Help

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How are words added to the dictionary? What is the SMART Vocabulary? How can I find out a word's pronunciation?

What do the phonetic symbols mean? What do the codes in the dictionary entries mean? What do sb and sth in entries mean? What do the A1, B2, C1, etc. labels mean?

How are words added to the dictionary?

We have a team of lexicographers who are always on the lookout for new words appearing in the English language. They look at the Cambridge English Corpus to check the frequency of the word, and where it is used (in newspapers, in casual conversation, in academic texts, etc.). If the word is used in many different contexts over a period of time, the lexicographers add it to the dictionary. If the lexicographers think that a new word might be ephemeral, they keep a record of it to review at a later date.

What is the SMART Vocabulary?

Our SMART Vocabulary panels appear in many of our entries. They provide words and phrases related to the one you've looked up. You can click on the bar that says SMART Vocabulary: related words and phrases to reveal or hide the panel. If you click on See more results you can see all the words and phrases in that topic in a cloud. The words are bigger or smaller depending on their frequency.

How can I find out a word's pronunciation?

In most entries in the dictionary, you will see two orange speaker icons under the word; one British and one American. You can click on them to hear the pronunciation of the word. If you cannot play the audio, try updating your browser or installing Adobe® Flash. In addition, all entries in the dictionary include phonetic transcriptions in the International Phonetic Alphabet.

What do the phonetic symbols mean?

Phonetic symbols represent the sounds of words (for example, the pronunciation of words is /wɜːdz/). You can see a full list of phonetic symbols used in our dictionaries, with examples of their pronunciation.

What do the codes in the dictionary entries mean?

You can see a full list of grammar codes used in our dictionaries, with explanations of what they mean.

What do sb and sth in entries mean?

sb means somebody, and sth means something.

What do the A1, B2, C1, etc. labels mean?

These symbols show the English Profile level of a word, phrase or meaning. For example, a word that has a B1 symbol is a word that intermediate learners of English usually know.

A1 Beginner

A2 Elementary

B1 Intermediate

B2 Upper-Intermediate

C1 Advanced

C2 Proficiency