New online dictionary available — free

Collins has published a new dictionary which has several useful features.  I believe it is still in beta form.  It impressed the heck out of me.

1.   Definitions, of course, and the phonetic representation of the word.

2.   A comprehensive list of synonyms and of related terms and related words. For the word “beat,” for example, related terms include “beat it,” “beat up,” etc., and for nearby words there are “beat a retreat,” and “beat around the bush.”

3.  Audio audio files which pronounce the word using standard American English and standard British English. Not all words have this feature.

4.   Translations of the word into 24 different languages, from Finnish, to Korean, to Arabic.  I noticed that Hungarian, Swahili, and Hindi were missing.

There are also English to Spanish/German/French versions, though these seemed very beta to me.

5.   Usage examples:  for “doggie” (or “doggy”) there is “A close friend describes their Kenmore Hills home, on Brisbane’s westside, as doggy heaven.”  COURIER, SUNDAY MAIL (2004)”

6.   In the case of doggies and many other nouns, there are photographs.

7.   The origin of the word is also given, though not as comprehensively as in the Oxford English Dictionary.

Even more enticing —  the dictionary is free online at :

http://www.collinsdictionary.com/dictionary/english

Exercise:  This will be a welcome addition to exercises on lexicography, such as comparative definitions, and comparative features.

It will also be of interest to students who are struggling with mastery of standard forms of English, since the audio files are very clear.


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