The Oxford American Dictionary and Thesaurus: With Language Guide

By Oxford University Press and Oxford

Book Overview

For anyone who has ever spent time going back and forth from the thesaurus to the dictionary, in search of just the right word, the Oxford American Dictionary & Thesaurus is the perfect tool--an all-in-one desk reference offering the range and depth of a full dictionary, with a wide selection of synonyms and antonyms, plus valuable writing tips and information--all combined in one convenient, integrated volume.

The Second Edition contains more than 150,000 words, phrases and definitions - twice as many as the competition - plus approximately 184,000 synonyms and antonyms. More important, the new edition now completely integrates the dictionary and thesaurus text, with the synonyms and antonyms directly following the dictionary definitions of their related part of speech. The new edition also boasts a fresh redesign of the interior, featuring an open, well-spaced layout and a more readable type, with the thesaurus sections clearly differentiated from the dictionary text for optimal clarity and usability. To accompany this fresh design, the book includes more than seventy pages of entirely revised supplementary material, including Usage Notes, Word Links, Choose the Right Word boxes, Word Toolkits, thematic lists, US/British equivalents, and a grammar guide - seamlessly blended into the principle text. And finally, many new headwords and example sentences have been added and the text has been revised throughout.

With definitions and synonyms grouped together, writers can now know instantly if a particular word is the one that best captures what they want to say. Authoritative, up to date, and attractively redesigned, the second edition of the Oxford American Dictionary & Thesaurus is an essential resource for students, writers, and anyone else who wants to write clearly, precisely, and with power.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0195384652
• ISBN13: 9780195384659
• Release Date: June 2009
• Publisher: Oxford University Press
• Length: 1608 Pages
• Weight: 5.95 lbs.
• Dimensions: 2.8" x 7.5" x 10.2"

Customer Reviews

More than I expected from a dictionary

I originally purchased this dictionary just for a class requirement in English, having never really owned one before. And I've heard oxford makes the best dictionaries, so I ended up with this one. And now I can't stop using it. It really is surprising how much use you can get out of a thesaurus/dictionary. I've used it for resumes (to keep word redundancy down), games (like Scrabble), homework assignments, and of course the occasional quip whether that string of syllables coming out of her mouth is really a word or not. It's big and heavy, but what can you say? It's supposed to be big and heavy. As far as the technical aspects of the dictionary are concerned, I'm not completely aware, but I'm not exactly worried with the name Oxford stamped on the cover.

This is a great Dictionary to complement CS Lewis

Perhaps I will end up buying the Oxford English Reference Dictionary at some point, but presently, this Oxford American Dictionary and Thesaurus 1st Ed is great. I don't care about slang or computer definitions in my dictionary, English has always been English, and while American may be different in spelling, it is still English. Internet, blog, PCMCIA, ARP, .NET, Mono, etc... is in computer books, which is where it should be. I don't expect my dictionary to have the recipe for Rice Balls or the proper pronunciation of this common variation of a Japanese dish, now perhaps coming towards being cross-cultural. I expect that information to be in a cookbook. However, in words, it's wonderful. Why? That's easy; I believe it's because it had 'anfractuosity' as well as the minimum of 3 decent definitions for 'numinous'. This was the smallest dictionary I could find that had all the words in the Prologue of 'The Problem of Pain' by CS Lewis. Any dictionary that can match words with the vocabulary that CS Lewis expressed is all that I need. Some other thoughts... I've been reading dictionary reviews for 20 minutes, and I think there are too many people that are trying to get subject specific with their dictionaries. Dictionaries should be ENGLISH specific. It's all this slang, idioms, and subject specific vocabulary that has dropped my vocabulary to sad terms. Between that application, and the genuine desire of individuals around the world to give the wrong definition to words such as feminine, it's no wonder the young are becoming less educated while spending more time in school. New English... There is no such thing. English is English. It's been essentially the same for much longer than I've been alive. Still, you should definitely get a dictionary of slang and idioms. It's good to know what people are saying in a specific region/country.

I really like this dictionary

It has all the qualities I want in a dictionary.