dictionary
n. countablen. a book or website that lists words in alphabetical order and explains what they mean. You use it to check how to spell a word or to find its definition.
n. a reference resource containing an alphabetical list of words with their meanings, pronunciations, and often their etymologies. In computing, it refers to a data structure that stores pairs of keys and values.
I use a dictionary to look up new words.
The student kept a small dictionary on her desk to help with her translation homework.
While traditional dictionaries focus on lexical definitions, modern digital versions often integrate corpus data to provide users with real-world examples of how words function in different social contexts.
Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *deyḱ- Proto-Indo-European *déyḱeti Proto-Italic *deikō Medieval Latin dīcō Proto-Indo-European *-tisder. Proto-Italic *-tjō Medieval Latin -tiō Medieval Latin dictiō Proto-Indo-European *-yósder. Proto-Italic *-āsios Medieval Latin -ārius Medieval Latin -ārium Medieval Latin dictiōnāriumlbor. Middle English dixionare English dictionary From Middle English dixionare, a learned borrowing from Medieval Latin dictiōnārium, from Latin dictiōnārius, from dictiō (“a speaking”), from dictus, perfect past participle of dīcō (“to speak”) + -ārium (“room, place”). By surface analysis, diction + -ary.
Commonly used with the verb 'to look up' when searching for a specific entry.
I searched it in the dictionaryI looked it up in the dictionaryWhile 'search' is understood, 'look up' is the standard phrasal verb used for finding information in a reference book.