The Merriam Webster Online Dictionary is a free, online dictionary that can be used to look up words and definitions. It can be accessed by anyone, and it is available in both PDF and HTML formats. You can search for words and definitions, and it can be sorted in many ways.
History
As the publisher of the world’s largest online dictionary, Merriam Webster is a major player in the industry. Founded by Noah Webster, the company has produced dictionaries of English usage for more than two centuries.
Since the 1990s, the company has seen a decline in its dictionary market share. Nevertheless, Merriam has produced a number of specialized dictionaries for the market, including sports terms, medical terms, and proper names. It has also produced handheld electronic products with miniature typewriter keyboards.
Merriam’s flagship reference book, the Merriam-Webster Collegiate Dictionary, is one of the company’s most popular products. The online version provides free access to an extensive online thesaurus.
In 1995, the company launched its first website. In 2005, the Merriam-Webster building in Springfield, Massachusetts continued to serve as the company’s headquarters.
Unabridged vs Unabridged lexicography
There are two basic ways to make an unabridged dictionary. One method involves importing entries from other sources. The other method involves collecting words that readers submit. In either case, the dictionary’s editor must decide whether the word is worthy of inclusion.
Merriam Webster’s Unabridged Dictionary was first made available online in 2002. A small team of staff members has worked on it since then. It has grown to include 476,000 entries and 1,700 nominees for the word-dom.
It’s a big book. It’s unabridged, and it has a strong historical focus. You can look for notes on flat adverbs, objectless prepositions, and the history of scuttlebutt.
The Unabridged dictionary is a distinctly American work. It’s a continuation of Merriam’s commitment to chronicling the state of the English language.
Senses in historical order
The Merriam-Webster online dictionary is one of the most widely used lexicons of all time. Unlike other online dictionaries, it’s a monolingual dictionary and uses a standardized phonetic alphabet for transcription. Despite being a single source of knowledge, it’s got a didactic reflex when it comes to definitions. Having said that, it does offer some useful hints about its ilk.
Most of its entries are in chronological order. In fact, the order of the alphabet is one of its biggest strengths. However, the omission of senses such as the singular and plural forms of the verb tense is not uncommon.
To be sure, a word with multiple senses is not necessarily the best or the brightest. It does, however, prove to be a good way to keep things straight and avoid confusion.
Most common meaning of a word first
Merriam-Webster has put together a hefty 70 million word corpus. Aside from the dictionary itself, there’s also the citation files, a collection of about 15.7 million examples of words in context. Its online searchable text database is a gold mine of a source for the intrepid dictionary user. Having so many citations makes defining a word all the more difficult. However, the editors at the aforementioned dictionary have managed to whittle down the field to the good, the bad and the ugly.
As with any organization, there is a process to determine which citations are worthy of inclusion and which should be left on the shelf. For example, the most common and most relevant citations are given the highest priority, while the least significant citations receive a lower ranking.
Non-dictionary publications
Merriam Webster has a rich history as a dictionary publisher. Its flagship dictionary is the Unabridged Dictionary, which is also available online. This seminal sourcebook for English and lexicography in the United States has been updated for the digital age.
The company’s headquarters is a two-story brick building with a cafeteria-yellow wall and creaky wooden doors. Its employees like the bucolic atmosphere of Springfield, Massachusetts. In the 1990s, Merriam published dictionaries in CD-ROM and handheld formats. These electronic versions were licensed to government agencies.
Merriam has been a subsidiary of Encyclopaedia Britannica since 1964. Since then, it has added many specialized dictionaries to its repertoire. For instance, it has published dictionaries of medical terms and sports terms.
Merriam has been a part of the Internet for several years. Their free dictionary website, as well as their smartphone application, have helped them achieve over 200 million page views a month. They have also gained a following on Twitter and YouTube.
