Understanding a word's history can help writers and speakers charge their language with nuance as well as precision. Every year, the Oxford Dictionary Department receives more than 200,000 notices of new words and meanings. As a result, this two-volume work boasts an unprecedented range of headwords and meanings, drawn from the arts and humanities as well as the sciences and technology. The result is an impressive collection of 98,000 headwords and 500,000 definitions in this replacement of the decades-old Shorter Oxford English Dictionary . Many earlier and later examples of a word's use have been identified and included.
Entries provide pronunciation, parts of speech, date etymology, and definitions.
The definitions are modern and easy to understand and are often accompanied by usage indicators. No other dictionary of its size and unique organization even comes close. It is a must for students, teachers, and scholars, not to mention persons simply interested in the English language. The SOED treats legal terms more comprehensively than any other general English-language dictionary. It might even be said that the lawyer without it assumes the risk, is grossly negligent, and acquires books in bad faith and with willful turpitude.