Webster's New World Dictionary of the American Language [With Hi-Liter]

The best dicionary ever printed. Contains words other dictionaries seem to have forgotten. I have had mine since 1987 and my daughter wants one for Christmas. I cannot believe they no longer publish this.

This has been my trusted dictionary since 1979, when all high school freshmen were required to own it. It's a great achievement in American lexicography, providing a generous, comperehensive, and suprisingly durable listing of current American language. The familiarly readable clear type and single alphabetical listing that includes biographical, geographical, proper name, and abbreviation entries accompanies a sober and solidly thorough listing of virtually every word you would want to know in American English. It includes newer contributions from science, technology, slang, and does a brilliant job in giving exciting, yet accurate entymologies and definitions with all their shades of meaning. I have been a liftime reader and when I took the GRE's I scored above the 99th percentile in the verbal section: I attribute much of my success in verbal skills to this well-made, wonderful hardcover dictionary.