Oxford English Reference Dictionary

by Judy Pearsall

The Oxford English Reference Dictionary extends the aims of conventional dictionaries to be more useful, more practical, and more informative. It combines the coverage of an authoritative Oxford... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0198606524
• Release Date: November 2002
• Publisher: Oxford University Press
• Length: 1792 Pages
• Weight: 5.10 lbs.
• Dimensions: 7.8" x 2.5" x 10.5"

Customer Reviews

Comprehensive

This is by far the best dictionary I have found for my purposes. I have used it for several years, and just bought a new one because I left the previous one on a plane and was not able to retrieve it. The Oxford English Reference Dictionary includes definitions for words used by British authors that may be absent in other dictionaries. For example, a non-British reader of J. K. Rowling, using the Random House--an otherwise very good American dictionary--can only guess the meaning of "git" and "prat" that certain characters use often, being teenagers. The Reference dictionary also generally does not define words by synonyms, or use difficult words in the definition except when necessary to capture the meaning. Some entries include an encyclopedic entry following the definition, that provide more background and depth. The pronunciation symbols are little difficult because they are phonetic symbols that must be memorized or looked up each time. I find this to be only a minor inconvenience. It takes less time, on average, to look up a word in this dictionary because I am not faced with a string of synonyms, or a chain of difficult words to look up as well. While other dictionaries give good definitions, when using this one I am generally able to get a better grasp of the word or take less time looking it up, or both.

Comprehensive dictionary for both advanced learners and native speakers. Good value for money.

I bought the previous edition of the Oxford English Refererence Dictionary in 2000, when I was in my first year at the university. I have used it ever since, and the other day I bought the new edition for my friend, a student of English. Below are a few features of this dictionary I like most: - Several parts of speech for one and the same word are listed at one and the same entry, with special marks. This makes it possible to save a lot of paper and fit more words into one book. - Examples and usage notes are given only when really necessary and crucial. Definitions are short and clear. This also saves paper. But mind that pre-intermediate / intermediate learners of English may find the definitions difficult to understand. - Etymology in a concise form is given for every word. - The book is not only a dictionary, but also a reference book containing a lot of information about phenomena, events, characters, places etc. More than once when I was not sure about something (e.g. what a given philosophy trend is famous for or when some historical event took place) I opened the book and found the answer. - A lot of proper names with their English pronunciations are listed.

Oxford English Dictionary

The subject matter was what I had expected, very precise and complete.

For a One-Volume . . .

If you don't want to buy the literally encyclopedic multi-volume Oxford English Dictionary, this is the one to get. You'll still get more words than most of us use on a regular basis! If you're looking to increase your vocabulary with a word of the day, this is a great place to start.And most new words inserted into the 'Macro' Oxford each year make their way into the newer editions of this classic. It may not be as cheap as some of the others, but it's the best bang for the buck.

I learn something everytime that I open it.

I only bought this dictionary because David Foster Wallace constantly raves about the "OED", which is a full (and expensive) twenty volume set. So this (...) book was more in my price range. Despite it's shorter length, I have definitely got more than my money's worth in this book. Sometimes I take a break from my day and pick it up and browse through the pages. Besides being able to find over 99% of the words for which I've searched, it's got an uncountable number of historical, geographical, etc. facts and backgrounders. If you're a learning nerd, this is a good book to have.