Meaning & use
OED
Last updated
Meaning
abbreviation
The Oxford English Dictionary, a very large historical dictionary that records how English words have been used over many centuries.
Grammar: Used like a name, usually with 'the': the OED. You read it as three separate letters, O-E-D.
Patterns
- the OED
- look something up in the OED
For the essay, she checked the earliest recorded meaning of the word in the OED.
The OED lists thousands of words that have fallen out of use.
Unlike a learner's dictionary, the OED shows how a word's sense changed across centuries.
Common combinations
- the OED online
- Many students use the OED online through a library subscription.
- look something up in the OED
- I looked the phrase up in the OED to find its first recorded use.
- the full OED
- The full OED runs to more than twenty printed volumes.
- the OED entry for a word
- The OED entry for 'nice' traces several centuries of changing meaning.
Commonly confused: OED or OED vs. Oxford Learner's Dictionaries?
OED vs OED vs. Oxford Learner's Dictionaries
The OED is a historical dictionary for scholars; learner's dictionaries explain current meaning and grammar for students.
Practice
Which sentence uses 'OED' correctly?
Choose one answer.
'The OED' is a noun-like name for a dictionary, so it follows 'in' or 'on'. It is not a verb (A), it needs 'the' and 'the' before 'website' (C), and it is a huge multi-volume work, not a pocket dictionary (D).
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “OED”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.