Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary (Laminated Cover) (Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary (Laminated))

In addition to being thorough (with excellent sections such as biography, geographical names, and foreign words and phrases (such as "en plein jour" or "inshallah") it includes compressed but informative etymological data. For example, the entry on "spacious" has this - ME, fr. AF spacioux, fr. L spatiosus, fr. spatium: space, room (14c)"; in a little over a single line you get a long lineage; though I should mention that this has been slightly corrected since the tenth edition of this dictionary. You may have to learn some of the abbreviations (Middle English, Anglo-French, 14th century) but I found them generally intuitive and didn't need to look them up much at all.

In addition, there are excellent usage paragraphs scattered throughout. These are of two types. One type compares the usage of different words with very similar meanings. For example, the entry on "satiate" provides a usage paragraph that compares "satiate", "sate", "surfeit", "cloy", "pall", "glut" and "gorge", identifying the precise differences of usage between them. The paragraph is cross-referenced at each of the other six words, so you don't have to just stumble across satiate to find it.

The other kind of usage paragraph discusses correctness. A good example is "hopefully", which in its sense "I hope that" is controversial. The dictionary asserts the validity of this controversial use, which is sure to annoy some purists, but it does acknowledge the debate and cite grammatical arguments for its position.

There are quite a few new words (my favourite is "dead-cat bounce") and edits to all sections. The only major change, though, is that the abbreviations section has been eliminated; abbreviations are now included in the main body of the dictionary.

The dictionary is available online at m-w.com, and I strongly recommend you take a look at it. There is a CD-ROM for sale too, which is worth getting as it adds some fancy search features, though if you're like me you'll want the paper version to keep by the bed. Note that if you have the unabridged MW CD too (the third edition of their New International Dictionary) then the same interface allows you to choose which dictionary to search -- a very nice feature. Purchase of the dictionary also gives you a complimentary year's subscription to the m-w website, which is worth having -- though be warned that it will automatically renew in a year for $ unless you choose to auto-cancel. --This text refers to an edition which conatins a CD-ROM. Not all editions of this item contain a CD. Please check the item desription for further information.--


Features 10,000 new words from all fields of knowledge   September 15, 2003
 25 out of 34 found this review helpful

Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary: 11th Edition is a new and expanded dictionary of the English language. This eleventh edition features 10,000 new words from all fields of knowledge; comprises 165,000 entries; and presents a total of 225,000 definitions, including more than 40,000 usage examples, 7,500 phrases and idioms clarified, and more. An accompanying CD-ROM can be installed in Windows or a Macintosh for easy searchable access, and a free one-year subscription to premium web site Dictionary services is included. An absolutely first-rate, easy-to-use and high-quality basic resource, the Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary is a "must" for personal, professional, school, and library dictionary reference collections.


Best dictionary ever   July 1, 2003
 21 out of 26 found this review helpful

Best dictionary ever.. that describes it. A great dictionary for the house, school, or work. Will always help you to spell the words and find the definitions.The 11th edition includes 10,000 new words and more than 100,000 new meanings and revisions among its 225,000 definitions. And it is at a great price. Finding the words are a snap and it gives you nice clear definitions. The Win/Mac CD-ROM, and a free, one-year subscription to a new premium Web site, Merriam-WebsterCollegiate.com is great to helping you find the words quick, easier, and when i dictionary is not usefull. I great buy. Recomend it to teachers, students, College grads, or anyone!


Best Print Dictionary I've Ever Used!   July 21, 2003
 21 out of 23 found this review helpful

I also have the Oxford dictionary, but from what I've seen of that, it's more a dictionary of BRITISH English than American English. For AMERICAN English, I don't believe the Merriam-Webster's Collegiate can be beaten among the print dictionaries.
I like knowing the origins of words, and this dictionary's etymologies, albeit brief, are very concise and informative. For my money, this is the only print dictionary you'll ever need. Highly recommended!


Great book; bad CD   January 13, 2004
 21 out of 22 found this review helpful

This dictionary is indispensable to anyone in the book publishing industry, but I mourn the loss of the prior CD's format and functionality. I must use this reference daily as a copy editor, and because the speed of a CD search is crucial, I'm stuck with the new version.

The format/layout is way too cumbersome, and offers no viewing options other than color and text size. I was able to shrink the Web10 program into a 3x4 inch box that resided permanently on my computer screen alongside a Google window and a style sheet document window. The new program takes up half my desktop at its smallest usable size.

The entries were much clearer in the old version, as well. Syllables used to be notated with dots, which could not be mistaken for hyphens. They are now indicated by what looks like hyphens, whereas hyphens look like en dashes. When the #1 reason you're looking words up is to verify things like hyphenated spellings, this is a big deal.

I would have liked some sort of F5=clear key, too, since the extra steps needed to enter a new word are redundant and irritating. It used to be that as soon as I hit enter, the entry was already highlighted and ready for the next entry, no extra steps or keystrokes needed. And depending on how I proceeded through the first entry, only sometimes am I able to scroll down a word list; often the list just stops or duplicates the main entry. If I want to look for variations I have to hit clear or backspace out of the word, then start over again.

Also gone is the tables list. I think the tables are still there, but you have to know that and look up a word that would then offer you the table. I learned a lot from those tables in the Web10 edition simply because curiosity led me to view them from the menu.

That this is the consummate dictionary is undisputed, and for students or anyone else who's using it as an occasional lookup tool it's unbeatable. If you're using it every day, all day, however, its functionality will fight you. I was looking forward to that day that when I could officially transform rest room into restroom, baby-sitter into babysitter, and E-mail into e-mail. Now that it's arrived, I wish I could just find a list of the changes so that I could check that list exclusively, then use my Web10 CD for the rest until Web12 comes up with a design that works for the folks who use it the most.