Dictionary of Contemporary English

Remarkably in only a few recent years, the computer has become a powerful and increasingly indispensable tool in every conceivable aspect of our daily lives. That most certainly includes the daily lives of lexicographers! They can now not only conveniently store many millions of sentences from authentic spoken and written language, but also manipulate, display, and study the components of these sentences - the words and word partnerships (collocations) along with contextual factors that come into play as different meanings are expressed.
But if the computer is indispensable, so too is the sensitive, highly trained professional skill of the lexicographers. Indeed, their subtle judgment is all the more needed as the speed, power, and vast capacity of the computer reveal as never before the lexical complexity of a living language.

• Pronunciation table
• Short forms and labels
• Grammar codes and patterns
• Acknowledgements
• Foreword
• Introduction
• How to use the dictionary
• The dictionary A - Z
• Language notes
• Articles
• Modal verbs
• Phrasal verbs
• Idioms
• Writing
• Linking ideas
• Pragmatics
• Collocation
• Full-page illustrations
• Bedroom
• Car
• Cleaning
• Country
• Where to eat
• Environmental problems
• Environmental solutions
• In the office
• Outdoor pursuits
• Sports centre
• Where to stay
• Surfaces
• Town
• Map of the United Kingdom
• Map of Australia and New Zealand
• Map of North America
• CV / Resume
• Tables
• Numbers
• Weights and measures
• Word formation
• Irregular verbs
• Geographical names
• Longman Defining Vocabulary
• CD-ROM