Pocket Oxford American Dictionary & Thesaurus

***This review might seem aggressive and biased*** My first dictionary was Merriam-Webster. Unfortunately I was disappointed when I bought it on amazon, since the explanation of vocabs were so unclear and lazy. Here are some comparison of words between Merriam-Webster and Pocket Oxford. I swear I did not change or underscore the definition made in Merriam-Webster. I wrote the exact letters in those two dictionaries! Leer MW (Merriam-Webster): n. a suggestive, knowing, or malicious look PO (Pocket Oxford): v. look or smile at someone in a suggestive or unpleasant way. n. a suggestive or unpleasant look or smile Shrewd MW: clever, astute (look astute right below this! I was really frustrated when I saw the definition of astute) PO: having or showing good judgement/ syn (synonym): astute, sharp, smart, intellegent) Astute MW: shrewdly discerning (that was really all. I really felt bad! They were just exchanging words on this one) PO: good at making accurate judgements/ syn: shrewd, sharp, acute, quick... Limp MW: to walk lamely; also : to proceed with difficulty PO: 1. walk with difficulty because of an injured leg or foot 2. (of a damaged ship or aircraft) proceed with difficulty/ syn: hobble, hop, lurch, stagger Swagger MW: 1. to walk with a conceited swing or strut 2. boast, brag PO: walk or behave in a very confident or arrogant way Coarse MW: 1. of ordinary or inferior quality 2. composed of large parts or particles PO: 1. having a rough texture 2. consisting of large grains or particles 3. rude or vulgar/ syn: 1. rough 2. uncouth 3. vulgar, lewd Lathered (Lather) MW (lather): 1. a form or froth formed when a detergent is agitated in water (this one did not have exact definition of lathered) PO (lather): a frothy mass of bubbles produced by soap when mixed with water PO (lathered): 1. cover with or form a lather 2. cover or spread generously with a substance Jibe MW: Gibe MW (Gibe): to utter taunting words PO: 1. change course by swinging a sail across a following wind 2. be in accord; agree PO (Gibe): an insulting or mocking remark This one was really confusing, but yeah As you can see, PO uses more fundamental and basic words to show a definition, when MW uses sophisticated words (it depends on personnel's intellect level) to express a word. This is a huge difference, since the more pure the definition is, the more distinguishable between two similar words! As using English as a secondary language, this dictionary is by far the best I have ever met. Balance between definition and synonym is perfect. The way of expressing the definition is like a generous grandfather trying to express the word in the most pure and easiest way possible. Summary: Balance of definition and synonyms. Explaining definition in a very vivid and understandable way. Perfect dictionary! As other reviewers said, this is never a pocket size.

Yes, in this day and age of the internet, this may be a bit of an anachronism, but if you have any need for a paper dictionary, this is the one to get. With over 140,000 words, phrases, and definitions, you will have most of the definitions you need, and then some. I have used this with P.G. Wodehouse to translate some slightly dated terms with no problem. I have found that dictionaries with less than 120,000 definitions are often missing some important words. The paperback cover is good quality and seems very durable. The pages are a good weight. The text, fonts and layout are all very, very easy to read - clearly, modern typography has been used. The dictionary utilized a very easy to use pronunciation key for each word. It isn't anywhere near as complex as IPA. I found I can read the key and get the correct pronunciation without consulting any guide. SHould you need one, however, it is available. I particularly like the etymology of the words, which is an Oxford feature and available for most of the words. It is not really "pocket" sized. It is more like book-bag sized. Still, it is quite portable to cary while still maintaing a useable size for your desk. Highly recommended. Pros: Clear, modern typography and layout 140,000 words, phrases, and definitions - perfect middle ground for most uses Durable cover Etymology given for many words Easy to use pronunciation key Cons: Not really pocket

I own the Pocket Thesaurus 2ed. (2008), but I bought this updated version thinking it would be just nice to have a newer version that had the dictionary and thesaurus combined. I read Updike's biography last fall and was impressed how he always found the "right" word.... and although digital dictionary and thesaurus are easily accessed, a book appealed to me. The new Dictionary & Thesaurus is a pleasure to use, and oddly more accessible as I tend to mentally "lose my place" when I change computer screens. It is smaller than the 2008 Thesaurus and easier to hold; the smaller size makes it easy to look for a word. Remarkably, even though it is smaller, it is easy to read and the advantage of having the definitions just above the synonyms helps to choose the word whose meaning I am searching for. For instance: "fell v. 1. cut down a tree. 2. knock someone down." Then under the definition are the synonyms: also numbered, so that the synonyms relate to the numbered definition " 1. cut down (in bold), chop down, hack down, saw down, clear. 2. knock down (in bold), knock to the ground, floor, strike down, knock out; informal (italicized) deck, flatten, lay out." So it is not necessary to turn to another page to track the various choices. The new version is .5 inches thinner which makes it easier to hold in my hand (I am an average white male) which, with the format of placing the definition next to the synonym, has me using it several times a day. I hope this is clear and helpful. I've not read other reviews, so apologize if this is redundant.

It's a pretty good dictionary - not bad price for the tons of vocabularies included, and nicely compact book but still easy to read. This may not a super awesome paper dictionary - there is no alphabetical index, and the book cover is not hard cover (maybe there is the hard cover version available, but mine is paper cover..) yet, it's definitely functional for daily using. Additional feedback: There is NO picture inside of this dictionary, so it may not be helpful to get images in your head (that means, this book may not be excellent for your young kid's education). Usage doesn't appear frequently. But other basic explanations: such as punctuation, pronunciations and synonyms are mostly shown for every word in simple form. I personally like the Reference section which's located at the beginning of this book. You can check US states and President names, world countries and their capital cities, metric conversion and so on. This part is just a little bonus so you cannot expect too much, but that's still useful. I recommend this product maybe form the high school students.

This is set up differently dictionary and thesaurus combinations. In this one you look up the word and it will have the similar words listed after the definition. This is a perfect size for writing my exams while in class and I bought it specifically to take my WEPT (writing proficiency) exam for University when, even if taking on a computer, you are not allowed to use spell checker. Dictionaries in paper format seem to be pretty outdated but since I bought this I have used it at every modern world lit class! It's a good size and pretty comprehensive as far as the number of words listed within the 893 pages. There's also a reference section at the front and this includes a subscription to Oxford dictionaries online. If your student high school. college, or university, are you just love words and like to look up those things that you're reading and don't quite get this is a great little dictionary. If you're writing it has a lot of synonyms listed so you don't need to use "car" half a dozen times you can also feel free to use automobile, motor vehicle, vehicles, motor car, auto, wheels, jalopy or coach!

I have wanted a manageable dictionary for years. I read a lot and some words are new to me, so would like to keep up. I am in my recliner when I read and no room for my large, hard cover, heavy dictionary . Love it!

I've been learning English for about thirty years now; so, I can confidently say I know a thing or two about dictionaries. I wish I had had this dictionary decades ago. You see, I'm the kind of person who wants to know the nitty-gritty of this very rich language; as such, I bought many bi-lingual and monolingual English dictionaries over the years and I was never completely satisfied with any single one of them until I bought this Pocket American Dictionary. It's truly what I've been searching for many decades and finally it's here in my two hands. Sure, as described by others, it's not a book that you can fit in your pocket; however, it's not that big either, it's of average size. What makes this dictionary stand out from the rest besides it's bargain price is that it has all the words and idioms you might encounter in your daily interaction with native speakers. I will surely buy the fourth edition as soon as it is published. The only thing that I wish to see in the fourth edition is to be hardbound and peppered with color pictures to make the meanings of the most difficult words more accessible.

Love this