Hardcover: 1664 pages
Publisher: Merriam - Webster Inc.; 11 edition (2003)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0877798095
ISBN-13: 978-0877798095
Product Dimensions: 7.2 x 2 x 9.9 inches
Shipping Weight: 3.7 pounds
Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars See all reviews (1,067 customer reviews)
Best Sellers Rank: #16,618 in Books (See Top 100 in Books) #1 in Electronics > Office Electronics > Electronic Dictionaries, Thesauri & Translators > English Dictionaries #2 in Software > Education & Reference > Dictionaries #12 in Books > Reference > Dictionaries & Thesauruses > English
I recently purchased an I-pad hoping that it would save me some money on college textbooks. It was with great excitement that I downloaded the Merriam-Webster Collegiate Dictionary (Kindle Edition). Not only was it less expensive, it seemed ideal in the sense that I could search it using keywords and not by flipping pages. I am taking an editing course and my very first assignment proved to me that I should have purchased the actual text version, as the vast majority of the words I looked up, were nowhere to be found on this version. My instructor's print version contained acronyms and a variety of other words that I simply could not find anywhere on the Kindle version. I felt like an idiot. And these were just the first few words I was required to look up in the very first paragraph. A quick online search brought these words up immediately in the online MW free dictionary. But, I paid for this dictionary and it's supposedly the same version as the print, yet it's incomplete. Save your money and the hassle of having to buy both versions (what I ended up doing after the Kindle version failed to bring any words that I needed to look-up up) and just get it in print. The Kindle version will NOT have the same entries, nor even the entire dictionary including appendixes, keys, legends and reference material.
This is a fine dictionary. It even smells good. Too hefty to be portable, it is nevertheless a perfect desk dictionary, starting with a seventeen-page explanatory chart and notes, an essay on the English language, and a guide to pronunciation. The volume continues with excellent definitions that are sometimes accompanied by b&w line drawings, and finishes with sections on foreign words & phrases, biographical names, geographical names, signs & symbols in various fields of endeavor, punctuation, capitals & italics, documenting sources, forms of address and an index. [..]This is the most comprehensive collegiate dictionary to date, with many new entries since 1996's tenth edition, and it is well organized wih a nice clean font (though it may be a bit troublesome for those who are far-sighted). It always amazes me that we can purchase so much information so inexpensively. This is a terrific resource -- it's time to update your dictionary!!
For several decades now, THE MERRIAM-WEBSTER'S COLLEGIATE DICTIONARY has served as the standard American English dictionary. I have done a good deal of copyediting over the years, and every publisher I have worked with has specified this dictionary (along with the Webster's Unabridged) as the standard governoring the way that American English words are spells and defined. Although one can feel overwhelmed by the sheer number of dictionaries in the reference section of any good bookstore, this volume is as close to authoritative as we have in the United States. One might have a preference for another, but this is the only one that enjoys widespread authoritative acceptance.The dust jacket explains the ways that the new 11th edition has been expanded, but personally, while I am quite certain that it has been expanded, I have not noticed a great deal of difference from the 10th edition. It may be definitive and improved, but most of the improvements will be difficult for anyone to detect. The new CD-ROM included with it, however, is a vast improvement on the previous software that was developed based on the 10th edition. When the 10th edition first came out, CD software was not widely available. A CD version of the dictionary did eventually come out, but it was somewhat rudimentary. The new CD-ROM, however, is a huge improvement. For instance, when looking up any word, a column will display a number of words that approximate the word that your are attempting to look up. If you can merely approximate the spelling, you can frequently find the correct word. Furthermore, by double clicking on any word in the online dictionary, you will pull up the listing for that word. The CD-ROM also has a link to the Internet.Let's face it. Buying dictionaries for most people is about as exciting as having one's oil changed. But like oil changes, dictionaries are essential. For the foreseeable future, this one is going to remain the definitive American English dictionary.
Unlike prescriptive dictionaries such as the American Heritage Dictionary, which rely on self-appointed panels of "experts" to decide what correct usage should be, descriptive dictionaries such as this and Merriam-Webster's Third International try to keep pace with how the language is actually used by speakers. This may explain why the Webster's Collegiate dictionaries have been the standard reference in the American publishing industry for a long time.This is easily the best dictionary of its class, period. It has an extraordinarily large number of entries and its definitions are concise and easy to understand. The only shortcoming is that there are few example sentences, but this is a necessary tradeoff to keep the size under control. For sheer richness of information it doesn't compare to the New Shorter OED, for example, but then again you can't toss the NSOED into your backpack and take it to school with you. This book is light and compact.But the thing that really sets this dictionary apart is the CD-ROM. You can search for words using up to 15 different operations, including "rhymes with," "is a cryptogram of," "homophones are," "etymology includes," etc. You can use AND and OR operators to combine the various operations. These search functions are a tremendous asset to anybody who works with words, particularly writers, poets, and songwriters.And did I mention that you get a free one-year subscription to their online dictionary with your purchase?This package is a tremendous value for the money and really belongs in every home and office. And I have no doubt that Webster's 11 will continue to be the gold standard in the publishing industry for the foreseeable future. --This text refers to an edition which conatins a CD-ROM. Not all editions of this item contain a CD. Please check the item desription for further information.--
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