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Random House Webster's College Dictionary, Second Edition

Average customer rating:

Great, comprehensive, reasonably sized dictionary.
Excellent Dictionary
No confusion here
The college dictionary I liked best
My "Much-Used Dictionary"

Random House Webster's College Dictionary, Second Edition
Robert B. Costello
Manufacturer: Random House Reference
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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ASIN: 0679455701
Release Date: 1997-07-01

Amazon.com

Random House's 1997 college edition, thoroughly modern and inexpensive, is as current as dictionaries get, including '90s lingo (such as "carjacking," "Ebonics," "lap dance," "Prozac," and "Web site") in their 1500-plus pages and 160,000-plus entries. Their definitions are up-to-date, too, giving the most common meanings first, with less emphasis devoted to etymology, and they have a handy appendix featuring foreign alphabets, writers' guides, holidays, state capitals, books of the Bible, world maps, proofreader's marks, metric equivalents, and the periodic table. With festive red letter tabs and more than 800 illustrations, it's attractive as well as practical.

Book Description

Body piercing is in. So are buffalo wings, killer apps, and yada-yada-yada.

If it's an important new word, you will find it here first...in the all new 50th Anniversary edition of the RANDOM HOUSE WEBSTER'S COLLEGE DICTIONARY. Unlike any other college dictionary, Random house Webster's uses the state-of-the-art Living Dictionary Database™ to enable its team of expert editors to add new words as soon as they become current--faster than any other dictionary. RANDOM HOUSE WEBSTER'S COLLEGE DICTIONARY not only brings you Newer Words Faster, but always lists the most common, up-to-date meanings first, to help you find what you're looking for more quickly and easily.

RANDOM HOUSE WEBSTER'S COLLEGE DICTIONARY allows you to be up-to-date, guided by the best advice on English usage--such as how to avoid insensitive and offensive language in your writing or speaking. Best of all, this all-new edition features rewritten definitions for extra clarity and precision, to help you understand at a glance the meaning of words.

Why Choose Any Other Dictionary?

Over 160,000 entries and 175,000 definitions--more than any other college dictionary!

Hundreds of new words and meanings found for the first time in a college dictionary--like intranet, Ebonics, nonstarter, olestra, same-sex, Megan's law, TV-Y, and Web site.

All new design and illustrations! A modern new type design and hundreds of completely new digitally rendered illustrations make definitions even easier to understand!

Expert usage notes--written by noted usage specialists--offer clear explanations of important nuances of English usage.

The one-step reference resource! Includes up-to-date biographical and geographical entries--plus 8 pages of world maps. Also contains an indispensable Guide for Writers and additional essays to help you use English more effectively.

Customer Reviews:

Great, comprehensive, reasonably sized dictionary........2006-03-06

I was particularly impressed with the Random House dictionary. I have looked through many other dictionaries that claim to be comprehensive, but none compare with the amount and type of words defined in your product. I based my purchase on a comparison with my husband's "old" Random House College Dictionary that he received in 1968 before enrolling in college. It has been the best reference work over the years, and this new one is even more comprehensive, yet in a reasonable size. I would recommend it for anyone heading to college or with an interest in words!!

Excellent Dictionary.......2005-09-20

My dictionary was 12 yrs. old and didn't contain some of the modern words in use today. So I figured that a new dictionary was in order. My old one was the same as this one and was perfectly satisfactory, so I stayed with the same kind. This dictionary would be good for students or for anyone out of school.
Remember: Update your dictionary occasionally!!!!! Many words are added every year so stay modern.

No confusion here.......2005-09-19

I have been using the Random House College dictionary since I received it as a gift in 1981. I found these reviews while I was looking for a newer edition. I have my original Random House College Dictionary(that's what it says on the dust jacket and the cover) sitting here on my desk, in its original RED dust jacket, although the rest of the book is falling to pieces from use. I really wonder about all this confusion. I chose this dictionary as a desired gift because of its superior, clear definitions and wonderfully organized entries, which put the etymological references right at the end where we educated folks like to find them. My final decision as to which dictionary to buy rested on the full definition given of the word "megalomania," which all the others merely listed as a psychiatric condition. I am thrilled to hear that the terminology of all the latest technological advances and vernacular language are included in the most recent edition. I will most certainly be picking up a copy.

The college dictionary I liked best.......2005-08-15

I wanted to give my niece, newly graduated from high school and on her way to college, a present, and decided on a college size dictionary. I found about 6 or 7 at the bookstore and spent some time reading each of them. I ended up choosing the Random House Webster College Dictionary. There were several features of this dictionary that I liked. It was easy on the eye: there was a little space between entries, which made words easier to find, and there was a minimum of abbreviations and symbols. Etymologies are placed at the end of an entry, rather than at the beginning. That means that what you see first are the definitions, not a line or two of technical information that most people don't read anyway. When a word has more than one meaning, the different senses are numbered 1,2,3...etc. I found this clearer and less confusing to the eye than 1a,b,c or circles and squares to categorize the various senses. I also liked that Random House lists the most common meanings first. Finally, and maybe most important, people look up words in a dictionary most often to find out what they mean. So any dictionary rises or falls on the quality of its definitions. With Random House, I found the definitions clear, straight forward and easy to read.
I would have given this dictionary five stars, but I found the paper quality, which looks a little like newsprint, to be less than top quality and likely to turn color with age. All in all, however, this was the one I liked the best.
As an added tip, you might want to check out the Random House thesausus, which I also gave my niece to complement the dictionary. It was an even clearer winner over its competition, in my mind, than the dictionary.

My "Much-Used Dictionary".......2005-08-03

My mother bought me the 2nd edition in 2000 and wrote across the cover "Leah's Much-Used Dictionary." It was truly prophetic (or maybe the number of times I had used the family dictionary and spilled various foodstuffs on it had tipped her off...) That dictionary of my parents was a Merriam-Webster's but this Random House dictionary has been immensely useful. I'm a grad student that needs to know many technical terms and this dictionary has rarely failed me. I love reading it for fun; my grandfather said he loved dictionaries, but all the stories were too short!

Random House Webster's College Dictionary: Revised and Updated Second Edition

Average customer rating:

Random House Webster's College Dictionary: Revised and Updated Second Edition
Random House
Manufacturer: Random House Reference
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
ASIN: 0375406859
Release Date: 1999-04-30

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