Welcome!

Welcome to the new website for Merriam-Webster’s Advanced Learner’s Dictionary! We are excited to publish this new dictionary, created especially for learners of English. The complete dictionary, with audio pronunciations, is here for you to use online and the book can be purchased in your local bookstore and online.

Since this dictionary and website are new, I thought we’d begin at the beginning: what is a learner’s dictionary? Our definition of dictionary is: “a reference book that contains words listed in alphabetical order and that gives information about the words’ meanings, forms, pronunciations, etc.” I asked Steve Perrault, our Director of Defining, to create a definition for learner’s dictionary so that we can have a very precise idea of the what makes this reference different from others. Here’s his definition:

learner's dictionary : a dictionary made to be used by learners of a language that typically uses basic and simple words for easily understandable definitions, describes grammar in greater detail than an ordinary dictionary, provides extensive coverage of idioms and phrases, and includes a very large number of usage examples

English is a difficult language to master; sometimes certain words and constructions remain unclear even if they are seen or heard many times. It is our hope that this dictionary will become an important and helpful resource for you.

This blog will be a place for discussions on dictionaries and the English language – we welcome your participation.  If you would like to post a comment, please register here (it’s free).