Definition of 'dictionary'
Word forms: plural dictionaries
1. countable noun
A dictionary is a book in which the words and phrases of a language are listed alphabetically,
together with their meanings or their translations in another language.
2. countable noun [with supplement, oft NOUN of noun]
A dictionary is an alphabetically ordered reference book on one particular subject or limited group of subjects.
Collins COBUILD Advanced Learner’s Dictionary. Copyright © HarperCollins Publishers
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dictionary
British English pronunciation
American English pronunciation
Word Frequency
dictionary in British English
nounWord forms: plural -aries
1.
a.
a reference resource, in printed or electronic form, that consists of an alphabetical list of words with their meanings and parts of speech, and often a guide to accepted pronunciation and syllabification, irregular inflections of words, derived words of different parts of speech, and etymologies
b.
a similar reference work giving equivalent words in two or more languages. Such dictionaries often consist of two or more parts,
in each of which the alphabetical list is given in a different language
a German-English dictionary
2.
a reference publication listing words or terms of a particular subject or activity, giving information about their meanings and other attributes
a dictionary of gardening
3.
a dictionary of quotations
Collins English Dictionary. Copyright © HarperCollins Publishers
Word origin
C16: from Medieval Latin dictiōnārium collection of words, from Late Latin dictiō word; see dictionWord Frequency
dictionary in American English
nounWord forms: plural ˈdictionˌaries
1.
a book of alphabetically listed words in a language, with definitions, etymologies, pronunciations, and other information; lexicon
2.
a book of alphabetically listed words in a language with their equivalents in another
language
a Spanish-English dictionary
Webster’s New World College Dictionary, 4th Edition. Copyright © 2010 by
Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. All rights reserved.
Word Frequency
dictionary in American English
(ˈdɪkʃəˌneri)
nounWord forms: plural -aries
1.
a book containing a selection of the words of a language, usually arranged alphabetically, giving information about
their meanings, pronunciations, etymologies, inflected forms, etc., expressed in either the same or another language; lexicon; glossary
a dictionary of English
a Japanese-English dictionary
Most material © 2005, 1997, 1991 by Penguin Random House LLC. Modified entries © 2019
by Penguin Random House LLC and HarperCollins Publishers Ltd
Word origin
[1520–30; ‹ ML dictiōnārium, dictiōnārius ‹ LL dictiōn- word ( see diction) + -ārium, -ārius -ary]Examples of 'dictionary' in a sentence
dictionary
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Quotations
Dictionaries are like watches; the worst is better than none, and the best cannot be expected to go quite true
When I feel inclined to read poetry I take down my Dictionary. The poetry of words is quite as beautiful as that of sentences. The author may arrange the gems effectively, but their shape and lustre have been given by the attrition of the agesThe Autocrat's Autobiography
To make dictionaries is dull workDictionary
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In other languages
dictionary
British English: dictionary
/ˈdɪkʃənərɪ/ NOUN
A dictionary is a book in which the words and phrases of a language are listed, usually in alphabetical order, together with their meanings or their translations in another language.
We checked the spelling in the dictionary.
- American English: dictionary /ˈdɪkʃənɛri/
- Arabic: قَامُوس
- Brazilian Portuguese: dicionário
- Chinese: 词典
- Croatian: rječnik
- Czech: slovník
- Danish: ordbog
- Dutch: woordenboek
- European Spanish: diccionario
- Finnish: sanakirja
- French: dictionnaire
- German: Wörterbuch
- Greek: λεξικό
- Italian: dizionario
- Japanese: 辞書
- Korean: 사전 단어장
- Norwegian: ordbok
- Polish: słownik
- European Portuguese: dicionário
- Romanian: dicționar
- Russian: словарь
- Latin American Spanish: diccionario
- Swedish: ordbok
- Thai: พจนานุกรม
- Turkish: sözlük
- Ukrainian: словник
- Vietnamese: từ điển
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Shakespeare
William. 1564–1616, English dramatist and poet. He was born and died at Stratford-upon-Avon but spent most of his life as an actor and playwright in London. His plays with approximate dates of composition are: Henry VI, Parts I–III (1590); Richard III (1592); The Comedy of Errors (1592); Titus Andronicus (1593); The Taming of the Shrew (1593); The Two Gentlemen of Verona (1594); Love's Labour's Lost (1594); Romeo and Juliet (1594); Richard II (1595); A Midsummer Night's Dream (1595); King John (1596); The Merchant of Venice (1596); Henry IV, Parts I–II (1597); Much Ado about Nothing (1598); Henry V (1598); Julius Caesar (1599); As You Like It (1599); Twelfth Night (1599); Hamlet (1600); The Merry Wives of Windsor (1600); Troilus and Cressida (1601); All's Well that ends Well (1602); Measure for Measure (1604); Othello (1604); King Lear (1605); Macbeth (1605); Antony and Cleopatra (1606); Coriolanus (1607); Timon of Athens (1607); Pericles (1608); Cymbeline (1609); The Winter's Tale (1610); The Tempest (1611); and, possibly in collaboration with John Fletcher , Two Noble Kinsmen (1612) and Henry VIII (1612). His Sonnets , variously addressed to a fair young man and a dark lady , were published in 1609
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