Poetry Slam!: "Paul Revere's Ride" by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

This narrative poem, written in a meter that recalls the sound of a galloping horse’s hooves, tells the apocryphal story of Paul Revere warning colonial Americans of a looming British invasion. Read the poem here.
25 words 5980 learners

Learn words with Flashcards and other activities

Definition First
Print Flashcards

Other learning activities

Answer a few questions about each word. Use this to prep for your next quiz! Compete with other teams in real time to see who answers the most questions correctly! Test your spelling acumen. Read the definition, listen to the word and try spelling it!

Teaching tools

Create and assign quizzes to your students to test their vocabulary. Assign learning activities including Practice, Vocabulary Jams and Spelling Bees to your students, and monitor their progress in real-time.

Full list of words from this list:

words only definitions & notes
  1. aloft
    high up in or into the air
    If the British march
    By land or sea from the town to-night,
    Hang a lantern aloft in the belfry-arch
    Of the North-Church-tower, as a signal-light,—
  2. belfry
    a tower in which bells are hung
    If the British march
    By land or sea from the town to-night,
    Hang a lantern aloft in the belfry-arch
    Of the North-Church-tower, as a signal-light,—
  3. muffle
    deaden (a sound or noise), especially by wrapping
    Then he said "Good-night!" and with muffled oar
    Silently rowed to the Charlestown shore
  4. mooring
    a place where a craft can be made fast
    Just as the moon rose over the bay,
    Where swinging wide at her moorings lay
    The Somerset, British man-of-war:
    A phantom ship, with each mast and spar
    Across the moon, like a prison-bar
  5. spar
    stout rounded pole of wood or metal used to support rigging
    Just as the moon rose over the bay,
    Where swinging wide at her moorings lay
    The Somerset, British man-of-war:
    A phantom ship, with each mast and spar
    Across the moon, like a prison-bar
  6. muster
    a gathering of military personnel for duty
    Meanwhile, his friend, through alley and street
    Wanders and watches with eager ears,
    Till in the silence around him he hears
    The muster of men at the barrack door
  7. barrack
    a building or group of buildings to house military personnel
    Meanwhile, his friend, through alley and street
    Wanders and watches with eager ears,
    Till in the silence around him he hears
    The muster of men at the barrack door
  8. tramp
    a heavy footfall
    The sound of arms, and the tramp of feet,
    And the measured tread of the grenadiers
    Marching down to their boats on the shore.
  9. grenadier
    an infantryman equipped with grenades
    The sound of arms, and the tramp of feet,
    And the measured tread of the grenadiers
    Marching down to their boats on the shore.
  10. stealthy
    marked by quiet and caution and secrecy
    Then he climbed the tower of the Old North Church,
    By the wooden stairs, with stealthy tread
  11. tread
    a step in walking or running
    Then he climbed the tower of the Old North Church,
    By the wooden stairs, with stealthy tread
  12. somber
    serious and gloomy in character
    And startled the pigeons from their perch
    On the sombre rafters,
  13. sentinel
    a person employed to keep watch for some anticipated event
    Wrapped in silence so deep and still
    That he could hear, like a sentinel's tread,
    The watchful night-wind
  14. impetuous
    characterized by undue haste and lack of thought
    Now he gazed at the landscape far and near,
    Then, impetuous, stamped the earth,
    And turned and tightened his saddle girth
  15. girth
    a band around a horse's belly that holds the saddle in place
    Now he gazed at the landscape far and near,
    Then, impetuous, stamped the earth,
    And turned and tightened his saddle girth
  16. spectral
    resembling or characteristic of a phantom
    But mostly he watched with eager search
    The belfry tower of the Old North Church,
    As it rose above the graves on the hill,
    Lonely and spectral and sombre and still.
  17. linger
    take one's time; proceed slowly
    He springs to the saddle, the bridle he turns,
    But lingers and gazes, till full on his sight
    A second lamp in the belfry burns.
  18. fleet
    moving very fast
    A hurry of hoofs in a village-street,
    A shape in the moonlight, a bulk in the dark,
    And beneath from the pebbles, in passing, a spark
    Struck out by a steed that flies fearless and fleet
  19. kindle
    cause to start burning
    And the spark struck out by that steed, in his flight,
    Kindled the land into flame with its heat.
  20. tranquil
    free from disturbance by heavy waves
    And beneath him, tranquil and broad and deep,
    Is the Mystic, meeting the ocean tides
  21. alder
    north temperate shrubs or trees having toothed leaves and conelike fruit; bark is used in tanning and dyeing and the wood is rot-resistant
    And under the alders that skirt its edge,
    Now soft on the sand, now loud on the ledge,
    Is heard the tramp of his steed as he rides.
  22. gilded
    made from or covered with gold
    He saw the gilded weathercock
    Swim in the moonlight as he passed
  23. weathercock
    weathervane with a vane in the form of a rooster
    He saw the gilded weathercock
    Swim in the moonlight as he passed
  24. aghast
    struck with fear, dread, or consternation
    And the meeting-house windows, blank and bare,
    Gaze at him with a spectral glare,
    As if they already stood aghast
    At the bloody work they would look upon.
  25. defiance
    a hostile challenge
    So through the night rode Paul Revere;
    And so through the night went his cry of alarm
    To every Middlesex village and farm,—
    A cry of defiance, and not of fear
Created on Thu Apr 18 18:17:40 EDT 2013 (updated Tue Jan 01 13:07:10 EST 2019)

Sign up now (it’s free!)

Whether you’re a teacher or a learner, Vocabulary.com can put you or your class on the path to systematic vocabulary improvement.