Advanced Learners English Dictionary

I teach ESL to adults and this dictionary is the best! It defines words and phrases in complete sentences, indicates which words are the most used, and distinguishes between American and British English, which helps when someone learned English in Europe. I highly recommend it for both students and teachers. (Get the hardcover; you'll quickly wear out a paperback!)

I am not an American, but I love this dic very much! Easy to understand, easy to navigate (two colors; blue and black but they are used excellently so it helps readers a lot), and so on... I really recommend it! Everyone who wants a dic must buy this! You know, in 2006 Jan, the fifth edition will come out, but I bought this and no regret. It had a cdrom, but I prefer the book version!

The Collins Cobuild Advanced Learner's English distinguishes itself from a multitude of generic and torturously difficult dictionaries. The conjugation is above the headwords, in bold, and unabbreviated. Sentence examples and additional conjugation are marked. Sentence examples are in italics and unabbreviated. The most common words in the English language are marked according to frequency. Headwords, numbers, and side notes are in blue. Special sections for phrases are lengthy. British English versus American English is highlighted. One refreshingly different and very useful feature is highlighted verb versus noun pronunciation. Usages - "can" as a verb versus "can" as a noun - are marked with boxed numbers. Usages within usages - the verb "can" meaning ability versus the verb "can" meaning permission - are marked by boxed numbers. The editors use what they call pragmatics labels in the side notes: approval, disapproval, emphasis, feelings, formula, politeness, vagueness. The introduction says of the side notes, "The information is coded for brevity, and every effort has been made to keep the coding clear and easily memorable. This edition makes the Extra Column even easier to use." I dissent. Because the side notes are in a special column instead of buried within the definition, they are easier to FIND. But because they are coded, they are no easier to USE." Perhaps the best advantage of this dictionary is that explanations are substituted for definitions. When one of my students asks me for help with an unfamiliar word, I don't quote a dictionary definition. I simply explain what the word means. Then I use the word in a sentence. Then I provide some insights through grammar and culture. That is the same strategy other teachers use, and that is the same strategy Collins/Cobuild uses. Collins/Cobuild uses it's Bank of English, a massive collection of material compiled from British and American culture since 1990. The Bank, as well as computer software, help lexicographers 1) determine the order in which words are listed, ie, in order of frequency use 2) explain what the words mean and how they are used 3) choose the best sentence examples. Most of the 75.000 sentence examples come from the Bank, which means they are direct quotes. When a student asks a teacher for help with vocabulary, the teacher doesn't have the advantage of being able to research and quote the literature of the day. They have to use, on the spot, their own knowledge of the English language. However extensive that knowledge might be, it is no match for an on-screen corpus combined with computer technology.

This is incontrovertibly the most comprehensive dictionary available. If you contemplate buying a dictionary, then make sure you acquire this one. It is extraordinarily well structured and the definitions are lucid. I still have not encountered an unfamiliar word that was not found in this dictionary. The best of all, once you have located the target word, it is explained so that even those with very little prior knowledge of the English language can comprehend its meaning. It is this particular feature of this dictionary that makes it far superior to Oxford's and Cambridge's dictionaries. You are probably wondering if this dictionary has any drawbacks and I can honestly say that it does not. It is flawless. Buy it!