The Last Olympian: Chapters 1–4

by Rick Riordan
In this fifth book of the Percy Jackson & the Olympians series, the almost-sixteen-year-old demigod discovers that his odds of defeating Kronos, Typhon, and their armies are being lowered by a spy at Camp Half-Blood.

Here are links to our lists for the book: Chapters 1–3, Chapters 4–7, Chapters 8–12, Chapters 13–17, Chapters 18–23

Here are links to our lists for the Percy Jackson & the Olympians and The Heroes of Olympus series.
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Full list of words from this list:

words only definitions & notes
  1. stern
    the rear part of a ship
    “Blackjack,” I said, "set us down on the lowest stern deck.”
  2. queasy
    feeling nausea
    I climbed off, feeling queasy.
  3. turbine
    an engine that causes a bladed rotor to rotate
    Inside, a row of yellow turbines the size of grain silos churned and hummed.
  4. gauge
    an instrument for measuring and indicating a quantity
    Pressure gauges and computer terminals lined the opposite wall.
  5. console
    a scientific instrument with displays and an input device
    A telkhine was hunched over a console, but he was so involved with his work, he didn’t notice us.
  6. bearing
    the direction or path along which something moves or lies
    Being the son of Poseidon and all, I have perfect bearings at sea. Don’t ask me how, but I could tell we were at 40.19° North, 71.90° West, making eighteen knots, which meant the ship would arrive in New York Harbor by dawn.
  7. mottled
    having spots or patches of color
    Its shell was mottled blue and green, its pincers longer than my body.
  8. scuttle
    move about or proceed hurriedly
    The crab moved with amazing speed. It scuttled out of the fountain and came straight at me, pincers snapping.
  9. crustacean
    mainly aquatic arthropod usually having a segmented body
    If I got pinned down in the center of the ship, I was crab chow.
    The demonic crustacean lunged at me.
  10. foyer
    a large entrance or reception room or area
    In the elevator foyer on deck eight, a couple of dracaenae slithered across my path.
  11. jeopardize
    pose a threat to; present a danger to
    Then I did something I hadn’t planned on. It was probably stupid. It definitely jeopardized our mission, but I couldn’t help it.
  12. jeer
    laugh at with contempt and derision
    Giants jeered. Dracaenae hissed with laughter.
  13. revitalize
    give new life or vigor to
    The water revitalized me, breaking the time spell, and I lunged forward.
  14. graze
    break the skin by scraping
    The edge of the scythe shaved off my shirtsleeve and grazed my arm. It shouldn’t have been a serious cut, but the entire side of my body exploded with pain.
  15. lumber
    move heavily or clumsily
    He clapped his hands, and two giants lumbered forward, dragging Charles Beckendorf between them.
  16. dismantle
    take apart into its constituent pieces
    Was it possible the explosives were armed? Surely the monsters would’ve dismantled them right away.
  17. galley
    the area for food preparation on a ship
    “Did you, perhaps," he said, "capture this demigod near the galley?”
  18. incompetent
    not qualified or suited for a purpose
    You’ll have to excuse my incompetent help, Percy Jackson.
  19. register
    enter into someone's consciousness
    An arrow pierced my thigh, but I barely had time to register the pain.
  20. roil
    be agitated
    The Princess Andromeda blew up from both sides, a massive fireball of green flame roiling into the dark sky, consuming everything.
  21. mystical
    beyond ordinary understanding
    The thing is, they’re never just dreams. They’ve got to be visions, omens, and all that other mystical stuff that makes my brain hurt.
  22. marshal
    make ready for action or use
    “I will go east to marshal our forces,” the golden Titan said.
  23. treacherous
    tending to betray
    "Our treacherous nephew in the tuxedo will not do you much good in a fight.”
  24. grim
    not to be placated or appeased or moved by entreaty
    He looked straight at me, his expression grim. "You see, Percy?” he whispered. “You’re running out of time. Do you really think you can beat them without my plan?”
  25. gossamer
    characterized by unusual lightness and delicacy
    I sat up, and a gossamer sheet floated away.
  26. kelp
    large brown seaweeds having fluted leathery fronds
    I was on a bed made of silky woven kelp, in a room paneled with abalone shell.
  27. fortification
    a defensive structure
    Outside the main courtyard stood large fortifications—towers, walls, and antisiege weapons—but most of these had been smashed to ruins.
  28. debris
    the remains of something that has been destroyed
    At the edge of the palace complex, a temple with a red coral roof exploded, sending fire and debris streaming in slow motion across the farthest gardens.
  29. mosaic
    design made of small pieces of colored stone or glass
    A mosaic on the floor showed an exact map of the palace grounds and the surrounding ocean, but the mosaic moved. Colored stone tiles representing different armies and sea monsters shifted around as the forces changed position.
  30. leviathan
    a massive sea creature
    “Send Palaemon and his legion of sharks to the western front. We have to neutralize those leviathans.”
  31. weary
    physically and mentally fatigued
    Poseidon smiled, but he looked weary. “I appreciate your faith. We have been at war almost a year now. My powers are taxed. And still he finds new forces to throw at me—sea monsters so ancient I had forgotten about them.”
  32. disarray
    untidiness, especially of clothing and appearance
    Kronos’s army will be in disarray. Many were destroyed.
  33. naive
    marked by or showing unaffected simplicity
    “But we didn’t kill him, did we?”
    As I said it, I knew it was a naive hope. We might blow up his ship and disintegrate his monsters, but a Titan lord wouldn’t be so easy to kill.
  34. grudging
    unwilling or reluctant
    Annabeth gave me a grudging smile.
  35. glower
    look angry or sullen as if to signal disapproval
    Clarisse glowered at me. "Tell Michael not to be a selfish jerk.”
  36. wistfully
    in a pensively sad manner
    "It’s been wonderful,” Travis Stoll said wistfully.
  37. obliterate
    do away with completely, without leaving a trace
    “R-a-z-e means destroy."
    “Obliterate,” Annabeth said. “Annihilate. Turn to rubble.”
  38. monumental
    imposing in size or bulk or solidity
    “Monumental floods,” an announcer was saying. “Five states declared disaster areas as the freak storm system sweeps east, continuing its path of destruction.”
  39. ploy
    a maneuver in a game, conversation, or situation
    I could tell we were thinking the same thing: What if the Princess Andromeda was a ploy? What if Kronos let us blow up that ship so we’d lower our guard?
  40. adjourn
    close at the end of a session
    And the war council adjourned.
Created on Fri Apr 21 15:45:45 EDT 2017 (updated Mon Aug 21 09:43:25 EDT 2023)

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