Updated 18 July 2023
Our commitment to accessibility
Oxford University Press continuously strives to make its products accessible to and inclusive of all our users, including those with visual, hearing, cognitive, or motor impairments.
To support these goals, we follow the general principles of web usability and universal design and, where feasible, endeavour to make the Oxford English Dictionary platform (OED) accessible to all regardless of physical or cognitive impairment or the device used.
Information for blind users
- All content and interactive elements on the page are usable with screen readers, except for known exceptions listed below. We will be fixing these exceptions as soon as possible.
- Forms and inputs have been labelled so that their purpose is communicated via a screen reader.
- Skip navigation is not yet available. We will be adding this as soon as possible.
- Accessibility testing has been conducted with the NVDA screen reader.
- Information on how to request accessible copies of content in any format is available on this page, under the section ‘How to request accessible copies of our publications’.
Information for partially sighted and low-vision users
- All pages have been designed so that brightness contrast levels comply with the WCAG AA standard of 4.5:1 between foreground and background colours.
- All pages can be magnified up to 400% and the page content will reflow so that all the content is presented on the page without the need for horizontal scrolling.
- There may be browser features or extensions that will support your individual needs, such as changing text size and colour, system settings, or applications that can override colours on this site.
- Adjusting monitor settings to change brightness, contrast or colour settings, or using a physical-coloured monitor overlay may also provide extra support when using this site.
- Further tips and guidance for making adjustments to your computer, laptop, tablet, or smart phone to make it easier to use can be found on the AbilityNet My Computer My Way resource.
Information for keyboard-only users
All elements of this site should be reachable and usable with a keyboard, with some known exceptions listed below. We will be fixing these as soon as possible.
- Elements that can be used with a keyboard should display a visible focus outline when the element has been reached by the keyboard.
- Skip navigation links are not yet present on every page; we will be adding these as soon as possible.
Further information about how to navigate the OED with a keyboard can be found in the ‘Navigation’ section below.
Text-to-speech compatibility
Some users of the platform may benefit from listening to text. The platform does not currently include an embedded text-to-speech tool, although this is being considered as part of OUP’s roadmap. However, text-to-speech compatibility is:
- Built into the Edge browser
- Available as plug-ins for Chrome and Firefox browsers
- Built into most modern digital devices such as PCs, Macs, tablets, and smart phones.
The majority of dictionary entries will have at least one audio pronunciation.
Available formats
The OED content, search, and browse features are presented as HTML. Some supplementary content in our information pages is available to download as PDF.
To open PDF files, you will need a PDF viewer such as Adobe Reader. Adobe Reader is highly configurable for visually impaired and motion-impaired users. For guidance, please see this document: Reading PDFs with reflow and accessibility features.
We are aiming to improve the accessibility of our PDFs and will update this page when those improvements have been made.
Navigation
The site can be navigated with both a mouse and a keyboard. Please see below for some specific guidance on navigating the site:
Skip links
We are working to add skip links to each applicable page as soon as possible. The link will appear as soon as you use the tab key to tab into the page and will be read out by a screen reader.
Menus
There are several dropdown menus across the site:
- The dropdown in the search bar, which allows you to select a search scope of Dictionary or Historical Thesaurus, can be used by focusing on the selector and using the down arrow key to change the selection.
- The autocomplete dropdown appears after two characters have been entered into the search bar. Use the down arrow key to select a suggestion, and press Enter to submit that suggestion as a search term.
- The sort dropdown on the Advanced Search pages can be opened by focusing on the dropdown, then pressing Spacebar. Options can then be selected with the up or down arrow keys and submitted by pressing Enter.
- The Historical Thesaurus dropdown in the Meaning and Use tab can be opened by focusing on the element and pressing Spacebar. Items within the dropdown can then be accessed using the Tab key.
With the exception of the Historical Thesaurus dropdown, each dropdown can be closed by pressing the Esc key.
Popups
Several site features such as sign in, citation, entry details, and save searches are contained within popups. Popups appear on-screen once their link has been activated with a mouse or keyboard. When the popup opens the background fades to a dark grey. Currently the focus is not being pulled into the popup, and it is not possible to close the popup with a keyboard once it has been opened. This will be fixed as soon as possible; in the meantime the best way to close the popup is to reload the page – this can usually be done by pressing F5 on your keyboard.
Links
All links within the site are reachable and usable with a mouse and keyboard. When a link receives focus it will be outlined with a solid blue outline. Links can be activated with a keyboard by using the Tab key to reach the link, then pressing Enter/Return.
Navigating dictionary entries
Dictionary entries can be laid out in two ways, with the default layout splitting the content into tabs, and the ‘untabbed’ layout presenting the content in a vertical layout on a single screen. The default can be changed by creating a personal account and going to the ‘manage account’ page.
Senses and their definitions will be found on the ‘Meaning and Use’ tab. This tab contains a table of contents on the left-hand side, which you can use to jump to a particular point in the entry.
To move from one tab to the other in tabbed view, click on the tab heading with a mouse, or use the Tab key to navigate and set focus on the tab heading, then use the right or left arrow keys to select another tab, then press Enter.
Navigating the Historical Thesaurus
The Historical Thesaurus can be navigated either by expanding and collapsing sections of the tree on the left-hand side, or by activating links in the main content panel. Currently the tree on the left-hand side is not usable with a keyboard, but we are aiming to fix this as soon as possible.
Navigating Advanced Search
Advanced Search results are presented in four tabs – Entries, Meanings, Quotations and the Historical Thesaurus. Different tabs can be chosen with a keyboard by tabbing to the relevant tab heading.
Each tab contains a text input box for further search refinement, and a series of filters. Radio buttons underneath the text input can be selected using a mouse or the arrow keys on a keyboard. The checkboxes in the filters can be selected using a mouse or by pressing Spacebar. Where filters are arranged in a hierarchy, a sideways arrow can be clicked, or can be used by a keyboard by focusing on the parent element, then using the right and left arrow keys to expand and collapse the hierarchy. The down arrow key can then be used to select a node, and then the tab key used to set focus on the checkbox, which then can be activated by mouse-click or pressing Spacebar. When the hierarchy is collapsed, the down arrow can be used to move to the next part of the filter.
How accessible is the Oxford English Dictionary platform?
We are currently targeting adherence to level AA of the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) Web Content Accessibility Guidelines 2.1 (WCAG 2.1), in order to help our users take full advantage of the accessibility features provided by their chosen device, web browser, or operating system.
However, we do recognise that some parts of this website are not yet fully accessible:
- Some parts of the site are not yet usable with a keyboard.
- Skip navigation links are missing.
- No audio descriptions are currently present for videos, but synchronised captions are available for some videos.
- Third party software is used to enhance the user experience, for example: YouTube embedded videos; cookie preferences banner.
Whilst every effort is made to ensure that any third party we work with provide accessible software we cannot guarantee full AA compliance. Please let us know if you experience any problems (contact details provided below).
Browser and mobile device support
Oxford English Dictionary is optimised for modern browsers including Microsoft Edge, Mozilla Firefox, Apple Safari, and Google Chrome.
The site is responsive, meaning that the content reflows depending on the screen size and orientation of the device being used.
If you find any issues with accessing the content in any format or on any device, please get in touch via Customer Services and we will address the issue.
How we test this website
Our sites are regularly assessed by an independent third party with expertise in identifying accessibility issues. Any issues identified are added to our development roadmap for remediation at the earliest opportunity.
We have taken steps to embed accessibility considerations throughout our development process. This means that every time we consider a new feature or functionality, or a change to an existing feature, ensuring that the feature is fully accessible for all users is front and centre in our planning and analysis.
We also work closely with our external development partners to ensure that they are fully invested in our commitment to accessibility for all.
Voluntary Product Accessibility Template (VPAT)
We have commissioned an independent VPAT assessment report to help us better understand how we can improve accessibility for the OED in line with Section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act (US).
The report is available here: VPAT assessment report.
How to help us improve access to Oxford English Dictionary
Our commitment to providing accessible and inclusive content is an ongoing activity. If you have any comments or insights on accessibility that you would like to share with us to help us in this mission, please contact academic.accessibility@oup.com.
How to request accessible copies of our publications
OUP works in collaboration with the Royal National Institute of Blind People (RNIB) – one of the UK’s leading sight loss charities and the largest community of blind and partially sighted people – to provide access to OUP’s academic books. Through an agreement with RNIB Bookshare, users needing accessible and adaptive file types can access all of OUP’s frontlist collections.
To obtain an accessible version of a book please visit https://www.rnibbookshare.org/cms/. Customers outside of the UK should continue to contact OUP Customer Services.
Digital rights management (DRM)
Dictionary entry content on the Oxford English Dictionary that isn’t the entry Factsheet or freely available entry (usually for a limited time such as the Word of the Day) is only available to authenticated users and is thus subject to digital rights management.
Copying and Printing
For the purposes of research, teaching, and private study only, authorized users may:
- Electronically save portions of the licensed material. For reference purposes, 5% of a dictionary entry (inclusive of all tabs in tabbed view) would be considered to be an acceptable ‘portion’.
2. Print out a single copy of a portion of the licensed materials.
Our programme of continuous improvement
The Oxford English Dictionary complies with applicable law relating to accessibility (including with the obligations under The Equality Act 2010) and much of the OED is already accessible in accordance with WCAG 2.1. We are making ongoing improvements, however, and to accomplish these, we have a committed investment and development programme to deliver improved accessibility compliance over the coming months and beyond.
We are aware of issues with using the site with a keyboard, particularly the absence of skip links and encountering popups, and we are aiming to fix these as soon as possible.
We will continue to update this page with details of further improvements as they are added to the site.
