Webster's New World College Dictionary, Indexed Fourth Edition (Hardcover)

by Michael E. Agnes (Editor)
Key Phrases: pronunciation information, former transliteration, folk etym, North American, New York, South America (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review
Is "legislator" pronounced with an "er" sound at the end or an "or"? Is the Jewish festival of lights spelled "Chanukah," "Hanuka," or "Hanukkah"? With Webster's New World College Dictionary, which promises to describe rather than prescribe, you can take your pick. The dictionary includes more than 150,000 entries, including brief biographical and geographical notes and useful drawings and diagrams (depictions of four kinds of buoys, for example). The guide to pronunciation and symbols is given on every other page, handy for those who don't like to refer to the inside cover each time they forget how to pronounce the sound of the schwa (of course, the guides on the inside and front covers are more extensive). Starred words refer to Americanisms, which number more than 11,000, such as "hornswoggle" and "Hopi" and "kitchenette." The definitions themselves are clear and simple and seldom have you scurrying to another page for a definition of the definition. Easy to use and understand, Webster's New World College Dictionary is a fine addition to any high school or college student's desk set. --Rebecca A. Staffel --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Review
"This is, it goes without saying, a majestic publication." --Philip Howard (Wall Street Journal, August 23, 2005) --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 1716 pages
• Publisher: Webster's New World; 4 edition (August 15, 1999)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0028631188
• ISBN-13: 978-0028631189
• Product Dimensions: 9.8 x 7.7 x 2.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 4.3 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars See all reviews (55 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #164,817 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

36 of 37 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Simply, the best., August 7, 2002

By	D. R. Schryer (Poquoson, VA United States) - See all my reviews (TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)

There are lots of dictionaries available, and many of them call themselves "Webster's" -- it a generic name. But Webster's New World stands out from the rest. It's very much up to date and also very user friendly; you won't have to keep looking up definitions of definitions. Furthermore, it's authoritive. This is the dictionary chosen by many prestigious media organizations -- including the Associated Press, the Wall Street Journal, and The New York Times -- as their authority of choice. So if you want to get an up to date, easy to use dictionary that's widely-recognized as authoritive, look for the name Webster's New World.

22 of 22 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Best Dictionary on the Planet and a Great Deal!, May 13, 2007

By	M. Erickson "erickm" - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This review is from: Webster's New World College Dictionary, Fourth Edition (Book with CD-ROM) (Hardcover)

I love this dictionary. The software version even works with Word 2007 running under Vista. The dictionary has a space on the tool bar and I can access it while writing.
For less than 20 bucks, you get an excellent hard bound dictionary, and an excellent electronic dictionary. Best deal on Amazon as far as I'm concerned. I'd pop 20 bucks just for the electronic version.

26 of 27 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars indispensable, August 11, 2005

By	Benjamin P. Wing "saudade seeker" (Austin, TX USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

i'm surprised at some of the complaints. i've found this to be one of the best dictionaries i've ever had. i previously bought and returned the merriam-webster dictionary because a lot of its definitions seemed old-fashioned or ill-aimed. the vast majority of entries i've found have spot-on defn's; it's particularly good at describing modern, american usage (in fact its stated emphasis is on "americanisms"). it also has the best etymology i've found anywhere, listing the PIE origins of most words.

nb the "pictures" that one reviewer complained about are a miniscule part of the space of the page; most pages have only one, and over 50% have none at all. many are actually maps or other useful diagrams (parts of a feather, a horse, the frame of a house, etc.).