English dictionary

American  

[ing-glish dik-shuh-ner-ee, ing-lish] / ˈɪŋ glɪʃ ˈdɪk ʃəˌnɛr i, ˈɪŋ lɪʃ /

noun

plural

English dictionaries

1. a dictionary in which most of the entry words and all of their definitions, as well as supplementary material, are in English; a monolingual English dictionary, such as Dictionary.com. Terms from other languages that are commonly used by speakers of English are given language labels and often the foreign as well as Anglicized pronunciations.

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Etymology

Origin of English dictionary

First recorded in 1720–30

Example Sentences

As a young mother, she had done 12 years of night school to earn her B.A. and M.A. in sociology at Concordia University so she could become a professor, and Sarah Cobb recalled Janine keeping an Oxford English Dictionary on a lectern in the family home, Bible-like, for easy reference.

From The Wall Street Journal

Oxford English Dictionary’s word of the year will get you big mad.

From MarketWatch

Merriam-Webster’s primary opponent now is the Google search bar, whose definitions come from Oxford Language, the company that owns the Oxford English Dictionary.

From The Wall Street Journal

The phrase “up to eleven,” coined in “This Is Spinal Tap” during an improvised sequence between Reiner and Christopher Guest, is in the Oxford English Dictionary.

From Los Angeles Times

At first, I was sad to see that the linguist team at the Oxford English Dictionary had picked “rage bait” as the Word of the Year.

From Salon