Getting started with Oxford Reference (OED) Online

What is the Oxford English Dictionary (OED) Online?



OED Online is the searchable online version of the Oxford English Dictionary, the world’s leading authority on the history and development of the English language since 1150. It offers unparalleled access to the complete text of the 20-volume second edition and the three Additions Series volumes, together with at least 1,800 new and revised entries each quarter.

So much more than a dictionary...

The OED online isn’t just another dictionary. You can search on words, definitions, etymology and quotations. You can look up the meanings of a word and trace its development, to investigate word formation in English and to discover the contributions that particular writers have made to the development of new words and meanings.

Search the equivalent of 23 printed volumes of information with speed and ease.
Everything from simple word look-ups to complex, powerful advanced searching.
Display entries according to your needs – for the first time you can turn pronunciation, etymologies, variant spellings and quotations on and off.
Entries can be bookmarked and returned to at a later date.
Using mail facility enables you to email a page from the dictionary. Links allow free access for three days so this is ideal for sharing information
Look up when words and meanings were first used
Follow up cross references instantly
Find out the etymological source of a word
Find a term when you know the meaning but have forgotten the word
Search for quotations from a specified year
Search for all quotations from a practical author and/or work
Quotation author search to find out how many times an author is cited
Quotation work search to whether quality newspapers are cited more than popular ones
Find out the definitions of over 600,000 words
Trace the usage of words from their first recorded occurrence to the modern periods 2.5 million quotations