Oxford Dictionary of English [Hardcover]

Catherine Soanes (Editor), Angus Stevenson (Editor)

Book Description

Publication Date: May 26, 2004 | ISBN-10: 0198613474 | ISBN-13: 978-0198613473 | Edition: 2

"The New Oxford Dictionary of English" was first published in 1998 and quickly established itself as the foremost single-volume authority on the English language. This is a major new edition, now without the New in the title, but with all the features that brought world-wide acclaim to the first publication. "The Oxford Dictionary of English" is at the forefront of language research, focusing on English as it is used today, informed by the most up-to-date evidence and the latest research from the Oxford English Corpus. The dictionary is unique in that it places the central and most frequent meanings of each word first, followed by secondary and technical senses, slang, idioms, and historical and archaic senses. There are over 500 boxed usage notes, giving guidance on all aspects of the language and backed up by extensive analysis of 100s of millions of words of real English. Featuring 355,000 words, phrases, and definitions, this dictionary offers the most comprehensive coverage of English as it is actually used in the twenty-first century. There is also a brand-new set of appendices, covering topics including countries, heads of state, and chemical elements.

Editorial Reviews

Review

`Review from previous edition For once, the publicity is justified. This is an important book, with messages for all of us . . .. Cultural conservatives will find it very unsettling; the rest of us should wallow and cavort through its story.' Andrew Marr in The Observer, 16.08.98

`The [New Oxford Dictionary of English] has . . . outstanding features . . . such as the display of the usage information in an easy-to-read shaded box . . . and . . . loads of useful biographical information.' Wall Street Journal (Europe), 28.08.98

`The [New Oxford Dictionary of English] is a model of clarity - hardly surprising given its illustrious pedigree.' Time Out, 26.08.98

` unsettling; the rest of us should wallow and cavort through its story.' Andrew Marr in The Observer, 16.08.98

`unsettling; the rest of us should wallow and cavort through its story.' Andrew Marr in The Observer, 16.08.98

`..a splendid and beautiful dictionary' Lynn Truss

About the Author

Catherine Soanes and Angus Stevenson are Project Editors for English Dictionaries at Oxford University Press. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 2110 pages
• Publisher: Oxford University Press, USA; 2 edition (May 26, 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0198613474
• ISBN-13: 978-0198613473
• Product Dimensions: 10.9 x 8.6 x 2.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 6.7 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 3.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (14 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #619,946 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

163 of 164 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars THE single volume English dictionary, October 7, 2004

By 

Zordano - See all my reviews

This review is from: Oxford Dictionary of English (Hardcover)

Precise, comprehensive, meticulous, rich: for extent and scope - the only single volume dictionary of English to own (namely, for those seeking a non-American English dictionary (in practice, a non-Merriam-Webster work)).

Editors Catherine Soanes and Angus Stevenson have revised and updated the pioneering work of Judy Pearsall (Editor) and Patrick Hanks (Chief Editor, Current English Dictionaries) who led production of the outstanding `The New Oxford Dictionary of English' in 1998.

This revision builds upon that body of work - adding 3,000 fresh words, senses and phrases. The editors and their team drew upon a new 100 million word Oxford English corpus. As with the 1998 dictionary, it focuses its definitions on current usage.

What gives this indispensable breadth and depth is its layout of core senses and subsenses within each definition and the provision of word history: etymology (word origin) and morphology (word form) as well as reference to development of both sense and form.

This provides a rich reference work that would strengthen anyone's vocabulary and sharpen accuracy of expression.

This edition also adds usage guidance where prudent and includes new Appendices: a very useful `Guide to Good English' and encyclopaedia like information (including: countries and their capitals; weights & measures; punctuation marks; alphabets; the chemical elements; data on the solar system; proofreading marks; Prime Ministers and Presidents; Internet Forum & Chatroom keystroke emoticons :~) and shorthand (`FYI' etc); collective nouns; and even categories of wind forces!).

While it might retain the typical dryness and staidness of the Oxford English Dictionary (OED), this volume surely sets a global standard for single volume works (cf. Merriam-Webster). The OED might occasionally omit some shades of meaning in current usage and be slow to take up new words due to its staff being too academic by nature and out of touch.

Surely as a living language flows through everyday life, such dictionaries help fight the mudslides?

Its sibling Thesaurus is equally worthwhile, having also undergone useful revision and improvement.

19 of 20 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Wait for the Third Edition, out now., August 22, 2010

By 

Sam (Minnesota) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Oxford Dictionary of English (Hardcover)

I would suggest that you wait for the Third Edition, released August 19, 2010. In addition to the 2000 additional words and 200 phrases, it includes a year of online access.

9 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Totally Worth The Price, July 15, 2009

By 

Choosy Shopper (New England) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Oxford Dictionary of English (Hardcover)

This is the book that settles all word usage discussions in our house! From Scrabble words to writing papers for work and school this is the one dictionary we turn to again and again for the definitive answer to all things vocabulary in nature. An interesting book just to peruse as well...if your into the global use of English words and their meanings. So worth the price for a family dictionary.