Product Description

Chambers 21st Century Dictionary is the ideal dictionary for the modern world. The focus is on the English that people use today, and definitions are given in straightforward, accessible language. It is packed with usage notes giving advice on tricky points of style, grammar and punctuation.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #346124 in Books
• Published on: 1999-06-02
• Original language: English
• Binding: Hardcover
• 1654 pages

Review

‘A magnificent achievement of both scholarship and common sense’
 

Customer Reviews

Don't be mislead by the title - it's not the 20th C revised.
The title of this dictionary would lead one to believe that this is an updating of the excellent Chamber's 20th Century Dictionary - it is not. Its range is considerable reduced over that of the Chamber's Dictionary, which appears to be the true sequal to the 20th Century Dictionary. I would not recommend it to anyone who has anything other than a perfunctory interest in the English Language. It's probably fine as a day-to-day office dictionary and a paper-weight.

Concentrates on modern words to the detriment of older ones
I have mixed feelings about this attractive one-volume dictionary. It states that it focuses on the way that English is spoken today which is helpful when reading about developments in technology. I thought I was relatively computer-literate but was surprised at the number of computer-related words (a large chunk of the recently added words) which I did not know, or misundertood. On older words, it does not do so well. Several times when reading novels I was unable to find words listed which I did find in a smaller paperback Oxford dictionary, published in the 1970s. The layout of the dictonary is clear and easy to read with good choices of typeface. Helpful boxes on usage are included although for English usage I would probably want to refer to a more detailed book. I do not recommend this dictonary except for people with limited funds who find the modern world a bit confusing and who have another dictionary as well. For myself, I shall be looking for a more comprehensive dictionary.

Very nearly a great dictionary
This dictionary has many superb points. There are some great definitions (in particular irony which is so often misdefined) and it's pretty comprehensive. Unfortunately it has some significant faults. Firstly it's tendency to spell words the American way, for example generalize instead of generalise. This is not really acceptable in an English dictionary. Secondly it has a number of poor definitions including a number of the more modern high tech words. In particular it has trouble with the bi- prefix.

It's a great shame because with only a little work this would be a fantastic dictionary. I only hope that these issues are resolved in a future edition. However, as it stands, I would not recommend this dictionary to anyone.