Product Description

The Chambers Dictionary is the dictionary of choice for all word lovers and crossword enthusiasts. It is known for its comprehensive coverage of English and for its tradition of including the occasional light-hearted definition in its pages. Alone among modern single-volume dictionaries, it retains an interest in the past as well as the present, offering a rich stock of words from our literary heritage as well as covering recent developments in English. For this 11th edition the text has been thoroughly revised to reflect the latest changes in our language, with special attention being given to reflecting current pronunciation and vocabulary. To celebrate the launch of Chambers Reference Online at www.chambersreference.com, each copy of The Chambers Dictionary, 11th Edition, comes with a free trial of this ultra-reliable new online resource.

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Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #28020 in Books
• Published on: 2008-08-22
• Original language: English
• Binding: Hardcover
• 1871 pages

Review

Chambers is my dictionary of choice and always has been, because its
practice is to detail a word's etymology with clarity, brevity and
exactness, so that to look up a word in Chambers is to be able to
unpack its meaning and also to marvel at its compactness... Chambers is
an open door to words at their wittiest, most rooted, most reavealing
and most powerful. 

(Ali Smith )

It's good to see that the latest, 11th, edition of Chambers Dictionary has lost none of its wit.

(Mark Sanderson, Literary Life, Telegraph.co.uk )

It's official! The credit crunch has finally found its way into the hallowed columns of this iconic work of reference...

Hats off, incidentally, to the editor who archly defines 'comfort food' as 'mood-enhancing food that meets the approval of one's taste buds but not of one's doctor'.

(Daily Echo )

 Chambers is the one I keep at my right hand

(Philip Pullman: how I chose my top 40, 'The Times' )

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Customer Reviews

Worth waiting for
Chambers has long been the dictionary of choice for contemporary authors, lovers of word-games, crosswords and the like, and the eleventh edition, published last year (2008) has been well worth waiting for. It is a worthy successor to `Chambers Twentieth Century Dictionary' which first saw the light of day in 1901. There will always be partisans who favour one dictionary over another and `The Oxford Dictionary of English' will be an unequalled favourite of many, but I find the two books complement one another - I keep a copy of each to hand and both are well-used. Any dictionary must be selective and Chambers has naturally dropped some words that are past their sell-by date in favour of more useful innovations. Jeremy Paxman's amusing foreword will introduce you to some of each. There are the usual preliminaries and some useful-looking tables at the end which I may be grateful for one day if I remember what and where they are.
I suppose some might cavil that in this electronic age, reference books are relics of a bygone age, but Chambers' often quirky wit makes this a delightful book to curl up with and delve into as well as being an invaluable reference work, always provided that you have adequate support for such a hefty tome. Its nearly 5lb (2.3kg) weight is another reason (besides price) for having it delivered to your door via Amazon rather than having to lug it home yourself. However, the Internet community is not overlooked and, with a nod to bogof shopping bargains, purchase of this hard-back dictionary brings with it a bonus six-monthly subscription to both `The Chambers Dictionary' and `The Chambers Thesaurus' on-line.
The quality of printing, selection of paper and clarity of fonts don't impose any undue strain on my not-so-young-as-they-were eyes. If I were to make the choice again, which I may well do when the 12th edition appears, I would forego the thumb indexing. I am familiar with the English alphabet and the grouping of indented letters seems to have been chosen rather to equalise the intervals than to facilitate one's arrival at one's destination.
It is a possession to enjoy and worth waiting for, because ... you are worth it!

Best dictionary bar none!
This is by far the best dictionary around. Not as comprehensive as Oxford's for the sheer amount of words contained but who cares. This dictionary takes out all the unnecessarily confusing stuff and keeps in all the interesting words and descriptions. The thumb index system is a revelation. Speeds up the word finding process by 10. The page design is also equally well thought out too. Words are done in an easy to read black bold style. Perfect viewing size even if you're half blind like me and not that horrible day-glow blue colour text another dictionary uses which makes my eyes go dizzy. Overall the dictionary doesn't put a foot wrong. It's like Oxford's eccentric, smarter, cooler and classier cousin. So go buy!!

Easily the best dictionary on the market
I have owned two Chambers Dictionaries over the past thirty years being a cryptic crossword addict and a lover of the English Language. This latest edition is wonderful value and so comprehensive