essay about online dictionary

Dictionary Entry References

This page contains reference examples for dictionary entries, including the following:

• Entry in an online dictionary
• Entry in a print dictionary

1. Entry in an online dictionary

American Psychological Association. (n.d.). Just-world hypothesis. In APA dictionary of psychology . Retrieved January 18, 2020, from https://dictionary.apa.org/just-world-hypothesis

Merriam-Webster. (n.d.). Semantics. In Merriam-Webster.com dictionary . Retrieved January 4, 2020, from https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/semantics

• Parenthetical citations : (American Psychological Association, n.d.; Merriam-Webster, n.d.)
• Narrative citations : American Psychological Association (n.d.) and Merriam-Webster (n.d.)
• Because entries in the APA Dictionary of Psychology and Merriam-Webster’s Dictionary are updated over time and are not archived, include a retrieval date in the reference.
• The author and publisher are the same for the dictionaries in the examples, so the name appears in the author element only to avoid repetition.
• Semantics refers to the “study of meanings” (Merriam-Webster, n.d., Definition 1).

2. Entry in a print dictionary

American Psychological Association. (2015). Mood induction. In APA dictionary of psychology (2nd ed., p. 667).

Merriam-Webster. (2003). Litmus test. In Merriam-Webster’s collegiate dictionary (11th ed., p. 727).

• Parenthetical citations : (American Psychological Association, 2015; Merriam-Webster, 2003)
• Narrative citations : American Psychological Association (2015) and Merriam-Webster (2003)
• Provide any edition information about the dictionary in parentheses without italics after the dictionary title.
• Provide the page number for the entry in parentheses after the title of the dictionary. When both an edition and page number are present, place them in the same set of parentheses, separated with a comma.

Dictionary entry references are covered in the seventh edition APA Style manuals in the Publication Manual Section 10.3 and the Concise Guide Section 10.3

• Share full article

Advertisement

Supported by

Letter of Recommendation

Why Use a Dictionary in the Age of Internet Search?

Dictionaries reward you for paying attention, both to the things you consume and to your own curiosity.

By Rachel del Valle

I can’t remember how old I was when I first learned the words denotation (the definition of a word) and connotation (the suggestion of a word). But I do remember feeling a little betrayed by the idea that there was a whole layer of language that couldn’t quite be conveyed through a dictionary . Like most young people, I enjoyed learning but thought of it as something I would eventually be done with. At some age, I assumed, I would need to know everything. Understanding the nuances of language seemed like an obstacle to that goal.

It wasn’t until after I graduated from college, and subsequently realized that there’s no such thing as all-encompassing knowledge, that I was able to read for pleasure. A sense of curiosity, rather than desperate completism, steered me. I started to see dictionaries, inexact as they are, as field guides to the life of language. Looking up words encountered in the wild felt less like a failing than like an admission that there are lots of things I don’t know and an opportunity to discover just how many.

I prize my 1954 copy of Webster’s New International Dictionary, Second Edition, which I picked up on the street near my apartment in Brooklyn a few years ago. Its 3,000 pages (India paper, with a marbled fore edge) are punctuated by a thumb index. I keep it open, solitary on a tabletop, the way dictionaries are usually found in libraries. I often consult it during evening games of Scrabble or midday magazine-reading. I mostly read novels at night, in bed, so when I come across unfamiliar words, I dog-ear the bottom of the page, then look words up in spurts. When I start encountering these words, newly resplendent to my pattern-seeking mind, in articles, podcasts, other books and even the occasional conversation, the linguistic universe seems to shrink to the size of a small town. Dictionaries heighten my senses, almost like certain mind-altering substances: They direct my attention outward, into a conversation with language. They make me wonder what other things I’m blind to because I haven’t taught myself to notice them yet. Recently spotted specimens include orrery , “a mechanical model, usually clockwork, devised to represent the motions of the earth and moon (and sometimes also the planets) around the sun.” The Oxford English Dictionary also tells me that the word comes from the fourth Earl of Orrery, for whom a copy of the first machine was made, around 1700. Useful? Obviously not. Satisfying? Deeply.

With dictionaries, unknown words become solvable mysteries. Why leave them up to guesswork?

Wikipedia and Google answer questions with more questions, opening up pages of information you never asked for. But a dictionary builds on common knowledge, using simple words to explain more complex ones. Using one feels like prying open an oyster rather than falling down a rabbit hole. Unknown words become solvable mysteries. Why leave them up to guesswork? Why not consult a dictionary and feel the instant gratification of pairing context with a definition? Dictionaries reward you for paying attention, both to the things you consume and to your own curiosity. They are a portal into the kind of irrational, childish urge to just know things that I had before learning became a duty instead of a game. I’m most amused by words that absolutely do not mean what I thought they meant. Like cygnet . Which has nothing to do with rings or stationery. (It’s a young swan.)

There are, of course, many different kinds of dictionaries. The way they’ve proliferated over time is a reminder of just how futile it is to approach language as something that can be fully understood and contained. Samuel Johnson’s Dictionary of the English Language , published in 1755, defined a paltry 40,000 words. The original O.E.D., proposed by the Philological Society of London in 1857 and completed more than 70 years later, contained over 400,000 entries. The Merriam-​Webster universe is a direct descendant of Noah Webster’s American Dictionary of the English Language , published in 1828. Compiled by Webster alone over the course of more than 20 years, it contained 70,000 words, nearly a fifth of which had never been defined before. Webster, who corresponded with founding fathers like Benjamin Franklin and John Adams, saw lexicography as an act of patriotism. He believed that establishing American standards of spelling and definition was necessary to solidify the young nation’s cultural identity as separate from that of England.

We are having trouble retrieving the article content.

Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings.

Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and  log into  your Times account, or  subscribe  for all of The Times.

Thank you for your patience while we verify access.

Already a subscriber?  Log in .

Want all of The Times?  Subscribe .

Stack Exchange Network

Stack Exchange network consists of 183 Q&A communities including Stack Overflow , the largest, most trusted online community for developers to learn, share their knowledge, and build their careers.

Q&A for work

Connect and share knowledge within a single location that is structured and easy to search.

What are the advantages of a paper dictionary over an online dictionary?

It has been a while now since I opened a paper dictionary to translate words from a language to another. I still have two paper dictionaries at home: one for English-French translations and one for Italian-French translations. It has been a while since I opened one of these two dictionaries since I have access to the Internet.

I read this article but to me, online dictionaries have the advantage of being updated with new words every now and then and in addition, they are free.

When/Where can these dictionaries still be useful? Does a paper dictionary has an added value compared to the online ones?

• learning-methods
• online-learning

7 Answers 7

It takes much more time to find the translation in a paper dictionary than in a digital dictionary. So, your subconscious could "think": "It took so much time to find the meaning of that word - it would be better not to forget the meaning of that word". While you will be searching for the particular word, you will be unconsciously preparing for learning and remembering that word. So, it could be more effective.

Another paper dictionary advantage: it doesn't need electricity. So, if you will be somewhere without electricity, you still will have your dictionary.

Paper dictionaries are useful if rules of particular place ban electronic devices (for example, some Avia companies ban any electronic devices during landing). Another example: electronic devices are banned on ACM International Collegiate Programming Contest (only computers, given by organization committee are allowed), but you can use an electronic dictionary.

The advantage of an online dictionary is pretty clear: fast lookup, more information and media for an entry, always updated, zero weight, sharable, free. In fact, for the purpose of looking up a word solely, I believe that there is no way a physical dictionary is better than its digital counterpart. In fact, all of the reasons of the link you gave cannot buy me a thing, except the number 6:

The sheer density of knowledge held in your hands, in print, is an amazing feeling. The nostalgia of a big, paper book is also comforting and uplifting.

An amazing feeling is definitely not what you care when you looking up the word. When you look up a word, you only care about getting thing done, not caring about getting yourself immersed to the feeling of curiosity. However, being curiosity is important, especially when you don't always use the language you learn. Even if you don't take the dictionaries down, when your eyes see it by chance, your brain will recall your memory related with that language . It can be about the country you have visited or a friend speaks that language, for example. Those memories are not directly help you improve the language, but it will help you to not forget it. You can think about the dictionary as a good ad, an ad not about a brand but about your memory. Or if you want your kids to get enthusiastic in learning the language, you can use the dictionary to "activate their curiosity", either in a passive way (just put it where they can see it frequently), or in an active way (tell them some related thing that you know).

Moreover, a definition in the digital dictionary is barely information lying in the screen, which is only perceived by your eyes. The paper dictionary can carry more characteristics that can be felt by other sensory senses: the weight, the texture, the smell of papers, the turning of the book, etc. You have to use other channels of perceiving besides your eyes and fingers to perceive it. This again cannot help you understand the definition easier, but it can help you strengthen your memory once you know the definition. However, I would argue that the best way to remember a word is using it constantly, and the amount of information contained in an entry and in other sources that contain the word is probably more than what your senses can perceive when using the paper book. Nevertheless, those information cannot make the nostalgia feeling.

The advantage of physical dictionaries is in these situations. Not just dictionary but any digital tool is very convenient and powerful when you need to get thing done, but it also means that it will be invisible when you don't need it. By contrast, a physical one is not that strong, but can help you to get motivated to do that thing, because we haven't evolved yet to get used to the digital tools . And getting motivated is a very important step to getting thing done.

• The best paper dictionaries are created by teams of linguists (people with a degree in linguistics) based on a text corpus . You can usually find out who created the dictionary. With online dictionaries and dictionary apps, it is often much less clear who created the entries, what the competence of the dictionary compilers is and what sources they used to choose their entries and definitions. So the first advantages are credibility and reliability . This argument does not apply to online dictionaries that were originally based on printed dictionaries and are updated according to the same principles as the paper dictionary. Examples include the online English dictionaries by Collins, Oxford and Cambridge, the online German dictionary by Duden, the online Dutch dictionary by Van Dale, etc.
• Good paper dictionaries often provide types of information that are not provided by many online dictionaries (when not based on printed dictionaries, see above), e.g. usage examples and grammatical information. Online dictionaries are often basically word lists with translations. (So I disagree with Armfoot on this point.)
• All learner's dictionaries that I am aware of are printed dictionaries (or printed dictionaries converted to an online dictionary).
• Obviously, a printed dictionary does not require a computer or a smartphone or an Internet connection.

I am aware of several advantages of online dictionaries over paper dictionaries, but that is not what this question asked for ;-)

Of course there are the obvious advantages: a paper dictionary doesn't require any electricity or internet connection, and it won't crash due to some hardware or software glitch (as my dictionary apps often do). But another thing I like about paper dictionaries is that when I look up a word, I see the words directly above and below it as well. These words are often related to the word I'm looking for, and that helps to understand the meaning of the root word, and other ways it is used; for example, if I look up the Spanish word "global", I will also see "globalización", "globalizar", and "globalmente". Or I just come across a word that is interesting, so I learn it on accident; that's always fun :-). The English-Spanish dictionary I have also includes idiomatic expressions containing the word: for example, if you look up "track", you will find the translations of various meanings of "track", with example sentences, as well as the Spanish equivalent of the idioms "have a one-track mind" and "to lose track of somebody". Which admittedly doesn't say much about the advantages of paper dictionaries in general, only that one in particular.

If you use a smartphone, it's more practical to install a dictionary application in it. Besides the obvious portability advantages over both PC and paper based dictionaries, there are a few that I'd like to highlight according to my own experience while learning Chinese:

• No internet connection required: most of these applications are relatively small and have more words in their files than most paper dictionaries;
• An Optical Character Recognizer (OCR) allows you to use the smartphone camera over any sequence of characters written in billboards/papers/screens to automatically present you the words involved;
• Words combinations often result in different meanings: even several online dictionaries may not detect the associations.
• Clipboard readers: if you are reading a website in your smartphone, you can just copy an entire text and by tapping words from the text in the application, small pop-ups are presented with the definitions without hiding the rest of the text.
• Language usage examples: paper dictionaries normally lack of these and they are extremely useful for learning usage contexts.
• Possibility of having multiple dictionaries and multilingual translations embedded in the same application: I often consult different dictionaries for one specific word in the same application, not only for providing more synonyms but for checking the contexts they might be used in.
• Characters drawing: for non-Latin alphabet based languages, this allows you not only to memorize how you should write the character (strokes order, their dimensions and positions in the character) as well, with practice, it's much faster than typing them with the keyboard.
• Speech recognition: if you are communicating with natives, this is a quick way to identify particular terms you are not familiar with.

Answering your question: I used to know a librarian that seemed to have memorized every words' position in her paper dictionary, she would take less than 3 seconds to pinpoint any word you may ask of her. While this is an awesome skill (specially to watch being performed), it is only practically useful when your dictionary is among your study books on a desk... As Ooker mentioned , this librarian developed an excellent memory for locating words, but in most cases, she needed to reread the definitions. You may take the same amount of time as her to find any word in a smartphone application and have better results from it, while saving money, time and the environment (paper = cut down trees), by opting not to buy paper dictionaries.

Unless you are in one of those rare schools that allows you to use a paper dictionary in a test (or in one of those more common schools that does not allow you to touch your smartphone in classes), comparatively, there are no advantages of using a paper dictionary over a good application.

First of all, we know that dictionaries are a useful tool to every teacher, translator or student, we may say why are they important?

We may compare paper and online dictionaries, both of them are very useful, but there are many advantages talking about online ones, they are so practical, you can have them in a smart device or also you can use them on the internet, they are cheap because most of the times you don't have to pay for them, thay can ve updated every specific time to have enough information to make better people's work.

On the other hand we have paper ones, they are nice and great because most of them are reliable in the information or meanings or even translations of some words we need, they have lots of things inside of them, a disadvantage could be that they are so heavy and sometimes you don't take them to avoid that extra weight in your bags.

Finally I may say that both are useful but in my personal opinion I would use for make easier my everyday an online one but to be more professional or reliable in what I am saying I would use a paper one.

I learned English with paper dictionary before internet.

I used two tricks:

• tape with bookmark where each letter stars, to find word 1 second faster,
• marking with a pencil dot the word I found. If word has 3 dots, and you still don't remember it, write it down for cramming (but usually second dot is enough).

Because searching word has a cost, your brain will put more effort to remember the word as compared when searching for it is cheaper.

Your Answer

Sign up or log in, post as a guest.

Required, but never shown

By clicking “Post Your Answer”, you agree to our terms of service and acknowledge you have read our privacy policy .

Not the answer you're looking for? Browse other questions tagged learning-methods online-learning dictionary or ask your own question .

• Featured on Meta
• Bringing clarity to status tag usage on meta sites
• We've made changes to our Terms of Service & Privacy Policy - July 2024
• Announcing a change to the data-dump process

Hot Network Questions

• Do mini-humans need a "real" Saturn V to reach the moon?
• Is there racial discrimination at Tbilisi airport?
• How to justify a ban on exclusivist religions?
• The hat-check problem
• Whether and when this sum will converge?
• Has the government of Afghanistan clarified what they mean/intend by the ban on 'images of living beings'?
• What is the difference between an `.iso` OS for a network and an `.iso` OS for CD?
• Incident in WWII re US troops in non-segregated British pubs
• What is the lesson of the Book of Iyov for the "average" person
• Is it possible to do physics without mathematics?
• What sort of impact did the discovery that water could be broken down (via electrolysis) into gas have?
• What are the limits of Terms of Service as a legal shield for a company?
• Which translation of Psalm 113:9 is closest to the original?
• What's the Matter?
• When was this photo taken?
• How does one go about writing papers as a nobody?
• What's the counterpart to "spheroid" for a circle? There's no "circoid"
• In the US, can I buy iPhone and Android phones and claim them as expense?
• Visualizing histogram of data on unit circle?
• Numbering system of equations and specific lines therein
• Thai word not breaking properly between lines, in LuaLaTeX
• How to get Swedish coins in Sweden?
• What do the hexadecimal numbers represent on the ls output of the /dev directory?
• Are Experimental Elixirs Magic Items?

Generate accurate APA citations for free

• Knowledge Base

How to cite a dictionary in APA Style

Published on November 6, 2020 by Jack Caulfield . Revised on January 17, 2024.

To cite a dictionary definition in APA Style, start with the author of the dictionary (usually an organization), followed by the publication year, the word you’re citing, the dictionary name, the publisher (if not already listed as author), and the URL.

Our free APA Citation Generator can help you create accurate citations for dictionary entries.

Cite a dictionary in APA Style now:

Table of contents, how to cite an online dictionary entry, how to cite a print dictionary.

Online dictionaries tend to be continuously updated, so you usually won’t have a specific publication date. In this case, write “n.d.” (no date) in place of the year and include a retrieval date:

Are your APA in-text citations flawless?

The AI-powered APA Citation Checker points out every error, tells you exactly what’s wrong, and explains how to fix it. Say goodbye to losing marks on your assignment!

Get started!

Citing from a print dictionary differs in that you’ll always be using a specific edition with a publication date, so this information should appear in your citation. Do not list the publisher a second time if it is already listed in the author position.

Print dictionaries still don’t usually list authors, although in some specialist dictionaries an author may be listed. If an author for the individual entry is listed, list them in the author position instead of the publisher, and do include the publisher at the end.

Cite this Scribbr article

If you want to cite this source, you can copy and paste the citation or click the “Cite this Scribbr article” button to automatically add the citation to our free Citation Generator.

Caulfield, J. (2024, January 17). How to cite a dictionary in APA Style. Scribbr. Retrieved August 21, 2024, from https://www.scribbr.com/apa-examples/dictionary/

Is this article helpful?

Jack Caulfield

Other students also liked, how to cite an encyclopedia in apa style, how to cite a wikipedia article | apa, mla & chicago, beginner's guide to apa in-text citation, scribbr apa citation checker.

An innovative new tool that checks your APA citations with AI software. Say goodbye to inaccurate citations!

• PRO Courses Guides New Tech Help Pro Expert Videos About wikiHow Pro Upgrade Sign In
• EDIT Edit this Article
• EXPLORE Tech Help Pro About Us Random Article Quizzes Request a New Article Community Dashboard This Or That Game Happiness Hub Popular Categories Arts and Entertainment Artwork Books Movies Computers and Electronics Computers Phone Skills Technology Hacks Health Men's Health Mental Health Women's Health Relationships Dating Love Relationship Issues Hobbies and Crafts Crafts Drawing Games Education & Communication Communication Skills Personal Development Studying Personal Care and Style Fashion Hair Care Personal Hygiene Youth Personal Care School Stuff Dating All Categories Arts and Entertainment Finance and Business Home and Garden Relationship Quizzes Cars & Other Vehicles Food and Entertaining Personal Care and Style Sports and Fitness Computers and Electronics Health Pets and Animals Travel Education & Communication Hobbies and Crafts Philosophy and Religion Work World Family Life Holidays and Traditions Relationships Youth
• Browse Articles
• Learn Something New
• Quizzes Hot
• Happiness Hub
• This Or That Game
• Train Your Brain
• Explore More
• Support wikiHow
• About wikiHow
• Log in / Sign up
• Education and Communications
• College University and Postgraduate
• Academic Writing
• MLA Style Manual

How to Cite a Dictionary Meaning in MLA

Last Updated: September 15, 2021 Fact Checked

This article was co-authored by Christopher Taylor, PhD . Christopher Taylor is an Adjunct Assistant Professor of English at Austin Community College in Texas. He received his PhD in English Literature and Medieval Studies from the University of Texas at Austin in 2014. There are 7 references cited in this article, which can be found at the bottom of the page. This article has been fact-checked, ensuring the accuracy of any cited facts and confirming the authority of its sources. This article has been viewed 81,838 times.

Citing a dictionary definition is a little different than referencing an authored book, but it’s easy to get the hang of. An MLA citation shows the reader exactly where to find the source you accessed, so you’ll need to provide specific information about the entry. Include an in-text citation in parentheses right after the sentence that referenced the term. On your works cited page, list the term, the dictionary's title, its edition, its date of publication, and the page number. For an online dictionary, include the URL and the date you accessed the site.

Making a Parenthetical Citation

• A basic parenthetical citation would be: (“Onomatopoeia”). Instead of placing the period after sentence, add it after the citation, like this: Onomatopoeia is a word that imitates or suggests the sound it describes (“Onomatopoeia”).

• For example, your in-text citation would look like this: (“Turn,” def. V. 2a). Note the “V.” stands for verb; use “Adj.” for adjectives and “N.” for nouns.
• Write the part of speech and definition number as it appears in the dictionary. A dictionary might organize entries with numbers and letters (such as 1a) or with numbers alone (such as 1.2).
• If the word has multiple entries but only a single part of speech, just include the entry number: (“Wonderful,” def. 2).

• An example would be: (“Emoticon,” [Merriam-Webster’s Collegiate Dictionary]).
• Suppose your paper references the definition of “Emoticon” in both Merriam-Webster’s Collegiate Dictionary and the Oxford English Dictionary . If your in-text citations were just (“Emoticon”) or (“Emoticon,” N.), the reader wouldn’t know which dictionary you were referencing.

Citing a Print Dictionary

• If you specified the part of speech and definition number, include them in your works cited entry: “Content,” def. N. 1c. [5] X Research source
• Since there’s no known author, use the first letter of the term when you alphabetize your works cited page. For instance, you’d list “Content” after an entry authored by “Butler, J.” and before one authored by “Darwin, C.”

• At this point, your entry would look like this: “Content,” def. N. 1c. Merriam Webster’s Collegiate Dictionary ,

• Now your entry would read: “Content,” def. N. 1c. Merriam Webster’s Collegiate Dictionary , 11th ed.,

• Add the date like this: “Content,” def. N. 1c. Merriam Webster’s Collegiate Dictionary , 11th ed., 2003,

• Your finished entry would read: “Content,” def. N. 1c. Merriam Webster’s Collegiate Dictionary , 11th ed., 2003, p. 269.
• If your definition happens to appear on 2 pages, write “pp. 269-270.”

Citing an Online Dictionary

• The first part works cited entry for an online dictionary looks the same as a citation for printed source: “Content,” def. N. 1.1. Oxford English Dictionary ,

• Your entry at this point would read: “Content,” def. N. 1.1. Oxford English Dictionary , 2018,

• Add the URL like this: “Content,” def. N. 1.1. Oxford English Dictionary , 2018, en.oxforddictionaries.com/definition/content.

• Your completed entry would read: “Content,” def. N. 1.1. Oxford English Dictionary , 2018, en.oxforddictionaries.com/definition/content. Accessed 23 September 2018.

Expert Q&A

• Learn more about MLA style at https://style.mla.org . Thanks Helpful 0 Not Helpful 0

You Might Also Like

• ↑ https://style.mla.org/term-with-numbered-definitions/
• ↑ https://style.mla.org/distinguishing-dictionary-entries/
• ↑ https://owl.purdue.edu/owl/research_and_citation/mla_style/mla_formatting_and_style_guide/mla_works_cited_page_books.html
• ↑ https://style.mla.org/when-citing-a-print-dictionary-in-mla-style-do-i-include-a-page-number/
• ↑ https://www.merriam-webster.com/help/citing-the-dictionary
• ↑ https://owl.purdue.edu/owl/research_and_citation/mla_style/mla_formatting_and_style_guide/mla_works_cited_electronic_sources.html
• ↑ https://owl.purdue.edu/owl/research_and_citation/mla_style/mla_formatting_and_style_guide/mla_formatting_and_style_guide.html?_ga=2.19623804.558179429.1522454400-1709346682.1522454400

About This Article

• Send fan mail to authors

Did this article help you?

Featured Articles

Trending Articles

Watch Articles

• Terms of Use
• Privacy Policy
• Do Not Sell or Share My Info
• Not Selling Info

wikiHow Tech Help Pro:

Level up your tech skills and stay ahead of the curve

How to Cite a Dictionary in MLA 9: Guidelines and Examples

• Icon Calendar 17 May 2024
• Icon Page 1342 words
• Icon Clock 7 min read

Dictionaries are vital sources for research at different levels of education. In this case, the Modern Language Association (MLA 9) style provides universal guidelines for citation formats of all sources. Basically, this guide explores the MLA guidelines in the context of dictionaries. Firstly, it begins with a comprehensive definition of a dictionary. Then, the guide deconstructs the main elements of a dictionary Works Cited entry. Also, the manual highlights appropriate in-text citations for dictionary entries and concludes with citation schemes for online and print dictionaries. Hence, students need to learn how to cite a dictionary in MLA 9.

Definition of a Dictionary

A dictionary is a reference text that documents some meaningful information regarding particular words, which follow the alphabetic order. For example, there are three major categories of dictionaries: general-purpose, scholarly, and specialized. Firstly, a general-purpose dictionary contains basic information concerning an entry, which is useful to a member of the general public, such as Cambridge Learner’s Dictionary . Then, a scholarly dictionary provides complete definitions or information of words for a specific area in language use, for instance, The Dictionary of New Zealand English . Moreover, specialized dictionaries define words in the context of a particular discipline, for example, A Dictionary of Scientific Bird Names . Typically, dictionaries may exist in either hardcopy or softcopy, depending on the publisher’s preferences.

Citing Elements of a Dictionary in MLA 9

1. source’s title.

The entry or headword occupies the “title of the source” element in a dictionary citation. In this case, the headword is usually the first element of the Works Cited list entry for all dictionary sources because dictionaries do not have authors in most cases. Mostly, authors consider the dictionary entry as a chapter or article within the dictionary because it is a readily distinguishable section. Consequently, students place the headword in double quotation marks and apply title case styling to the word or words when citing a dictionary in MLA 9.

2. Containers

A. title of the first container.

The first container refers to the name of the dictionary, where the entry appears as a section. Basically, it is the immediate container that holds the other alphabetically arranged words that accompany the dictionary entry of interest. Therefore, both printed and online dictionaries must have the title of the container, which is the title of the dictionary that contains the entry. In turn, the title of the container undergoes italicization and title case styling after reproduction from the original text.

B. Title of Second Container

The second container refers to the container that houses the first container, which implies that it holds a higher hierarchical position. For instance, the second container usually has more than one type of dictionary. In the case of an online dictionary, the secondary container is the website name. Conversely, a book series is a secondary container for a print dictionary, for example, a multivolume work. Also, this element is optional for printed and online sources, and its inclusion depends entirely on the publisher’s preferences for grouping of texts.

3. Other Contributors

This element of citing a dictionary in MLA 9 allows students to document other persons who play pivotal roles in the creation of print and online dictionaries. Basically, contributors to a dictionary may include editors, illustrators, and translators. Usually, some phrases precede the contributors’ names, for instance, “edited by,” “illustrated by,” and “translated by.” However, some contributors may not be described by using the phrase format, for example, the general editor.

This element refers to a notation assigned to a container, which indicates that the publisher released more than one form of the work. In this case, words used to label the container may vary extensively, for example, revised edition, version 1.3.2, expanded edition, 3rd ed. Moreover, students should use lower case letters to write version notations, but capitalization of the first letter of the version description is necessary if it follows a period. In turn, this element may appear in online and print dictionaries.

The number element indicates that the reference work is part of a numbered sequence of publications. Mainly, print dictionaries contain volume numbers. In this case, students place the abbreviation “vol.” before the number. Also, writers should capitalize the letter “v” in the abbreviation if it follows a full stop.

6. Publisher

The publisher’s name is a critical component of the dictionary Works Cited entry to follow the rules of citing a dictionary in MLA 9. Basically, its inclusion is mandatory for online and print dictionaries. Hence, there are three main reasons for its absence in a citation:

• lack of a publisher;
• the publisher’s name is identical to the website name;
• the website publisher did not participate in the production of the dictionary content.

7. Publication Date

The date of publication is a common element for print and online dictionaries. Basically, the determination of the publication date for a print dictionary is relatively easy because it appears in the front matter. For example, if an online dictionary has more than one visible publication date, students should select the date that is the most relevant to the cited material. Notably, students may write the date in full, month-year, or year only, depending on the availability of the information.

The locator informs readers of a particular position where they can find the cited information. Basically, for citing print dictionaries in MLA, writers utilize page numbers to specify the location of a dictionary entry. In this case, online dictionaries rely on universal resource locators (URLs), which open specific webpages that contain the dictionary entry. Moreover, the locator is the final element for all dictionary citations.

In-Text Citation Rules for Dictionaries in MLA 9 With Examples

The in-text citations adhere to the standard author-page citation format.

1. Single Definition

A. online dictionary.

Sample of a parenthetical in-text citation for a dictionary word in MLA 9:

• (“Jaundice”)

Sample of a narrative in-text citation for a dictionary word in MLA 9:

• The definition of “jaundice” in the Marksman Dictionary is limited to its use in the 12th century.

B. Print Dictionary

Example of a parenthetical in-text citation for a dictionary word in MLA 9 :

• (“Jaundice” 12)

Example of a narrative in-text citation for a dictionary word in MLA 9:

• The definition of “jaundice” in the Marksman Dictionary is limited to its use in the 12th century (12).

2. Multiple Definitions (Print and Online Dictionaries)

Parenthetical citation sample for a dictionary word in MLA 9:

• (“Jaundice,” def. 3.2.c)

Narrative citation sample for a dictionary word in MLA 9:

• The definition of “jaundice” in the Marksman Dictionary is limited to its use in 12 th -century Greek society (def. 3.2.c).

Citing Schemes of a Dictionary in MLA 9

1. citing scheme for an online dictionary on a works cited page.

• “Title of the source.” Title of the First Container. Title of Second Container , Publisher, Publication date, URL.

Works Cited Entry Sample of an Online Dictionary in MLA 9:

• “Tranquil.” Cambridge Dictionary , Cambridge UP, 2020, dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/english/tranquil.

Note: The website has only one type of dictionary.

Example of Headwords With Parts of Speech:

• “Tranquil, Adjective .” Oxford Advanced Learner’s Dictionary. Oxford Learner’s Dictionaries , Oxford UP, 2020, www.oxfordlearnersdictionaries.com/definition/english/tranquil?q=tranquil.

Note: The website hosts different types of dictionaries, which makes it necessary to identify both the first and second containers. Also, the headword on the webpage shares the same line with the part of speech.

2. Citing Scheme for a Print Dictionary on a Works Cited Page

• “Title of the source.” Title of the Container , Other contributors, Version, Number, Publisher, Publication date, Page number.

Entry Sample of Citing a Print Dictionary in MLA 9:

• “Evil Eye.” The Oxford Dictionary of Byzantium , edited by Alexander Kazhdan. Vol. 2, Oxford UP, 1991, p. 764.

Note: This source is a multivolume edited dictionary, which implies that the names of the editors and volume number are mandatory elements of the citation.

Tips on How to Cite a Dictionary in MLA 9

• Use title case to style the headword and container titles.
• Enclose the headword in double quotation marks.
• Provide an appropriate locator for the entry.

To Learn More, Read Relevant Articles

Table of Contents: Guidelines for an A+ Dissertation

• Icon Calendar 25 August 2020
• Icon Page 984 words

Statement of Purpose: Student Guidelines for Success

• Icon Calendar 23 August 2020
• Icon Page 6762 words

• EXPLORE Random Article
• Happiness Hub

How to Cite a Dictionary

Last Updated: April 28, 2023 References

This article was co-authored by Michelle Golden, PhD . Michelle Golden is an English teacher in Athens, Georgia. She received her MA in Language Arts Teacher Education in 2008 and received her PhD in English from Georgia State University in 2015. There are 10 references cited in this article, which can be found at the bottom of the page. This article has been viewed 143,758 times.

When a specific definition has been used in an essay, you will need to cite the dictionary in your “Works Cited” or “References” page. Each style guide has its own citation standards, and these standards vary depending on whether the dictionary is a print source or an online source.

Sample Citations

Citing a Print Dictionary in MLA Format

• “Citation.”

• "Citation." Def. 1e.

• "Citation." Def. 1e. Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary .

• "Citation." Def. 1e. Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary . 3rd ed., [2] X Research source

• "Citation." Def. 1e. Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary . 3rd ed., 2003.

Citing an Online Dictionary in MLA Format

• "Citation."

• "Citation." Random House Dictionary .
• Note: If an online dictionary source is an original dictionary, rather than a third-party one, you can skip ahead to step 2.4, indicating publication source.

• "Citation." Random House Dictionary . New York: Random House, Inc., 2012.

• "Citation." Random House Dictionary . New York: Random House, Inc., 2012. Dictionary.com .

• "Citation." Random House Dictionary . New York: Random House, Inc., 2012. Dictionary.com . Web.

• "Citation." Random House Dictionary . New York: Random House, Inc., 2012. Dictionary.com . Web. 5 December 2012.

Citing a Print Dictionary in APA Format

• Citation. (2003).

• Citation. (2003). Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary

• Citation. (2003). Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary (p. 57, 11th ed., Vol. 1).

• Citation. (2003). Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary (p. 57, 11th ed., Vol. 1). Springfield, Massachusetts: Encyclopedia Britannica.

Citing an Online Dictionary in APA Format

• Citation. (2012). Random House Dictionary . New York: Random House, Inc.

• Citation. (2012). Random House Dictionary . New York: Random House, Inc. Dictionary.com .

• Citation. (2012). Random House Dictionary . New York: Random House, Inc. Dictionary.com . Retrieved 5 December 2012,

• Citation. (2012). Random House Dictionary . New York: Random House, Inc. Dictionary.com . Retrieved 5 December 2012, from http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/citation?s=t

Citing a Print Dictionary in Chicago Style

• Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary ,

• Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary , 11th ed.,

• Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary , 11th ed., s.v. "citation."

Citing an Online Dictionary in Chicago Style

• Dictionary.com,

• Dictionary.com , s.v., "citation,"

• Dictionary.com , s.v., "citation," accessed December 1, 2012,

• Dictionary.com , s.v., "citation," accessed December 1, 2012, http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/citation?s=t .

Community Q&A

You Might Also Like

• ↑ http://www.library.cornell.edu/resrch/citmanage/mla
• ↑ https://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/747/06/
• ↑ http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/747/18/
• ↑ https://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/747/08/
• ↑ https://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/747/05/
• ↑ http://www.merriam-webster.com/help/citing-the-dictionary
• ↑ http://www.easybib.com/reference/guide/apa/dictionary
• ↑ https://www.citefast.com/styleguide.php?style=APA&sec=Encyclopedia
• ↑ https://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/560/10/

About this article

To cite a print dictionary in MLA format, start by writing the word you defined in quotes with a period at the end. Then, if the word has more than one definition, list the definition number and letter, like "Def. 1e." Next, write the name of the dictionary you used in italics with a period at the end. Finally, list the dictionary's edition number, like "3rd ed.," followed by a comma and the year of publication. To learn how to cite an online dictionary and cite a dictionary using APA format, scroll down! Did this summary help you? Yes No

Reader Success Stories

Barnali Sarkar

Nov 8, 2016

Did this article help you?

Ryan St.Hill

Jun 2, 2017

Feb 20, 2017

• About wikiHow
• Terms of Use
• Privacy Policy
• Do Not Sell or Share My Info
• Not Selling Info

Home › Study Tips › How To Cite The Oxford English Dictionary: Using MLA And APA

How To Cite The Oxford English Dictionary: Using MLA And APA

• Published June 2, 2022

Writing academic essays and research papers can be more complex than it already is when you don’t know how to cite the Oxford English Dictionary (OED).

It becomes even more confusing depending on what type of OED you’re using, online or print. Why? Because you cite them in different ways. You can now rest easy since you’ve come to the right place. Read more if you want to learn how to cite the Oxford English Dictionary. 

And, if you’re looking to get ahead of your competition in education, then browse our summer programs in Oxford for high school students .

MLA or APA? 

The first step to citing any reference is to figure out what style you need to follow: MLA or APA? What’s the difference, you ask?

Good question!

The most significant is that MLA (Modern Language Association) is used for arts and humanities while APA (American Psychology Association) is for social science. Once you determine which style you need to use, you’re on your way to writing an academic essay ! 

How To Cite The Oxford English Dictionary Using MLA 9th Edition

Library database, known author.

If you’re accessing the Oxford English Dictionary via a library database and you know who the author is, this is how you cite it. 

Author’s Last Name, First Name. “Title of Entry.” Title of Encyclopedia or Dictionary , edited by Editor’s First Name Last Name, Edition if given and not first edition, vol. Volume Number if more than one volume, Publisher Name, Date of Publication, pp. First Page-Last Page. Name of Database . https://doi.org/DOI if there is one.

If the word you’re referencing is only found on one page, list it as such—no need to write it as a first page-last page. But if there’s no page number, you can choose to omit it. What if you don’t know who the editors are or what volume it is? You can also leave them out of your citation.  

In-Text Citation: 

(Author’s Last Name, page number)

If the page number is unavailable:

(Author’s Last Name)

Unknown Author

What if you don’t know who the author is? Here’s how to cite your entry.

“Title of Entry.” Title of Encyclopedia or Dictionary , edited by Editor’s First Name Last Name, Edition if given and not first edition, vol. Volume Number, Publisher Name, Date of Publication, pp. First Page-Last Page. Name of Database . https://doi.org/DOI if there is one.

What if you don’t have specific information such as pages volume numbers and editors? You don’t have to include them. 

Since you don’t know the author, you need to input the first one to three words from the entry title. Please remember to enclose the title within quotation marks. Also, don’t forget to capitalise the first letter of each word. Just like this:

(“Diversity”)

Perhaps the easiest way to access the Oxford English Dictionary is through their various websites. If you know the author, here’s how to cite it:

Author’s Last Name, First Name. “Title of Entry.” Title of Encyclopedia or Dictionary , Publication or Update Date, URL. Accessed Day Month Year site was visited.

Did you notice that “Accessed Day Month Year site was visited” is unique to website citations? If you’re wondering, it simply refers to the day you visited the website. Also, don’t forget to abbreviate the month for the publication/update date and the accessed date; it’s necessary to abbreviate the month. 

If you don’t know who the author is, you can cite your entry this way:

“Title of Entry.” Title of Encyclopedia or Dictionary , Publisher if known, Copyright Date or Date Updated, URL. Accessed Day Month Year site was visited.

With the lack of author information, all you have to do is place the first one to three words of the entry title within quotation marks. Remember to capitalise the first letter of each term. Here’s how:

(“Victorian”)

Of course, we can’t forget physical Oxford English Dictionaries! If you intend to use one, here’s how you can cite the material:

Author’s Last Name, First Name. “Title of Entry.” Title of Encyclopedia or Dictionary, edited by Editor’s First Name Last Name, Edition if given and not first edition, vol. Volume Number, Publisher Name, Year of Publication, pp. First Page-Last Page.

In case the author’s name is not provided, just the editors’, cite it this way: 

 “Title of Entry.” Title of Encyclopedia or Dictionary , edited by Editor’s First Name Last Name, Edition if given and not first edition, vol. Volume Number, Publisher Name, Year of Publication, pp. First Page-Last Page.

Since there’s no author information available, you can use the first one to three words of the entry title and enclose it with quotation marks. Capitalise the first letter of each word. Then place the page number after. Take a look at this:

(“Middle Age” 545)

How To Cite Two Authors

How should you cite the material if there are two authors? By listing them how they appear on the page. Not alphabetically! 

First Author’s Last Name, First Author’s First Name, and First Name Last Name of Second Author

Here’s what it will look like:

Will, Thomas, and Melissa Jones

How To Cite More Than Two Authors

If there are more than two authors, what you need to do is to focus on the first author in the list. 

Last Name, First Name, et al. 

In actual practice, it will look like this:

Will, Thomas, et al.

How To Cite The Oxford English Dictionary Using APA 7th Edition

The APA style is more straightforward than the MLA. When citing authors, remember it’s only the last name that’s spelt out. The first name is abbreviated. If the author’s name is Melissa Jones, the citation will look like this:

Jones, M. 

If the author’s middle name is given, for instance, Melissa Smith Jones, here’s how to cite it. 

Jones, M.S. 

When referencing the Oxford English Dictionary you find online, determine if it’s an archived version or not. If not, it means that the dictionary is continuously being updated. 

Online Archived Version: 

Author A. A. (Date). Title of entry. In E. E. Editor (Ed.), Name of dictionary/encyclopedia . URL.

Online Version With Continuous Updates:

Author A. A. (n.d.). Title of entry. In E. E. Editor (Ed.), Name of dictionary/encyclopedia (edition, if not the first). Publisher. URL.

No Authors, But There Are Editors: 

Editor, A., & Editor, B. (Eds.). (Date). Dictionary/Encyclopedia entry. In Name of dictionary/encyclopedia (edition, if not the first). Publisher.

No Authors And No Editors: Use Company As Corporate Author

Corporate Author. (Date). Dictionary/Encyclopedia entry. In Name of dictionary/encyclopedia (edition, if not the first). Publisher.

In-Text Citation

(Author’s last name, date)

Wrapping Up 

There you have it! By now you know how to cite the Oxford English Dictionary using both the MLA and APA styles. You’ll be more confident writing your papers from now on.

• I'm a Parent
• I'm a Student
• First Name *
• Last Name *
• Which subjects interest you? (Optional) Architecture Artificial Intelligence Banking and Finance Biology Biotechnology Business Management Chemistry Coding Computer Science Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence Creative Writing Creative Writing and Film Criminology Data Science and Analytics Earth Science Economics Encryption and Cybersecurity Engineering English Literature Entrepreneurship Fashion and Design Female Future Leaders Film Studies Fine Arts Global Society and Sustainability Health and Biotechnology History International Relations Law Marketing and Entertainment Mathematics Medicine Medicine and Health Sciences Nanotechnology Natural Sciences Philosophy Philosophy Politics and Economics Physics Psychology Software Development and AI Software Development and Gaming Veterinary Studies Online Research Programme

Secure priority enrolment for our new summer school location with a small refundable deposit.

" * " indicates required fields

Receive priority enrolment for new summer school locations by registering your interest below.

Our programme consultant will contact you to talk about your options.

• Family Name *
• Phone Number
• Yes. See Privacy Policy.

Subject is unavailable at location

You have selected a subject that is not available at the location that you have previously chosen.

The location filter has been reset, and you are now able to search for all the courses where we offer the subject.

• Link to facebook
• Link to linkedin
• Link to twitter
• Link to youtube
• Writing Tips

How to Cite a Dictionary in Harvard Referencing

• 3-minute read
• 8th May 2023

If you come across a source from a dictionary and want to use it in your research, make sure you cite it correctly, both in the text and on the reference page. In this post, we’ll show you how to cite a dictionary using basic Harvard referencing , one of the most common university referencing styles.

How to Cite a Dictionary on a Reference Page

As with any citation, you’ll need to provide all the basic source information on your reference page, whether you’re citing a print or an online dictionary:

●  Author’s name

●  Year of publication

●  Title of the dictionary entry

●  Title of the dictionary

●  Edition number

●  Place of publication (for print dictionaries)

●  Publisher (for print dictionaries)

●  URL (for online dictionaries)

Please see below for examples of each format.

Print Version

Author, X. (year). “Title of dictionary entry,” Title of Dictionary , edition number. Place of Publication: Publisher.

Online Version

Find this useful?

Subscribe to our newsletter and get writing tips from our editors straight to your inbox.

Author, X. (year). “Title of dictionary entry,” Title of Dictionary, edition number [Online]. Available at: URL (Access date).

The following are examples of what each one might look like on your reference page.

Smith, E. (2023). “Symposium,” Oxford English Reference Dictionary , 4th ed. Oxford: Oxford University Press.

Online Version:

Smith, E. (2023). “Symposium,” Oxford English Reference Dictionary , 4th ed. [Online]. Available at: https://www.oxfordlearnersdictionaries.com/us/definition/english/symposium?q=symposium (Accessed May 25, 2023).

How to Cite a Dictionary in the Text

You can use a parenthetical or a narrative citation to reference a dictionary entry in the body of your essay. A narrative citation mentions the author’s name in a sentence and immediately follows the name with the year of publication in parentheses.

A parenthetical citation provides the surname of the author and the year of publication in parentheses immediately following the sentence. A narrative citation looks like this:

And a parenthetical citation will look like this:

Be sure to follow the Harvard guidelines for citing multiple authors. For in-text citations, the names of up to two authors are included. For three or more authors, you should shorten the citation using the abbreviation “et al.”:

Expert Academic Proofreading

When conducting research for an essay, cover all your bases and make sure your citations hit the mark. When you send you paper to our expert editors, include your academic reference list and in-text citations so you can rest assured that they meet all the required guidelines.

We’re experienced in an array of referencing styles, so no matter what field you’re studying, we’ll make sure the structure and format of your citations are correct. See for yourself – try out our proofreading services by sending us a free sample of 500 words or less.

Share this article:

Post A New Comment

Got content that needs a quick turnaround? Let us polish your work. Explore our editorial business services.

5-minute read

Free Email Newsletter Template (2024)

Promoting a brand means sharing valuable insights to connect more deeply with your audience, and...

6-minute read

How to Write a Nonprofit Grant Proposal

If you’re seeking funding to support your charitable endeavors as a nonprofit organization, you’ll need...

9-minute read

How to Use Infographics to Boost Your Presentation

Is your content getting noticed? Capturing and maintaining an audience’s attention is a challenge when...

8-minute read

Why Interactive PDFs Are Better for Engagement

Are you looking to enhance engagement and captivate your audience through your professional documents? Interactive...

7-minute read

Seven Key Strategies for Voice Search Optimization

Voice search optimization is rapidly shaping the digital landscape, requiring content professionals to adapt their...

4-minute read

Five Creative Ways to Showcase Your Digital Portfolio

Are you a creative freelancer looking to make a lasting impression on potential clients or...

Make sure your writing is the best it can be with our expert English proofreading and editing.

• Dictionaries home
• American English
• Collocations
• German-English
• Grammar home
• Practical English Usage
• Learn & Practise Grammar (Beta)
• Word Lists home
• My Word Lists
• Recent additions
• Resources home
• Text Checker

NEW words and meanings added: March 2024

Game on or game over ?

With the Summer Olympics coming up, the main focus for our latest release is on the world of sport.

Worrying about your team’s back four in the relegation six-pointer ? Did one of your team’s blueliners just score an empty-netter ? Or maybe you prefer T20™ , with the drama of one-dayers and super overs , or just like to pay your green fee and get started on the front nine ?

We’ve added over 170 new words and meanings from sport and other topics.

Our word lists are designed to help learners at any level focus on the most important words to learn.

Explore our general English and academic English lists.

Spread the Word

A recent addition to our online dictionary is the term culture war , which is used to describe the conflict between groups of people with different ideals and beliefs.

Topic Dictionaries

Our Topic Dictionaries are lists of topic-related words, like Animals and Health , that can help you expand your vocabulary. Each topic is divided into smaller subtopics and every word has a CEFR level.

Learn & Practise Grammar

Our grammar pages combine clear explanations with interactive exercises to test your understanding.

Learn more with these dictionary and grammar resources

We offer a number of premium products on this website to help you improve your english..

JOIN our community of language learners!

Connect with us TODAY to start receiving the language learning and assessment resources you need directly to your newsfeed and inbox.

1. Oxford Dictionaries , s.v. “food baby ( n. ),” accessed October 22, 2013, https://www.oxforddictionaries.com/definition/english/food-baby.

Note: To cite a print dictionary entry in the notes, the entry would follow the same format, but the accessed date and URL would be omitted ( Oxford Dictionaries , s.v. “food baby ( n. ).”)

Chicago Formatting Guide

Chicago Formatting

• Book Chapter
• Conference Paper
• Musical Recording

Citation Examples

• Thesis or Dissertation
• Encyclopedia
• Sheet Music
• YouTube Video

How useful was this post?

Click on a star to rate it!

We are sorry that this post was not useful for you!

Let us improve this post!

Tell us how we can improve this post?

Chicago Citation Examples

Writing Tools

Citation Generators

Other Citation Styles

Plagiarism Checker

Upload a paper to check for plagiarism against billions of sources and get advanced writing suggestions for clarity and style.

Get Started

Pilfer: How to Play and Win

Quiz: abbreviation station, 15 cheffy words for chefs (and everyone else), games & quizzes.

New Challenges Every Day

Word of the Day

August 25, 2024

Get Word of the Day in your inbox!

Great Big List of Beautiful and Useless Words, Vol. 2

Rare and amusing insults, volume 3, why jaywalking is called jaywalking, 'gaslighting,' 'woke,' 'democracy,' and other top lookups, games & quizzes, grammar & usage, 7 pairs of commonly confused words, words commonly mispronounced, is 'irregardless' a real word, did we change the definition of 'literally', time traveler.

Find words from the year you were born … and beyond!

Video: Why Is There a 'C' in 'Indict'?

'nip it in the butt' or 'nip it in the bud', how to remember the spelling of 'definitely', word choices: a new video series from merriam-webster.

Browse the Dictionary

Browse the thesaurus.

Transcription Service for Your Academic Paper

Start Transcription now

Editing & Proofreading for Your Research Paper

Get it proofread now

Online Printing & Binding with Free Express Delivery

Configure binding now

• Academic essay overview
• The writing process
• Structuring academic essays
• Types of academic essays
• Academic writing overview
• Sentence structure
• Academic writing process
• Improving your academic writing
• Titles and headings
• APA style overview
• APA citation & referencing
• APA structure & sections
• Citation & referencing
• Structure and sections
• APA examples overview
• Commonly used citations
• Other examples
• British English vs. American English
• Chicago style overview
• Chicago citation & referencing
• Chicago structure & sections
• Chicago style examples
• Citing sources overview
• Citation format
• Citation examples
• College essay overview
• Application
• How to write a college essay
• Types of college essays
• Commonly confused words
• Definitions
• Dissertation overview
• Dissertation structure & sections
• Dissertation writing process
• Graduate school overview
• Application & admission
• Study abroad
• Master degree
• Harvard referencing overview
• Language rules overview
• Grammatical rules & structures
• Parts of speech
• Punctuation
• Methodology overview
• Analyzing data
• Experiments
• Observations
• Inductive vs. Deductive
• Qualitative vs. Quantitative
• Types of validity
• Types of reliability
• Sampling methods
• Theories & Concepts
• Types of research studies
• Types of variables
• MLA style overview
• MLA examples
• MLA citation & referencing
• MLA structure & sections
• Plagiarism overview
• Plagiarism checker
• Types of plagiarism
• Printing production overview
• Research bias overview
• Types of research bias
• Example sections
• Types of research papers
• Research process overview
• Problem statement
• Research proposal
• Research topic
• Statistics overview
• Levels of measurment
• Frequency distribution
• Measures of central tendency
• Measures of variability
• Hypothesis testing
• Parameters & test statistics
• Types of distributions
• Correlation
• Effect size
• Hypothesis testing assumptions
• Types of ANOVAs
• Types of chi-square
• Statistical data
• Statistical models
• Spelling mistakes
• Tips overview
• Academic writing tips
• Dissertation tips
• Sources tips
• Working with sources overview
• Evaluating sources
• Finding sources
• Including sources
• Types of sources

Your Step to Success

Transcription Service for Your Paper

Printing & Binding with 3D Live Preview

MLA Dictionary Entry Citation – Formatting & Examples

How do you like this article cancel reply.

Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment.

The MLA , Modern Language Association, allows you to easily present definitions, avoiding plagiarism while making your work easy to understand. The MLA dictionary entry citation guide provides a practical, economic structure. It’s one of the most popular options for students and writers alike, particularly in fields related to language.

Inhaltsverzeichnis

• 1 MLA Dictionary Entry Citation – In a Nutshell
• 2 Definition: MLA dictionary entry citation
• 3 MLA dictionary entry citation: Part of speech and definition numbers
• 4 MLA dictionary entry citation: In-text citations
• 5 MLA dictionary entry citation: Print dictionary
• 6 MLA dictionary entry citation: A dictionary entry with an author

MLA Dictionary Entry Citation – In a Nutshell

The MLA dictionary entry citation guide incorporates both on and offline sources. It allows you to cite key details like the edition, publisher, and dictionary title for easy retrieval. This article covers:

• The correct structure for print and online sources.
• How to abbreviate parts of speech.
• Dictionary entries with authors.
• How to cite in text.

Definition: MLA dictionary entry citation

The MLA dictionary entry citation format structures online sources in the following order:

• Title of entry in double quotation marks
• The part of speech in italics .
• The definition number in parentheses .
• The dictionary name in italics .
• The date you accessed the information
• The database URL

“Citation, N . (1).” Merriam-Webster Dictionary , accessed June 20, 2023, www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/citation.

Your Works Cited page should be double-spaced, with page numbers cited as pp . entries should be alphabetized by the author’s last name. When that’s unknown, alphabetize by the title, which should be presented in italics .

MLA dictionary entry citation: Part of speech and definition numbers

You’ll often cite words that can occupy a few different parts of speech and which have several definitions. The MLA dictionary entry citation guide makes room for these variations:

Part of speech

Parts of speech tell you which job a word does in a sentence. If the word you’re citing can be used as two or more parts of speech, include the exact definition in your title of entry along with the abbreviated part of speech in italics and double quotation marks. The MLA dictionary entry citation guide has abbreviations for all eight parts of speech. These are denoted between the word and its definition in most dictionaries.

The MLA dictionary entry citation guide requires a part of speech to be used in all definitions.

Definition number

Many words have more than one definition, so most dictionaries list each one numerically after their parts of speech. If your cited word has only one definition, there’s no need to cite the definition number with your MLA dictionary entry citation.

MLA dictionary entry citation: In-text citations

The in-text MLA dictionary entry citation structure includes the title shortened to the word in quotation marks. If you want to refer to a particular definition of the word within the dictionary entry that you are citing, include the definition number as shown in the example.

(“Citation,” def. 1.b)

MLA dictionary entry citation: Print dictionary

A print MLA dictionary entry citation should be structured in order of:

• Title of entry in double quotation marks.
• Part of speech in italics.
• Definition number in parenthesis.
• Dictionary name in italics.
• The edition.
• The publisher
• The year of publication
• The page number

“Citation, N. (1).” Shorter Oxford English Dictionary , 3 rd ed., Oxford University Press, 1998, p. 336.

Most publishers include the copyright statement and publication date behind the title page.

If you’re citing a definition , your structure should include the word, part of speech in italics, and the definition number if the word has several definitions. The dictionary name should be cited in italics, followed by the year of publication.

✘ Avoid these common mistakes:

• Using a library database. These sites usually offer a dedicated URL that becomes inactive after the session.
• Miscapitalizing your title entry. MLA dictionary entry citations use AP stylebook capitalization rules.
• Forgetting to add a reference listing for in-text citations.
• Including honorifics in in-text citations. Only the surname of the author should be included.

MLA dictionary entry citation: A dictionary entry with an author

Niche publications such as theology or business dictionaries often have authored entries, so they need to be incorporated into the MLA dictionary entry citation as:

If your source has multiple authors , the first author should be listed with their last name first. The second and subsequent authors should be listed by first name first. If each entry has its own author, list the applicable author first:

Do you always need to cite dictionary definitions?

If you’re using a language dictionary definition merely to clarify the meaning of a word, a citation is generally not required. If that definition is a primary source, it’s best to cite it.

How do you format an online MLA dictionary entry citation?

Your citation should be structured as “Word,  Part of speech.  (Definition number).”  Dictionary Name , Year, URL.

What is the best dictionary to cite from?

The Oxford English Dictionary is seen as the gold standard of the English Language, but many students prefer the user-friendliness of Collins.

Extremely satisfied, excellent deal with delivery in less than 24h. The print...

We use cookies on our website. Some of them are essential, while others help us to improve this website and your experience.

• External Media

Individual Privacy Preferences

Cookie Details Privacy Policy Imprint

Here you will find an overview of all cookies used. You can give your consent to whole categories or display further information and select certain cookies.

Accept all Save

Essential cookies enable basic functions and are necessary for the proper function of the website.

Show Cookie Information Hide Cookie Information

Statistics cookies collect information anonymously. This information helps us to understand how our visitors use our website.

Content from video platforms and social media platforms is blocked by default. If External Media cookies are accepted, access to those contents no longer requires manual consent.

Privacy Policy Imprint

Oxford English Dictionary

Words and phrases, the historical english dictionary.

An unsurpassed guide for researchers in any discipline to the meaning, history, and usage of over 500,000 words and phrases across the English-speaking world.

Understanding entries

Glossaries, abbreviations, pronunciation guides, frequency, symbols, and more

Personal account

Change display settings, save searches and purchase subscriptions

Getting started

Videos and guides about how to use the new OED website

Recently added

• auto-generated
• south-going
• Indo-Parthian
• back header
• stottie ball

Word of the day

Pepper-water, recently updated.

Word stories

Read our collection of word stories detailing the etymology and semantic development of a wide range of words, including ‘dungarees’, ‘codswallop’, and ‘witch’.

Access our word lists and commentaries on an array of fascinating topics, from film-based coinages to Tex-Mex terms.

World Englishes

Explore our World Englishes hub and access our resources on the varieties of English spoken throughout the world by people of diverse cultural backgrounds.

History of English

Here you can find a series of commentaries on the History of English, charting the history of the English language from Old English to the present day.

• Access or purchase personal subscriptions
• Get our newsletter
• Save searches
• Set display preferences

Institutional access

Sign in with library card

Sign in with username / password

Recommend to your librarian

Institutional account management

Sign in as administrator on Oxford Academic

Word of the Day

Sign up to receive the Oxford English Dictionary Word of the Day email every day.

Our Privacy Policy sets out how Oxford University Press handles your personal information, and your rights to object to your personal information being used for marketing to you or being processed as part of our business activities.

We will only use your personal information for providing you with this service.

MLA Citation Guide (9th Edition): Encyclopedias & Dictionaries

• What Kind of Source Is This?
• Advertisements
• Books, eBooks & Pamphlets
• Book Reviews
• Class Handouts, Presentations, and Readings
• Encyclopedias & Dictionaries
• Government Documents
• Images, Artwork, Charts, Graphs & Tables
• Interviews and Emails (Personal Communications)
• Journal Articles
• Magazine Articles
• Newspaper Articles
• Primary Sources
• Religious Texts
• Social Media
• Videos & DVDs
• In-Text Citation
• Works Quoted in Another Source
• No Author, No Date etc.
• Works Cited List & Sample Paper
• Annotated Bibliography
• Powerpoint Presentations

On This Page: Encyclopedias & Dictionaries

Encyclopedia or dictionary from library database - known author, encyclopedia or dictionary from library database - unknown author, encyclopedia or dictionary from a website - known author, encyclopedia or dictionary from a website - unknown author, encyclopedia or dictionary entry in print - known author, encyclopedia or dictionary in print - unknown author, citing two authors, citing three or more authors, abbreviating months.

In your works cited list, abbreviate months as follows: 

January = Jan. February = Feb. March = Mar. April = Apr. May = May June = June July = July August = Aug. September = Sept. October = Oct. November = Nov. December = Dec.

Spell out months fully in the body of your paper. 

It can sometimes be difficult to find out who the author of a website is. Remember that an author can be a corporation or group, not only a specific person. Author information can sometimes be found under an "About" section on a website.

If there is no known author, start the citation with the title of the article instead.

Capitalize the first letter of every important word in the title. You do not need to capitalize words such as: in, of, or an. Do not use all-caps (except for words like USA where each letter stands for something), even if the words appear that way on the article.

If there is a colon (:) in the title, include what comes after the colon (also known as the subtitle).

The publisher or sponsoring organization can often be found in a copyright notice at the bottom of the home page or on a page that gives information about the site.  When the page is authored and published by the same corporation/group/organization, omit the author and begin your citation with the title. 

Publisher information may be omitted for:

• periodicals (journals, magazines, newspapers)
• works published by an author or editor
• web sites whose title is the same as the name of the publisher
• a web site not involved in producing the work it makes (e.g. user-generated content sites like  YouTube )

The best date to use for a website is the date that the content was last updated. Otherwise look for a copyright or original publication date. Unfortunately this information may not be provided or may be hard to find. Often date information is put on the bottom of the pages of a website.

If you do not know the complete date, put as much information as you can find. For example you may have a year but no month or day.

Access Date

Date of access is optional in MLA 9th edition. When no publication date is included, we recommend including the date you last accessed the site.

Note : For your Works Cited list, all citations should be double spaced and have a hanging indent.

A "hanging indent" means that each subsequent line after the first line of your citation should be indented by 0.5 inches.

Author's Last Name, First Name. "Title of Entry." Title of Encyclopedia or Dictionary , edited by   Editor's First Name Last Name, Edition if given and not first edition, vol. Volume Number if more than one volume, Publisher Name, Date of Publication,  pp. First Page-Last Page. Name of Database .  https://doi.org/DOI if there is one.

 Note : MLA 9th edition recommends including a DOI, stable link, or URL. We recommend that URLs be left out when citing a work found in a library database. Because library databases require a login most URLs will stop working after the session ends. If there is a DOI, include this as the last element, beginning with https://doi.org/.

If you do not have information such as an editor's name, a volume or page numbers leave those sections out of your citation.

 "Title of Entry."  Title of Encyclopedia or Dictionary , edited by   Editor's First Name Last Name, Edition if given and not first edition, vol. Volume Number, Publisher Name, Date of Publication, pp. First Page-Last Page.  Name of Database .   https://doi.org/DOI if there is one.

Author's Last Name, First Name. "Title of Entry."  Title of Encyclopedia or Dictionary , Publication or Update Date,   URL. Accessed  Day Month Year site was visited .  

"Title of Entry."  Title of Encyclopedia or Dictionary , Publisher if known, Copyright Date or Date Updated,   URL. Accessed Day Month Year site was visited .  

"Title of Entry." Wikipedia: The Free Encyclopedia,  Wikimedia Foundation, Day Month Year entry was last modified, Time entry was last modified, URL of entry. Accessed Day Month Year Wikipedia entry was last viewed.

 Note : The date and time the article was last modified appears at the bottom of each Wikipedia article.

Keep in mind that Wikipedia may not be considered an acceptable source for a college or university assignment. Be sure to evaluate the content carefully and check with your instructor if you can use it as a source in your assignment.

Author's Last Name, First Name. "Title of Entry."  Title of Encyclopedia or Dictionary , edited by   Editor's First Name Last Name, Edition if given and not first edition, vol. Volume Number, Publisher Name, Year of Publication, pp. First Page-Last Page.

 "Title of Entry."  Title of Encyclopedia or Dictionary , edited by   Editor's First Name Last Name, Edition if given and not first edition, vol. Volume Number, Publisher Name, Year of Publication, pp. First Page-Last Page.

If there are two authors, cite the the authors as follows (list authors in the order they are given on the page, not alphabetically):

Last Name, First Name of First Author, and First Name Last Name of Second Author.

Example: Smith, James, and Sarah Johnston.

If there are three or more authors, cite only the name of the first author listed with their Last Name, First Name followed by a comma et al.

Example: Smith, James, et al.

• << Previous: Class Handouts, Presentations, and Readings
• Next: Government Documents >>
• Last Updated: Aug 21, 2024 4:46 PM
• URL: https://columbiacollege-ca.libguides.com/MLA9

• Daily Crossword
• Word Puzzle
• Word Finder

Word of the Day

• Synonym of the Day
• Word of the Year
• Language stories
• All featured
• Gender and sexuality
• All pop culture
• Writing hub
• Grammar essentials

Commonly confused

• All writing tips
• Pop culture
• Writing tips

[ skwee -jee ]

Start each day with the Word of the Day in your inbox!

By clicking "Sign Up", you are accepting Dictionary.com Terms & Conditions and Privacy Policies.

Learn how ancient Sanskrit has influenced modern language with this list of words that have made their way into English. Read more.

Advertisement

Calling all cruciverbalists! Sharpen your mind with crosswords and word games, or take a brain break with your favorite classic games.

• What Is Artificial Intelligence? Learn These 14 Trending ChatGPT Terms
• 11 Luscious Words for the Color Orange Worth Biting Into
• 15 Fascinating Tree Names, Types of Trees, and Tree Species
• There’s No Way You’ll Know All These Florida Words
• What Are the Hardest Languages to Learn?

Salutations, logophile!

Sign up to get everything a word lover could want: word origins, fun facts, and the latest language trends.

• Cambridge Dictionary +Plus

Explore the Cambridge Dictionary

English dictionaries.

• Learner’s Dictionary
• Essential British English
• Essential American English

Pronunciation

Translation dictionaries.

• English–Chinese (Simplified) Chinese (Simplified)–English
• English–Chinese (Traditional) Chinese (Traditional)–English
• English–Dutch Dutch–English
• English–French French–English
• English–German German–English
• English–Indonesian Indonesian–English
• English–Italian Italian–English
• English–Japanese Japanese–English
• English–Norwegian Norwegian–English
• English–Polish Polish–English
• English–Portuguese Portuguese–English
• English–Spanish Spanish–English
• English–Swedish Swedish–English
• English–Arabic
• English–Bengali
• English–Catalan
• English–Czech
• English–Danish
• English–Gujarati
• English–Hindi
• English–Korean
• English–Malay
• English–Marathi
• English–Russian
• English–Tamil
• English–Telugu
• English–Thai
• English–Turkish
• English–Ukrainian
• English–Urdu
• English–Vietnamese

Word Scramble

Challenge yourself with word games from Cambridge Dictionary.

Read the definition. Can you beat the clock and spell the word?

Trial, judge, and jury: talking about what happens when a criminal is caught

Word of the Day

Your browser doesn't support HTML5 audio

Lofty ideas, etc. are of a high moral standard.

Browse the English Dictionary

Or, browse the Cambridge Dictionary index

Free word lists and quizzes to create, download and share!

You’re logged in. Start creating a word list or do a quiz!

Learn more with +Plus

• Recent and Recommended {{#preferredDictionaries}} {{name}} {{/preferredDictionaries}}
• Definitions Clear explanations of natural written and spoken English English Learner’s Dictionary Essential British English Essential American English
• Grammar and thesaurus Usage explanations of natural written and spoken English Grammar Thesaurus
• Pronunciation British and American pronunciations with audio English Pronunciation
• English–Chinese (Simplified) Chinese (Simplified)–English
• English–Chinese (Traditional) Chinese (Traditional)–English
• English–Dutch Dutch–English
• English–French French–English
• English–German German–English
• English–Indonesian Indonesian–English
• English–Italian Italian–English
• English–Japanese Japanese–English
• English–Norwegian Norwegian–English
• English–Polish Polish–English
• English–Portuguese Portuguese–English
• English–Spanish Spanish–English
• English–Swedish Swedish–English
• Dictionary +Plus Word Lists

To add ${headword} to a word list please sign up or log in.

Add ${headword} to one of your lists below, or create a new one.

{{message}}

Something went wrong.