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Concise Oxford English Dictionary: Main edition Hardcover – 18 Aug. 2011
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- ISBN-100199601089
- ISBN-13978-0199601080
- Edition12th
- PublisherOUP Oxford
- Publication date18 Aug. 2011
- LanguageEnglish
- Dimensions24.28 x 5.56 x 16.15 cm
- Print length1728 pages
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Product description
Review
"American readers ignore Oxford dictionaries only at their peril." - STC Technical Communication Journal
Review
From the Inside Flap
The Concise Oxford English Dictionary is one of the most popular choices in Oxford's renowned dictionary line. Now in print through its various editions for a century it has been selected by decades of users for its up-to-date and authoritative coverage of the English language.
This centenary edition of the Concise Oxford English Dictionary presents the most accurate picture of English today. It contains over 240,000 words, phrases, and definitions, providing superb coverage of contemporary English, including rare, historical, and archaic terms, scientific and technical vocabulary, and English from around the world. The dictionary has been updated with hundreds of new words--including sub-prime, social networking, and carbon footprint--all based on the latest research from the Oxford English Corpus. In addition, the dictionary features an engaging new center section, with quick-reference word lists (containing, for example, lists of Fascinating Words and Onomatopoeic Words), and a revised and updated English Uncovered supplement, which examines interesting facts about the English language. Sprinkled throughout the text are intriguing Word Histories, detailing the origins and development of numerous words. The volume also retains such popular features as the hundreds of usage notes which give advice on tricky vocabulary and pointers to help you improve your use of English. Finally, the dictionary contains full appendices on topics such as alphabets, currencies, electronic English, and the registers of language (from formal to slang), plus a useful Guide to Good English with advice on grammar, punctuation, and spelling.
Explore our language resources on oxforddictionaries.com, Oxford's hub for dictionaries and language reference.
From the Back Cover
The Concise Oxford English Dictionary is one of the most popular choices in Oxford's renowned dictionary line. Now in print through its various editions for a century it has been selected by decades of users for its up-to-date and authoritative coverage of the English language.
This centenary edition of the Concise Oxford English Dictionary presents the most accurate picture of English today. It contains over 240,000 words, phrases, and definitions, providing superb coverage of contemporary English, including rare, historical, and archaic terms, scientific and technical vocabulary, and English from around the world. The dictionary has been updated with hundreds of new words--including sub-prime, social networking, and carbon footprint--all based on the latest research from the Oxford English Corpus. In addition, the dictionary features an engaging new center section, with quick-reference word lists (containing, for example, lists of Fascinating Words and Onomatopoeic Words), and a revised and updated English Uncovered supplement, which examines interesting facts about the English language. Sprinkled throughout the text are intriguing Word Histories, detailing the origins and development of numerous words. The volume also retains such popular features as the hundreds of usage notes which give advice on tricky vocabulary and pointers to help you improve your use of English. Finally, the dictionary contains full appendices on topics such as alphabets, currencies, electronic English, and the registers of language (from formal to slang), plus a useful Guide to Good English with advice on grammar, punctuation, and spelling.
Explore our language resources on oxforddictionaries.com, Oxford's hub for dictionaries and language reference.
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Product details
- Publisher : OUP Oxford; 12th edition (18 Aug. 2011)
- Language : English
- Hardcover : 1728 pages
- ISBN-10 : 0199601089
- ISBN-13 : 978-0199601080
- Dimensions : 24.28 x 5.56 x 16.15 cm
- Best Sellers Rank: 6,664 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- 9 in English Dictionaries
- Customer reviews:
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Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 26 December 2018
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There are quite a lot of words that the reader may not be familiar with but the pronunciation is given as well as what the word means which is very helpful. In fact, I haven't found any words yet that I could think of that are not in this book. There are some words that are not really suitable for young readers, but I didn't go looking for them (honest!).
A must for insomniacs; you'll either learn a lot or just fall asleep!

By Alan Robert Lancaster on 26 December 2018

Much more important is that you can do much more with it than with a paper copy. Its helps you spell those difficult words where your spellchecker does not help. I wonder how many of us can spell diarrhoea without checking. Use a wild card search - dia*a - copy the word and paste it into your document.
Then there are the words your don't know how to pronounce. Is a lieutenant a "left-tenant" or a "loo-tenant"? You can press a loudspeaker icon to hear the pronunciation. I now know how to say "guacamole" without making a fool of myself.
For crossword lovers there are anagram and crossword solver options. Can you name 6 anagrams of "triangle"?
Unfortunately the dictionary is badly let down by the software. I was surprised how quickly the program had installed when I got an install completed message. In fact it still had to install the dictionary itself. The greatest weakness is its hogging of the screen by always remaining on top. Every time you want to return to your document you have to click the diminish symbol.
Four stars. That is 5 stars for the dictionary itself, but only 3 for the software.