lexicon

Meanings

1. 1nouncountable

   All the words and expressions used in a language, or known and used by a particular person or group.

   Grammar: Usually singular with the or a possessive: the English lexicon, her lexicon.

   Patterns

   • the lexicon of something
   • enter the lexicon

   Many new words have entered the English lexicon.

   Medical students must learn a whole new lexicon.

   Phrases like 'doomscrolling' became part of the modern lexicon.

2. 2nouncountabletechnical

   A reference book listing the words of a language, especially an old or specialized one, with their meanings.

   Grammar: Countable: a Greek lexicon, two lexicons.

   Patterns

   • a lexicon of something

   The student looked up the verb in a Greek lexicon.

   The museum sells a lexicon of sailing terms.

   He compiled a lexicon of local slang.

Word forms

Common combinations

enter the lexicon

The term has entered the everyday lexicon.

mental lexicon

A reader's mental lexicon grows with practice.

part of the lexicon

Emoji are now part of the lexicon.

political lexicon

The phrase belongs to the political lexicon.

Synonyms and how they differ

vocabulary

Vocabulary is the everyday word for words someone knows or uses.

dictionary

A dictionary is a book or tool; lexicon can be the words themselves.

glossary

A glossary is a short list explaining terms in one text.

wordbook

Wordbook is a rarer word for a book of words and meanings.

Word family

lexical adjective

relating to words

lexicography noun

the work of compiling dictionaries

lexicographer noun

a person who writes dictionaries

Commonly confused: lexicon or lexicology?

Practice

Make it your own

Write a sentence using “lexicon”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.

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