Oxford Dictionary of Current English

This is my "resolution" to the need for the large hard-cover versions of my favorite dictionaries. It gets to sleep in the drawer at night, but mainly it lives on top of the desk - always at hand; often consulted. I won't claim never to make errors, but I do try to avoid them. The Oxford Dictionary of Current English is how I do it.

Yes, I actually own two copies of this dictionary. One is kept at work (and gets borrowed several times per week by co-workers) and the other is at home next to my computer. I bought this dictionary not only for the brand name 'Oxford' but also for the way in which the entries are presented. The word being defined is highlighted in clean bold text and this helps the words stand out from the page. That makes finding an entry quicker than in some dictionaries and thus makes the book more enjoyable to use.

For anyone frustrated by dictionaries that seem to have every word except the one you're looking for, Oxford provides the best solution (that I know of). The key is it's thick and has over 140,000 definitions, twice the amount of some other dictionaries. It defines combination of words not just single words, has intelligible definitions and uses a font that is easy on the eyes. It has let me down a couple of times but this is the exception rather than the rule. This is the best dictionary I have used yet and I recommend it for a frustration-free dictionary experience.

I use dictionaries every day in my high school courses, and this is one that I often recommend to my students. The Oxford Dictionary of Current English is one of the best, and I've seen many of them. Its name gives you an idea of its usefulness. There are many current terms that you will not find in other dictionaries, especially pocket paperbacks. I highly recommend it, especially for high school classes!