Questions tagged [dictionaries]
For questions about English dictionaries
95
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Symbols used in a dictionary
I came across this little bar located on lower part of a word in a dictionary, and I am wondering what it means.
Unfortunately even my keyboard doesn't have the symbol so that I can show you.
It looks ...
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Stress of word 'flagrant' /ˈfleɪɡrənt/ is Flagrant or FLAgrant or something else?
Stress of word 'flagrant' /ˈfleɪɡrənt/ is Flagrant or FLAGrant or something else?
My problem is I don't know stress at f (Flagrant) or fleɪ (FLAgrant) (separation of sounds, because as you seen, it is ...
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5
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'Rescuers had to wade waist-deep in floodwater.' Why not 'Rescuers had to wade in waist-deep floodwater.'?
Oxford's Collocations dictionary - 10th edition - for Android mobile app (licensed).
wade verb
ADVERB | PREPOSITION | PHRASES
ADVERB
slowly
ashore
The men waded ashore.
across, back, out
...
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Is "covered wagons rolling access the prairies" wrong?
I am using Oxford's Dictonary Advanced learner + Oxford's Collocations dictionary - 10th edition - mobile application (licensed). I seen
In my thought, it is covered wagons are rolling access the ...
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What are the meanings of dot in word what show in Oxford Dictionary advanced learners for mobile?
What are the meanings of dot in word what show in Oxford Dictionary advanced learners for mobile (licensed subscription)?
Example word: ability . Web version of Oxford dictionary for advanced ...
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1
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Why /ˈlem.ən/ (Cambridge dictionary - UK voice) but read like /ˈlemən/ (Oxford dictionary - UK voice)?
I am learning at English Pronunciation in Use - Advanced. I seen
Why /ˈlem.ən/ (Cambridge dictionary - UK voice) but read like /ˈlemən/ (Oxford dictionary - UK voice)?
I feel dot . in /ˈlem.ən/ was ...
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1
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What's the meaning of "close call" in Collins Dictionary?
Source:
There have been several close calls, but no one has been able to consummate a deal.
(https://www.collinsdictionary.com/dictionary/english/consummate)
As far as I know, "close call" ...
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Reference for pronunciation of nicknames
Is there a reference for first names and surnames in English? I have lots of firstnames and surnames in my book (e.g. Juan, Sri, Elena, Robert and so on) but I don't know how to pronounce them in ...
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comma in definitions
I'm wondering if the comma is used in definitions to separate a component of a definition from an alternative to that component. This is often done in German dictionaries, but I am not sure how things ...
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Why is "emerged" in "She emerged from the divorce a stronger person" marked only as intransitive but not as linking?
All dictionaries which mark their verbs with the labels: "transitive", "intransitive" and "linking", for some reason, don't write that the verb "emerge" has a ...
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Is there a difference between adjectives which have their corresponding adverbs listed in the dictionary, and those that don't? [closed]
Sometimes, some authoritative dictionaries give us the adverb below its adjective, but sometimes, for instance penitential, there is no other adverb given.
However, it seems like we need only to add -...
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Title for the player that's trying to get others talking in " silence game"
I play the "silence game" with my kids, in which you win if you remain silent the longest, while a player is trying to get others talking. As we take turn playing; what term best describes ...
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1
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"The meeting" denotes people or an event?
In the following sentence, does "the meeting" refer to an event or the people participating in the event?
The meeting broke up at eleven o'clock.
The Oxford Advanced Learner's Dictionary ...
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How to understand the annotation "also"
I'm sometimes confused by notations from the dictionary. Simply put, I don't understand what it is trying to convey. Here is one example.
2.4 (also times) A portion of time in history or ...
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Abstract noun classification
Concrete nouns refer to material objects which we can see or touch.
Abstract nouns refer to things which are not material objects, such as ideas, feelings and situations.
https://dictionary.cambridge....
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"Smash down on" when the meaning is not about a thing that breaks
I have some troubles with figuring out whether "smash down on" in the following sentences is the phrasal verb (smash down) or the regular verb "smash" + down on sth.
A two-year-...
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Inflections of the adverb 'well' (some senses are invariable)
Inflections of the adverb 'well' (Some senses are invariable)
Better adv comparative ; best adv superlative
https://www.wordreference.com/definition/well
What does the dict. refer to by "Some ...
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2
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"Too much" before adjectives
You use much too in front of an adjective to say that something cannot
be done or achieved because someone or something has too much of a
quality. In sentences like these you put much in front of too,...
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Style of a entries in Longman dictionary? [closed]
I can not delineate the difference between formal, literary, and written styles of a verb in Longman dictionary. please look at the below picture.Note that the entries are four different words
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ADVISE: "to offer advice to; counsel" vs. "to recommend; suggest"
The American Heritage dictionary's entry for advise reads
To offer advice to; counsel: I advised him to study abroad; advised that we should reconsider the idea. How would you advise?
To recommend; ...
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He works in like manner with a beaver
LIKE (prep.) in like manner with: He works like a beaver.
https://www.wordreference.com/definition/like
Is then He works in like manner with a beaver grammatical ?
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None (pronoun) : "not any" vs. "no part, nothing"
The entry of none distinguishes
PRONOUN
not any, as of something indicated: None of the pie is left. That is none of your business.
no part; nothing: I'll have none of your backtalk!
https://www....
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"Each" (adverb): from each one
Each (adverb): to, from, or for each (one).
https://www.wordreference.com/definition/Each
However, I cannot come up with any example using the meaning "from".
Is such a meaning grammatical?
...
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2
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"That's your only friend that I've ever met." Why is this an impossible sentence?
I read the following usage note in The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language's entry for "of":
Grammarians have sometimes condemned categorically the so-called double ...
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38
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Resource for building higher-level vocabulary [closed]
A friend of mine grew up speaking basic English at home (living in a foreign country), but it was not more than that: basic. There are many words that he hears people say that he knows are not among ...
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42
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Can the dictionary definition have two different modifiers?
The following excerpt is the definition of ‘no’
no
not any
But, here’s a problem. Can ‘not’ modify determiner ‘any’? If not, does ‘any’ modify a noun, and ‘not’ modify a verb (that is, there are two ...
user133899
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2
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Confound - to make worse?
An American Heritage Dictionary definition I found in The Free Dictionary says about 'to confound':
3. To make (something bad) worse: Do not confound the problem by losing your temper.
Some native ...
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Definition of ‘In a row’
The following definition is what ‘in a row’ is defined as, in the Cambridge dictionary.
In a row
one after another without a break
What does ‘without a break’ modify?
user133899
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Don't word defintions need to be in one of five phrase types?
There are noun phrases, adjective phrases, adverb phrases, verb phrases, prepositional phrases. Word definitions don't need to be in one of five types?
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What can be a possible reason for phonological changes in English?
I was reading this Wikipedia article. It is describing the major phonological changes in English over a period of time but no reason is given for any changes.
Kindly correct me if I am wrong, the ...
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Is there singular/plural list on the web?
Sometime it's necessary to determine if a word is singular or plural (to know which article to use or not to use).
Is there some kind of dictionary that tells whether a word is singular or plural?
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Are these examples proper words & what defines one?
Narratively.
Societally.
They both get marked as wrong on Word and result in *No definitions found for this word. Try searching the web on google dictionary.
They appear overall uncommon in use, so I ...
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The US/British tag on Merriam-Webster [closed]
On the Definition of in school page of Merriam-Webster, the US tag is used.
While the Definition of at school page uses the British tag.
Does that kind of tag indicate where the item is being used? ...
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What is an entry in a dictionary?
I see the marketing on selling dictionaries "350,000 entries and meanings", I searched in the dictionary and I get
An entry is:
The description is too general, what is an item in a ...
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1
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the "QUITE" tag in Cambridge Dictionary
According to Cambridge Dictionary, fairly means "more than average, but less than very" while "quite" means "completely".
I totally understand the definition of them, ...
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What meaning of FOR is used in "stumped for an answer", "lost for words", etc.?
What meaning of FOR in "stumped for an answer", "lost for words", etc.
I've gone through the OED looking for the right meaning to no avail, as well as other major dictionaries.
https://www.oed.com/...
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the grammatical roles of "at most"
I just looked up "at (the) most" in "Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English". It was under the entry for "most" as determiner and/or pronoun. One of the example sentences for it in the dictionary ...
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Is there a way to not use bilingual dictionaries when I try to think in English?
Is there a way to not use bilingual dictionaries when I try to think in English? For the physical objects of the world (such as a rafter, a scraper, a condenser, etc.) I can use visual dictionaries. ...
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Can I say: "This server is healthy." knowing that "server" is a material thing?
I was wondering, is it proper to say: "This server is healthy." knowing that "server" (https://www.lexico.com/en/definition/server) is a material thing?
Thank you!
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4
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How do I understand Labels & Codes [ C or U ] in Cambridge dictionary correctly?
in Cambridge dictionary, [C] refers to
Countable noun: a noun that has a plural
[U] refers to
Uncountable or singular noun: a noun that has no plural.
What does [ C or U ] mean? Take this (...
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What is the relationship between the sub-items and the main one on Oxford Dictionary?
Oxford Dictionary (https://www.lexico.com/en/definition/just) gives a bunch of definitions about “just”
there are 3 sub-items in 4th item, one of them is pointed out by blue rectangle in the ...
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Verb/noun/adjective/adverb table
I'm looking for a resource in which I can look up for a verb, noun, adjective or adverb and get its corresponding verb, noun, adjective or adverb.
Something like this, only much larger — this table ...
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How to understand this definition sentence
arrogance:the behaviour of a person when they feel that they are more important than other people, so that they are rude to them or do not consider them
Oxford learner's dictionary
I think the ...
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how do you use merriam webster dictionary?
I have a problem using Merriam-Webster dictionary. I can't use it properly.
For example, if we search for Cramped in Google it says uncomfortably small or restricted.
But I can't find any meaning ...
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How to find proper phrasal verbs or idioms for the sentence you're translating?
Let's assume you're translating a sentence. You can translate everything in English but sometimes there are idioms and phrasal verbs that you can use to make your sentnce more clear and compact. e.g., ...
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Article or no article. The word "Stage"
How to understand whether it is necessary to put the article before this word and before other words like this?
Dictionaries like this(enter link description here) don't give explanations or something ...
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What do you call a coined term like "Cobra effect"?
Looked on wiktionary:
https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/cobra_effect
and it just says it's a noun. How do you look for coined words on Wiktionary. I want to search for coined words instead of ordinary ...
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How pseudoantonyms or false antonyms in the English language can be identify? [closed]
Pseudoantonyms give the misleading impression that they have opposite meanings because of the prefixes. Are not these misleading for the non native English speakers and learners? How can we identify ...
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sentence from Cambridge dictionary: ‘his’ vs. ‘he'
Is this sentence from Cambridge dictionary correct?
He was there and saw what happened, so his is the only authentic
account.
(from https://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/english/...
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What are the dictionaries that shows the meaning of words from the common to the less common meaning?
What are the online dictionaries that shows the meaning of words from the most common to the less common meaning?
Normally I use the following dictionaries:
Cambridge dictionary
Oxford dictionary
...
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