How to use a dictionary

Fun fact

Samuel Johnson’s A Dictionary of the English Language was first published in 1755. He started planning it in 1746 and it took him nine years to complete!

A dictionary can help you to spell or understand any new words, so it is a fantastic tool to help you improve your English skills. Dictionaries can help you in your reading and writing, and to improve your vocabulary.

• A dictionary can be used to look up the meaning of a word.

• You can also use a dictionary to check the spelling of a word.

• Dictionaries may also give other information about words, such as word type and word origin.

Dictionaries are organised alphabetically, so start with the first letter of the word that you are trying to find.

There will be lots of entries for each letter of the alphabet, so use the guide word at the top of the page to help you. The guide word tells you what the first or last word on that page of the dictionary is.

You will need to look at the second letter of the word, and then the third, and so on, in order to find it. It takes a little practice to find words quickly.

You may need to scan several pages of the dictionary in order to find the word that you need. Scanning is a way of reading quickly to find the information that you need. The more you practise, the better you will get at finding words fast.

When you find your word, there may be an abbreviation next to it. Perhaps vb., n., or adj.

The introduction to your dictionary will tell you what they each mean because every dictionary is different, but these are the most common and may indicate that your word is a  verb, a noun, or an adjective.

Some words have multiple meanings, these are called homonyms. These will usually be numbered, and may have an example of the way that the word can be used in a sentence.

Some dictionaries may give even more information, perhaps about the origin and history of a word, or some of its synonyms.

Use a dictionary to find the meanings of the homonym