward Spence, Esq.; another, to Mrs. Spence; the third, to Mrs. Baske.
OnprepositionUS /ɑːn/
touching and supported by a surface
From this reading LETTERS On the thirteenth day after the flight from Capri, Edward Spence, leaving the villa for his afternoon walk, encountered the postman and received from him three letters.
OnepronounUS /wʌn/
used to mean any person in general, including the speaker
From this reading One was addressed to Ross Mallard, Esq., care of Edward Spence, Esq.; another, to Mrs. Spence; the third, to Mrs. Baske.
passagenounUS /ˈpassage/
a story-specific word describing an important person, object, action, or idea in this passage
From this reading He found Eleanor where he had left her a few minutes before, at the piano, busy with a difficult passage of Brahms.
piano
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From this reading He found Eleanor where he had left her a few minutes before, at the piano, busy with a difficult passage of Brahms.
postman
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From this reading LETTERS On the thirteenth day after the flight from Capri, Edward Spence, leaving the villa for his afternoon walk, encountered the postman and received from him three letters.
quickly
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From this reading As he reascended the stairs, somewhat more quickly than his wont, Spence gave narrow attention to the handwriting on the envelopes.
reascended
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From this reading As he reascended the stairs, somewhat more quickly than his wont, Spence gave narrow attention to the handwriting on the envelopes.
received
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From this reading LETTERS On the thirteenth day after the flight from Capri, Edward Spence, leaving the villa for his afternoon walk, encountered the postman and received from him three letters.
Ross
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading One was addressed to Ross Mallard, Esq., care of Edward Spence, Esq.; another, to Mrs. Spence; the third, to Mrs. Baske.
round
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From this reading She looked round in surprise, and on seeing the letters started up eagerly.
seeing
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From this reading She looked round in surprise, and on seeing the letters started up eagerly.
ShepronounUS /ʃiː/
a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading She looked round in surprise, and on seeing the letters started up eagerly.
somewhat
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From this reading As he reascended the stairs, somewhat more quickly than his wont, Spence gave narrow attention to the handwriting on the envelopes.
Spence
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From this reading LETTERS On the thirteenth day after the flight from Capri, Edward Spence, leaving the villa for his afternoon walk, encountered the postman and received from him three letters.
stairs
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From this reading As he reascended the stairs, somewhat more quickly than his wont, Spence gave narrow attention to the handwriting on the envelopes.
started
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading She looked round in surprise, and on seeing the letters started up eagerly.
surprise
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From this reading She looked round in surprise, and on seeing the letters started up eagerly.
thanconjunctionUS /ðæn/
used to introduce the second part of a comparison
From this reading As he reascended the stairs, somewhat more quickly than his wont, Spence gave narrow attention to the handwriting on the envelopes.
thedeterminerUS /ðə/
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading LETTERS On the thirteenth day after the flight from Capri, Edward Spence, leaving the villa for his afternoon walk, encountered the postman and received from him three letters.
thirdnounUS /third/
an important story-specific word used in this passage
From this reading One was addressed to Ross Mallard, Esq., care of Edward Spence, Esq.; another, to Mrs. Spence; the third, to Mrs. Baske.
thirteenthadjectiveUS /ˈθɜːr.tiːnθ/
Constituting number thirteen in a sequence.
From this reading LETTERS On the thirteenth day after the flight from Capri, Edward Spence, leaving the villa for his afternoon walk, encountered the postman and received from him three letters.
three
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From this reading LETTERS On the thirteenth day after the flight from Capri, Edward Spence, leaving the villa for his afternoon walk, encountered the postman and received from him three letters.
toparticleUS /tuː/
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading One was addressed to Ross Mallard, Esq., care of Edward Spence, Esq.; another, to Mrs. Spence; the third, to Mrs. Baske.
up
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading She looked round in surprise, and on seeing the letters started up eagerly.
villa
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading LETTERS On the thirteenth day after the flight from Capri, Edward Spence, leaving the villa for his afternoon walk, encountered the postman and received from him three letters.
walk
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From this reading LETTERS On the thirteenth day after the flight from Capri, Edward Spence, leaving the villa for his afternoon walk, encountered the postman and received from him three letters.
wasauxiliary verbUS /wɑːz/
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading One was addressed to Ross Mallard, Esq., care of Edward Spence, Esq.; another, to Mrs. Spence; the third, to Mrs. Baske.
whereconjunctionUS /wer/
in or at the place that
From this reading He found Eleanor where he had left her a few minutes before, at the piano, busy with a difficult passage of Brahms.
withprepositionUS /wɪð/
in the company of; together with
From this reading He found Eleanor where he had left her a few minutes before, at the piano, busy with a difficult passage of Brahms.
wont
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading As he reascended the stairs, somewhat more quickly than his wont, Spence gave narrow attention to the handwriting on the envelopes.
