Determining Meanings
Dictionary | Thesaurus
You can use a dictionary for many things. A dictionary can tell you what words mean. It can tell you
how to pronounce, or say, words. It also tells which country words come from.
Alphabetical Order | Pronunciation | Word Origins | Guide Words | Definitions | Syllables
Alphabetical Order
Dictionaries are arranged in alphabetical order. For example, words that start with the letter A
come first. After the A words come the B words.
Pronunciation
Dictionaries have pronunciation keys to help you pronounce words. Here is a pronunciation key:
\a\ as a in ash
\A\ as a in ace
\ä\ as o in mop
\au\ as ou in out
\ch\ as ch in chin
\e\ as e in bet
\E\ as ea in easy
\g\ as g in go
\i\ as i in hit
\I\ as i in ice
\j\ as j in job
\[ng]\ as ng in sing
\O\ as o in go
\o\ as aw in law
\oi\ as oy in boy
\th\ as th in thin
\[th_]\ as th in the
\ü\ as oo in loot
\u\ as oo in foot
\y\ as y in yet
\zh\ as si in vision
Which word has the same pronunciation as the word beat?
chEt
chet
chat
shEt
chEt shows the correct pronunciation. The key shows that E makes an e sound as in easy--the same
vowel sound in beat.
Word Origins
An origin of a word is the language the word comes from. Some words come from French. Some
come from Spanish. Others are original English words.
What is the origin of dog?
dog ('dog) n. [English] 1. a mammal that eats meat and is related to wolves 2. a male dog
The word dog originated from the English language. The origin is usually in brackets before the
definition.
Guide Words
Dictionaries have guide words to help you find the word you need. Guide words are at the top corner
of the page and tell which words are first and last on the page. Words that come between these words
in alphabetic order are on this page.
Which word is on the page with guide words cool and cop?
Words on this page must be between the words cool and cop when in alphabetical order. You would
find the words cooler, coop, and cootie on this page.
Definitions
A definition is the meaning of a word. Some words have more than one meaning. Dictionaries
number the definitions when there is more than one.
What is the meaning of the word fly in the sentence below?
"He hit a pop fly past second base."
fly ('flI) n. [English] 1. a winged insect, especially a housefly 2. a baseball hit high in the air 3. a
fishhook covered to look like an insect
The meaning in this sentence is a baseball hit high in the air, definition 2.
Syllables
A dictionary will show how a word is divided into syllables. Here are some examples:
for•get
cov•er
il•lus•tra•tion
A thesaurus is a reference book similar to dictionary. Instead of having definitions like a dictionary, a
thesaurus has synonyms. Synonyms are words that have the same or almost the same meaning
as another word.
You can use a thesaurus to revise your writing. If you are writing a story and keep using the word
"big," you can look in a thesaurus for other words that mean the same thing as "big" and use those
instead. By using a variety of words, your writing becomes more colorful and more exciting.
Concepts of Words | Parts of Speech | Synonyms | Antonyms
Concepts of Words
Concepts of words are very, very short definitions. Concepts are one word long. They describe the
word you are looking up. For example, the concept for the word dog is "animal." The concept in a
thesaurus entry is in parenthesis and capital letters.
Look at the thesaurus entry below.
ground, n. soil, earth, dust (LAND)
What is the concept of the word ground?
The concept is in parenthesis and capital letters. It tells a short meaning of the word ground.
Parts of Speech
A thesaurus gives the part of speech of each entry. The part of speech tells how the word is used in
the sentence. Below are abbreviations for parts of speech.
v. = verb n. = noun
adj. = adjective adv. = adverb
Look at the thesaurus entry below.
sag, v. lean, curve, bow (BEND) What part of speech is the word sag?
The part of speech is abbreviated by v. This means "verb."
Synonyms
The main purpose for using a thesaurus is to choose synonyms. Writers use a thesaurus when they
revise their work. They can replace dull words with interesting ones.
All the words listed after the entry word are synonyms, except the concept word.
Look at the thesaurus entries below.
date, n. appointment, engagement (ARRIVAL)
date, n. day, year, hour, moment (TIME)
date, v. fix the time, register (TIME MEASUREMENT)
Which word would best replace the word date in this sentence?
The sisters set a date to meet for lunch.
day
registered
appointment
year
Substitute the word appointment for date in the sentence. Appointment makes the most sense: The
sisters set an appointment to meet for lunch.
Antonyms
Sometimes the thesaurus will show antonyms of a word. Antonyms are words that have an opposite
meaning. The thesaurus will use ant to show that the words listed are antonyms instead of
synonyms. Here is an example:
sad adj.
heavyhearted, mournful, sorry, unhappy
ant glad