Dictionary Skills

A dictionary is a book or online tool that lists words in alphabetical order and tells you what they mean. It also shows you how to spell and pronounce words. Knowing how to use a dictionary is an important skill. It lets you look up any word you do not know.

How to Use a Dictionary

Words in a dictionary are in alphabetical order. Guide words at the top of each page help you find the right page quickly. Each entry shows the word, how to say it, what part of speech it is, and its definitions. Many words have more than one meaning, so read all the definitions to find the right one.

Print vs. Online Dictionaries

Print dictionaries are large books that you flip through by hand. Online dictionaries let you type a word and get results instantly. Many online dictionaries also let you hear the word pronounced out loud. Both types are useful, but online dictionaries are usually faster to use.

Fun Facts

• The Oxford English Dictionary has entries for over 600,000 words.
• Noah Webster spent 26 years writing the first major American English dictionary.
• The first known dictionary was written over 4,000 years ago in ancient Mesopotamia.

Did You Know?

Noah Webster changed the spelling of many English words to make them simpler for Americans, like changing colour to color and centre to center.