Have you ever struggled with an unfamiliar word, only to find it is not listed in the dictionary in front of you? Fear not! Oxford English Dictionary has you covered.
With over 600,000 words, 3.5 million quotations, and more, the Oxford English Dictionary (OED) is the accepted authority on the English language. It is an unsurpassed guide to the meaning, history, and pronunciation, past and present, from across the English-speaking world, putting over 1000 years of English into context.
OED differs from dictionaries focused on current, modern English, which often only offer present-day meanings. The OED will give you the history of individual words, traced through millions of quotations from a variety of sources.
This online source offers the comprehensive power of a multi-volume dictionary that is regularly updated and revised. The English language is ever evolving, and OED keeps up with it.
You can access the OED on our website here, or go to our Databases page and search under “O” for the Oxford English Dictionary.
On the OED main page, you can use the “Quick search” to search for a single word, or you can get your word-geek on and browse the dictionary, look at word timelines, find sources, check out what the most recent updates are, and find other helpful resources.
So, next time you’re stumped with a word of the day or an unfamiliar term in a text book, click over to OED to find a little meaning in your life.