dictionary noun - Definition, pictures, pronunciation and usage notes | Oxford Advanced Learner's Dictionary at OxfordLearnersDictionaries.com

Definition of dictionary noun from the Oxford Advanced Learner's Dictionary

dictionary

noun
 
/ˈdɪkʃənri/
 
/ˈdɪkʃəneri/
(plural dictionaries)
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  1. a book or electronic resource that gives a list of the words of a language in alphabetical order and explains what they mean, or gives a word for them in a foreign language
    • a Spanish-English dictionary
    • a slang dictionary
    • a dictionary of slang
    • in a dictionary If you don't know the meaning of a word, look it up in the dictionary.
    Extra Examples
    • I couldn't find the word in the dictionary.
    • You need a dictionary to understand what he's saying half the time.
    • a way of teaching children how to use dictionaries
    Topics Educationa1
    Oxford Collocations Dictionaryadjective
    • good
    • comprehensive
    • unabridged
    verb + dictionary
    • check
    • consult
    • look something up in
    dictionary + noun
    • definition
    • entry
    preposition
    • in a/​the dictionary
    See full entry
  2. a book that explains the words that are used in a particular subject
    • a dictionary of mathematics
    • I decided to consult a medical dictionary.
    Oxford Collocations Dictionaryadjective
    • good
    • comprehensive
    • unabridged
    verb + dictionary
    • check
    • consult
    • look something up in
    dictionary + noun
    • definition
    • entry
    preposition
    • in a/​the dictionary
    See full entry
  3. a list of words in electronic form, for example stored in a computer’s spellchecker
    Oxford Collocations Dictionaryadjective
    • good
    • comprehensive
    • unabridged
    verb + dictionary
    • check
    • consult
    • look something up in
    dictionary + noun
    • definition
    • entry
    preposition
    • in a/​the dictionary
    See full entry
  4. Word Originearly 16th cent.: from medieval Latin dictionarium (manuale) or dictionarius (liber) ‘manual or book of words’, from Latin dictio, from dicere ‘to say’.
See dictionary in the Oxford Advanced American DictionarySee dictionary in the Oxford Learner's Dictionary of Academic English
logistics
noun
 
 
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