The American Heritage College Dictionary (Hardcover)

~ American Heritage (Author)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

Despite the word "college" in the title, The American Heritage College Dictionary is the best choice for anyone who's looking for a substantive desk dictionary but isn't quite ready to commit to the space an unabridged takes. With more than 200,000 definitions and biographical and geographical notes, along with crisp photos, drawings, and diagrams in every margin, The American Heritage College Dictionary packs a lot into its 1664 pages. Under "lock," for example, you'll find both a diagram explaining how your key fits into and opens one, as well as a photo of boats passing through a river lock in Heidelberg, Germany. The actual definition section for "lock" shows 5 uses as a noun and 14 as a verb, followed by the idioms "lock horns" and "lock, stock, and barrel," and an etymological note that the word comes from the Old English loc, meaning "bolt or bar." As with all of the American Heritage dictionaries, The American Heritage College Dictionary boasts clear typography, clean design, and terrific usage notes based on the opinions of its 173-member usage panel, a group of noted North American writers and scholars, including Daniel Boorstin, June Jordan, Calvin Trillin, and Eudora Welty. These usage notes (for example, "brunette" seldom refers to men, because "-ette" is too closely associated with the feminine gender), along with regional notes (in the Northern U.S., a "bubbler" is a drinking fountain) and word histories, are a valuable addition to the standard definitions and synonyms one would expect from a college dictionary, and they are what make The American Heritage College Dictionary stand out from the crowd. --Rebecca A. Staffel

From Library Journal

Dictionaries run the gamut from the extremely specialized, such as the Oxford English Dictionary, to picture books designed for young readers. This one falls in the huge middle ground of general-interest, all-purpose dictionaries. Substantially revised and expanded after nine years, with 7500 new words and thousands of updated definitions in all areas, the current edition is made particularly relevant by the inclusion of many terms for Internet or computer-related topics, for example, as well as terms related to the September 11 attacks including "9/11" itself. The editors, who are affiliated with Houghton's reference division, also responsible for the longstanding The American HeritageR Dictionary of the English Language, provide lucid definitions of terms as well as biographical information on prominent people from a wide assortment of fields (e.g., science, business, politics, and the arts). They have also updated data on U.S. cities and states with population statistics from the 2000 census and have added over 2500 photographs and handy black-and-white illustrations, such as diagrams, charts, and outline maps of countries throughout the world. Quirks do appear: there is no definition of "free jazz," for example, despite coverage of other major jazz genres such as Dixieland, fusion, bop/bebop, hot and cool jazz, and swing. In such cases, a specialized topical dictionary is needed. Also, users should retain older dictionaries to locate terms cut from the current edition or to see how words change over time. Finally, although etymologies are given for many words, as are notes on language use and synonyms, a good thesaurus is still needed to help users find comparable words. These minor drawbacks aside, this still makes for a fine general-interest dictionary that continues the strengths of its predecessor and is sure to be of use in any library. William Kenz, Minnesota State Univ., Moorhead
Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an alternate Hardcover edition.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 1664 pages
• Publisher: Houghton Mifflin Company; 3rd Indexd edition (July 1993)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0395671612
• ISBN-13: 978-0395671610
• Product Dimensions: 9.7 x 7.4 x 2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 3.7 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (21 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #840,423 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

  Popular in these categories: (What's this?)

  #4 in	Books > Teens > Reference > College & University Bound > Staff Favorites
  #80 in	Books > Reference > Dictionaries & Thesauruses > English (American)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

92 of 95 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Tied for best, July 16, 2003

By	G. Boettcher (Eau Claire, WI United States) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This review is from: The American Heritage® College Dictionary, Fourth Edition (Hardcover)

I as an intern at a book publisher, and I also used to shelve books in the reference section of Borders, so I've had a chance to form an opinion about the best dictionaries out there.

American Heritage is one of three dictionaries I think are worth owning and one of two that I think are tied for best. Describing all three in chronological order (and also in order from okay to great):

Merriam-Webster is the original Webster's dictionary; their collegiate dictionary is an abridgement of their Third New International Dictionary, the biggest dictionary of American English. Therefore some people, including the publisher I worked for, consider it the most authoritative dictionary. I used to think so too, but not anymore. I think it is too conservative and slow to embrace change. My M-W Collegiate Dictionary has a copyright date of 2000, but doesn't include words like "webcam" or "webmaster," which A.H. includes.

Webster's New World Dictionary has been around for about 50 years and I've heard that it's the dictionary most often used by journalists. It's as good as A.H. or any other college/desk/general-use dictionary you'll find. In a couple ways, W.N.W. is actually better: it does a really great job of cataloguing idioms, and a pretty good job with synonyms too. Definitely worth buying.

American Heritage has been around for about 20-25 years, I think, and to me what makes it most unique is its progressiveness and its quickness at cataloguing language change. "Webcam" and "webmaster" are in A.H. It's got great photos, too (especially the color photos in their unabridged edition, of course, but even in their college edition the black and white photos surpass anything in M-W or W.N.W.). When I look at a definition in A.H., I feel like I am seeing something relevant and up-to-date. I originally bought the unabridged A.H. dictionary, but I exchanged it for their college dictionary because personally I need a dictionary that's light enough that I can whip it off the shelf in a flash without the risk of injury (grin).

I own all three of the above dictionaries. When I worked at a bookstore, I recommended either A.H. or W.N.W. as being the best. To me it is a matter of taste which is the best. If I had to choose one, I'd be a tough choice. I guess I'd pick W.N.W. just because I think it gives you more content for your dollar, but I'm glad I own A.H. too. As you can see from my rating, it is a 5-star dictionary, and in some ways it is the best.

53 of 55 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Good layout, font size, and features = a quality dictionary, October 10, 2003

By A Customer

This review is from: The American Heritage® College Dictionary, Fourth Edition (Hardcover)

This is a review of the hardcover dictionary only; I did not purchase the CD. I have an older edition paperback American Heritage dictionary, but wanted a hardcover desk reference that was more comprehensive, without getting one of those massive, all-encompassing tomes that I could hurt my back trying to use.

I considered three dictionaries - the American Heritage College dictionary, the Merriam Webster Collegiate dictionary, and the Oxford American Desk Dictionary. I compared a few definitions, the paper quality, and page layout (font size, spacing, etc.)

All three dictionaries seem to have good definitions - the wording varies, of course, for each one. The Oxford seemed to have the most direct, straightforward definitions, but lacked secondary definitions or didn't have as many word usage / word history tidbits (which I like, but which admittedly are not essential) as the American Heritage.

Paper quality for each is good, although the Merriam Webster's page brightness was a little "dim" for me - Oxford and American Heritage pages were just the right brightness, making the pages seem more crisp and easy to read.

I really like the page layout for the American Heritage - clear, nicely-spaced font that is easy on the eyes and makes reading a joy. I didn't have the problem some have mentioned with respect to words "running into" the spine - just tilt your head a little, and you can read the definitions just fine. Oxford page layout is likewise nice; reading Merriam-Webster gave me a headache because everything is "scrunched" together - spacing between lines is woefully inadequate, in my opinion.

In sum, the American Heritage is a quality "midsize" dictionary. Oxford is also nice. Merriam-Webster didn't cut it for me.

30 of 32 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The best general-purpose dictionary, June 8, 2003

By	Eric Krupin (Salt Lake City, UT) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This review is from: The American Heritage® College Dictionary, Fourth Edition (Hardcover)

Although it is perennially outsold by the Merriam-Webster Collegiate Dictionary - whose red cover will be familiar to Reference shelf browsers, thanks to M-W's large advertising and distribution budget - the American Heritage is far and away the superior product: (in descending order of importance) unmatched clarity of definitions, cleanliness of layout (better than even the AH Unabridged, in this respect), and currency of coverage. This dictionary will meet your lexicographical needs in fine style 99.9% of the time. For that 1-in-1000 occasion, you'll have to go the library and suffer through the Oxford English Dictionary's fusty definition style.