Online Dictionaries
- WWWebster Dictionary
An online search engine lets students find word meanings, etc., from
Merriam-Webster's vast dictionary treasury. Type in an English word, and up
pops its definition. Of course, the word's phonetic breakdown, its
etymology, and information about its part of speech are included along with
definitions. A helpful Thesaurus Key and a dictionary Pronunciation Key
appear with the entry. At the bottom of the screen are links to "word" and
"game sites" that students will enjoy.
- English Dictionary
This site not only lets students look for words' definitions, it also
contains links to other general dictionaries, English-language jargon
(technical and other computer terms), and writing references (grammar,
usage, and style guides). One can enter a word in English and get its
counterpart in German,
Greek, Latin, and Spanish. "Dr. Dictionary" will answer questions, but
warns people to try to find answers for themselves first.
- A Web of Online Dictionaries
For serious searches of non-English words, this site has links to more than 800
dictionaries in 160 languages from Afrikaans to Xhosa. Students won't be at a
loss for words in any language once they know about this phenomenal site.
- Biographical Dictionary
This online dictionary contains more than 25,000 entries about people
throughout history and can be searched by name, birth or death years,
profession, and other categories. Included on this site is a "master
biographer challenge" touted as one of the toughest on the Internet.
Reading Online, www.readingonline.org
Posted July 1999
© 1999-2000 International Reading Association, Inc. ISSN 1096-1232