Webster's New World College Dictionary, Fifth Edition

You should always write (and read) with a good dictionary at hand, and a having a physical dictionary is best for anyone writing on a computer with access to the internet, i.e., 99 percent of us. It saves you from distractions ("Think I'll check my email now that I'm online") and at least half the joy of a dictionary is the words you stumble on when looking up your targeted word.Unfortunately, this dictionary falls short of its predecessors in a few ways. They got rid of the lettered tabs. Granted, they never seemed to get you to where you wanted to be that much faster, but they gave the book a traditional look and if you have similar size reference books nearby you could grab the dictionary without having to think about it even a little because it stood out. That's minor. The major problem is they shrunk the type size. The demographic is going to skew a little old and that means people who need reading glasses. The beauty of computers is that you can adjust the screen so you can put away your readers and write, and with the old dictionary you could make things out without them, provided the lighting was good enough. Not anymore. The type is tiny. Sure, it's a huge book at 1,700 pages, but would bumping the size up a little and adding fifty pages to it as a result really have made it that much more unwieldy? No.

Just because a dictionary says "Websters" does not mean it is good quality. "Websters" as a term has long been in the public domain. This book looks good but misses many less common words. Try looking up "ouroboros" or "ex nihilo" in this dictionary. If you are just looking for common business or everyday exchange type words, this one will do. But if you are buying it for a more comprehensive word list, don't buy it. I regret that I wasted money on this one. I've ordered Merriam-Webster's dictionary in its place.

English is a living language, constantly evolving and absorbing new words from our fast-changing world. The latest edition of this classic reflects those changes and additions which have become part of our daily language and lives. When I updated from the 30-year-old 3rd edition to the current 5th edition, I was pleased to find that the editors had executed the update accurately and meticulously.However, I was disappointed to find the new fonts employed to modernize the dictionary's visual style did so at the expense of its readability. The small type that must be used in a dictionary always requires a compromise between compactness and usability. The usability of the Fifth Edition suffers compared to the 3rd Edition due to the choice of a very light text typeface printed on whiter, but less ink absorbent paper which fails to provide sufficient density for easy reading at that font size.

1. I didn't realize this fifth edition was not thumb-indexed (maybe there is none) as is the fourth.2. The typeface for word definitions is smaller and lighter than that of the fourth. They're hardly readable. The same for the 'word' entry--smaller and lighter than that of the fourth, although readable. I returned this edition.3. I will forgo the 'more than 4,700 entries and senses [that] have been added', and the 'tens of thousands of revisions [that] have been made to existing senses to reflect current usage', and continue to use my thumb-indexed readable fourth edition.

I am surprised, positively surprised, at the high quality of this 5th edition. I merely want to explore the differences between the British variety and the American variety of the language.But I have no prior knowledge that Webster's New World have been chosen as the dictionary of first choice for New York Times and The Associated Press. The definitions are written with concision and clarity. No wonder it has been given such high status in the US and $1 pricier than another collegiate dictionary.If there is one thing that the Webster's New World need to further perfect the dictionary, that will be inclusion of more examples to show various uses of words. Words are better defined in the company of surrounding words.

NEW IS NOT BETTER; BE WARNED.The list below are things NOT found in this "new" dictionary.Not as great as my 1977 Webster's New Collegiate Dictionary. My 1977 has more things things in it I just loveA 1977 Webster's New Collegiate Dictionary includes:-Very long "Explanatory Notes" on the English language,-The History of English,-Tabular Hisry of the English Language,-when you go to "Braile" in the Dictionary....it shows you the Braille alphabet,-when you look up "Indo-European Languages"--it gives you a chart form them in Ancient, Medieval, Modern.-when you look up "Semapore", it shows you the semaphore alphabet-when you look up Weights and Measures, there is a HUGE chart of all weights/meausres and equivalents-pages of "Foreign Words and Phrases"-pages of "Biographical Names"-pages of "Geographical Names"-pages of "Colleges and Universities"-pages of "'Signs and Symbols" in Astronomy, Biology, Business, Chemestry, Flow chart, Mathematics, Medicine, Misc, Physics, Referance marks, stamps and stamp collection, Weather-"Hand book of style" pages.-"Forms of Address" when writing letters to people-Examples of how to type "Style in Business Correspondence" (Block, Modified Block, Modified Semi-Block, Indented.This is just a simple dictionary. Words defined very simply--almost elementary school level. I was really disapointed when I looked through this book--it's just not enriching enough to be a go-to referance book/dictionary.

I use this product for my own use which includes learning new vocabulary.What I liked about this dictionary was:1- The quality of its printing.2- The quality of paper used for the specific purpose.3- User-friendly description (i.e. easy to understand due to its type of explanation and description of words).4- It has American plus British spelling.

Excellent American dictionary.

I bought this new edition of the Webster Dictionay to replace the edition I owned from 1976! I am very pleased as I use it quite often and an up-to-date was welcome.

Great dictionary, and arrived quickly.

FGreat value & contents.