Product Description

The easiest to use. Unlike some dictionaries, Random House Webster’s always lists a word’s most common definitions first, so the meaning you need is easy to find.

The best guidance on word usage. Extensive usage notes in dictionaries, example sentences and synonym studies in thesauruses, clear warnings about sensitive and offensive language. Only Random House Webster’s gives you the words you need and the means to use them well.

All-in-one reference. Ready-reference tables, spelling and punctuation rules, maps, writer’s guides, and other helpful reference materials are included in Random House Webster’s reference books.

The newest words. For over 50 years Random House Webster’s has included the newest words and meanings before any other dictionary. The first college dictionary to include baby-sit (1947) and Internet (1995) now includes B2B, hottie, and more.

Find the Right Word
• More new words than any other dictionary including B2B, bazillion, bleeding edge, cross-post, dot-commer, hotlink, hottie, identity theft, microbrowser, Mifeprex, push poll, streaming, and WML
• Over 207,000 clear definitions with full coverage of words you need, all in A-Z text for easy look-up
• The most common meanings given first to find the right meaning faster

Choose the Right Word
• The clearest advice on avoiding offensive language helps you choose your words carefully
• Extensive coverage of slang, informal, and formal words gives you the right word for every situation

Use the Right Word
• Expert guidance in hundreds of special notes that clearly explain grammar questions, confusable synonyms, common spelling errors, tricky pronunciations, and more
• Easy-to-use writer's guide takes the guesswork out of expressing yourself clearly

Plus
• Up-to-the-minute biographical and geographical entries
• Hundreds of illustrations
• Abbreviations
• Foreign terms
• Over 27 pages of maps and tables
• Signs and symbols
• Presidents
• Holidays
• And more

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #1276899 in Books
• Published on: 2000-07-18
• Released on: 2000-07-18
• Original language: English
• Binding: Hardcover
• 1600 pages

From Amazon.com
Webster's annually updated dictionary offers an outstanding blend of new-millennium lingo and the classic words and origins of the English language. For instance, it includes extensive computer terminology, such as bot, cookie, and terabyte, as well as cyberjargon, such as clicks-and-mortar ("adj. pertaining to being a company that does business on the Internet and in traditional stores or offices"). It even has slang listings for my bad! ("slang. my fault! my mistake!") and senior moment ("n. ((often facetious)) a brief lapse in memory or moment of confusion, esp. in an older person"). Inclusions like these appeal especially to generation X and even generation Y ("n. the generation born in the 1980s and 1990s, especially in the United States").

Readers of all generations will appreciate the numerous tutorials, such as "Guide for Writers" and "Avoiding Offensive Language," as well as the latest political and geographical updates. Including the computer lingo and trendy slang is definitely edgy ("adj. daringly innovative; on the cutting edge"). But, when it comes to being a solid reference tool, it's the sophisticated definitions, line drawings, maps, charts, essays, and usage advice that make Webster's dictionary unequivocally candy ("slang. someone or something that is excellent. pleasing or pleasurable"). --Gail Hudson

From Library Journal
In 1947 Random House launched its first dictionary, the celebrated American College Dictionary. Today, half a century later, the publisher is recognized as one of the premier lexicographic houses in North America, noted for its careful attention to new vocabulary, both standard and nonstandard. Fittingly, Random House marks its 50th anniversary in the dictionary business with these two major publications, both of which will be familiar to librarians. Volume 2 (H-O) of the slang dictionary, which adds about 10,000 main entries to the corpus, maintains the impressive quality that distinguished Volume 1 (LJ 8/94). The final volume (Q-Z) is scheduled for publication in 2000. This is simply the best slang dictionary ever compiled, and all but the smallest public and academic libraries should have it. The College Dictionary, a descendant of the aforementioned American College Dictionary, first appeared under its current title six years ago (LJ 6/15/91). The new edition is a thorough update, offering first-rate coverage and treatment of American English as used in the mid-1990s. For instance, "chat room" is here, as is the latest connotation of "closure." It competes well with other dictionaries in its class, including Merriam Webster's Collegiate Dictionary (LJ 9/1/93) and the American Heritage College Dictionary (1993. 3d ed.). Essential for most collections.?Ken Kister, author of "Best Encyclopedias," Tampa, Fla.
Copyright 1997 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Review
"Best desktop Hardcover Dictionary."
-- Hammacher-Schlemmer

"Since the purpose of a dictionary is to provide definitions of difficult, unusual and new words, Random House Webster's College Dictionary succeeds."
-- Booklist