Product Description

The Oxford Dictionary of English is at the forefront of language research, focusing on English as it is used today, informed by the most up-to-date evidence from the largest language research programme in the world, including the 800-million-word Oxford English Corpus. This revised edition includes hundreds of brand-new words and senses, as well as up-to-date encyclopedic information, and extensive appendices covering topics such as countries, heads of state, and chemical elements. NEW - From September 2007, buy the Oxford Dictionary of English and receive a free Oxford Spellchecker on CD-ROM to help you improve your spelling. In selected markets (UK & Europe), while stocks last.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #1281 in Books
• Published on: 2005-08-11
• Binding: Hardcover
• 2110 pages

Amazon.co.uk Review
For many speakers and learners of English, the word "Oxford" spells authority about language. The second edition of the Oxford Dictionary of English is no exception. Any dictionary which comes from Oxford University Press (whose origins lie in the Middle Ages, the foundation of the university and the dawn of printing) tends to be in a different league from its competitors.

Based on the "Oxford English Corpus", language databases, which amount to "hundreds of millions of words of written and spoken English in machine-readable form", this hefty single-volume dictionary has four million words of text. That includes 355,000 words phrases and definitions, 12,000 encyclopaedic entries and 68,000 explanations. The statistics are mind blowing.

Like all good dictionaries it's bang up to date. "Greasy spoon", "data smog" and "WMD" are all here, scrupulously glossed. So, of course are wonderful, old, near-obsolete words like "editrice" and "bouffant". Plenty of proper names get in too. Did you know that a "Queensland blue" is a cattle dog with a dark speckled body as opposed to a "Queensland nut" which is another name for the macadamia nut?

Like other new dictionaries the Oxford Dictionary of English provides boxed usage notes which point up, say, the difference between "pedal" and "peddle" or discuss the vexed old question of whether infinitives may be split. More unusual are the 14 detailed appendices on, for example, English in electronic communications, collective nouns and proof-reading marks. Most useful of all is probably the "Guide to Good English" which manages to be both admirably concise and immaculately clear. --Susan Elkin

Richard Bell, Writing Magazine
""For all its entries, the Oxford has good clear definitions, excellent descriptions of word origins, and plenty of usgae boxes.""

Review
"For all its entries, the Oxford has good clear definitions, excellent descriptions of word origins, and plenty of usage boxes." (Richard Bell, Writing Magazine )

Customer Reviews

An Oxford monster
This is a 'monster' of a tome, and probably the best single dictionary (and quite a bit more)resource you'll need.

Well worth the investment - go ahead an buy it, you'll be glad you did.

The Best
In our house this is called The Book. I am not a native English speaker but live in England for 10 years. It has only failed me on one or two occasions for VERY specific words, otherwise - absolutely fantastic. I love explanations for origin of some words and historic notes - on many occasions it doubles as the encyclopedia. Wonderful.

The bees' knees of dictionaries
A huge, detailed dictionary - and encyclopedia - makes it really two books in one. Its clear layout makes it incredibly user-friendly too. Take care when page turning though!

Plus points:
> Over a third of a million words, phrases and definitions.
> Encyclopedic entries include people and places.
> Detailed word origins.
> Usage boxes for guidance on English usage and common errors.
> Word meanings are numbered (compare this point to the multitude of semi-colons in the Chambers Dictionary).
> Very up-to-date (there's a definition of 'wiki').

Minus points:
> Pages are as thin as tracing paper and seem liable to tear. A huge disappointment considering the cost.
> It's too heavy too hold!