dictionary
a book or digital resource (such as Dictionary.com) containing a selection of words and information about their meanings, pronunciations, etymologies, inflected forms, derived forms, etc., in either the same or another language; lexicon; glossary: an unabridged dictionary of English;a Japanese–English dictionary.
a book or digital resource giving information on a particular subject or on a particular class of words, names, or facts, usually arranged alphabetically: a biographical dictionary;a dictionary of mathematics.
Computers.
a list of codes, terms, keys, etc., and their meanings, used by a computer program or system.
a selection of words used by a piece of software, such as a word-processing program, to check the spelling of text entered.
Origin of dictionary
1Words Nearby dictionary
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
How to use dictionary in a sentence
The latest edition of the unfinished dictionary was published in nine volumes in the 1930s.
‘Liar’s Dictionary’ a fab, queer tale for lovers of language | Kathi Wolfe | January 29, 2021 | Washington BladeActually, the word does show up in dictionaries, even if it is considered “nonstandard.”
Is ‘irregardless’ — which Sen. Josh Hawley uttered on the Senate floor — a real word? Here’s Merriam-Webster’s answer. | Valerie Strauss | January 7, 2021 | Washington PostIf you can manage to not fall off that big, wide, beginner-friendly wedge of foam that is the soft-top board, you are—at least according to the dictionary—surfing.
In certain moments, airports certainly conjure up that other definition of romance, inspiring “a quality or feeling of mystery, excitement, and remoteness from everyday life,” as a dictionary puts it.
For a straight-up dictionary with the correct American English spellings, it’s hard to beat Merriam-Webster.
Become a better writer with these online tools | Harry Guinness | October 20, 2020 | Popular-Science
The definition of “innuendo,” according to the Merriam-Webster dictionary, is “an oblique allusion.”
Bill Cosby’s Long List of Accusers (So Far): 18 Alleged Sexual Assault Victims Between 1965-2004 | Marlow Stern | November 24, 2014 | THE DAILY BEASTIn fact, my Random House dictionary goes so far as to define it.
Other new admissions to the dictionary include qayaq—an alternate spelling of kayak—and thongy.
Well, La Ti Da: Stephin Merritt’s Winning Little Words of Scrabble | David Bukszpan | October 11, 2014 | THE DAILY BEAST“It is a virtual dictionary of the cityscape of Los Angeles,” Tarsia says.
Navigating this brave new world is the inventively-named Anana, an employee at a soon to be obsolete print dictionary.
He prepared a glossary of provincial and archological words, intended for a supplement to Johnson's dictionary.
The Every Day Book of History and Chronology | Joel MunsellAnd when they came to the next story the Boy took pleasure in doing his own hunting in the dictionary.
Kipling Stories and Poems Every Child Should Know, Book II | Rudyard KiplingThe dictionary we have compiled will tell the amateur what names will most probably supply the qualities he desires.
Violins and Violin Makers | Joseph PearceA big dictionary placed in an armchair, raised little Henrietta to the proper height at the Norwood dinner table.
The Campfire Girls of Roselawn | Margaret PenroseWell, suppose you are allowed one, and you choose a French dictionary, and try to learn it off by heart before you come out.
First Plays | A. A. Milne
British Dictionary definitions for dictionary
/ (ˈdɪkʃənərɪ, -ʃənrɪ) /
a reference resource, in printed or electronic form, that consists of an alphabetical list of words with their meanings and parts of speech, and often a guide to accepted pronunciation and syllabification, irregular inflections of words, derived words of different parts of speech, and etymologies
a similar reference work giving equivalent words in two or more languages. Such dictionaries often consist of two or more parts, in each of which the alphabetical list is given in a different language: a German-English dictionary
a reference publication listing words or terms of a particular subject or activity, giving information about their meanings and other attributes: a dictionary of gardening
a collection of information or examples with the entries alphabetically arranged: a dictionary of quotations
Origin of dictionary
1Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
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