Product Description

This newly updated edition of America's favorite dictionary features
revised biographical and geographical entries as well as up-to-date
charts and tables for topics such as world currencies and chemical
elements. Among the 500 entries new to this update are Amber Alert,
blogosphere, gravitino, halo effect, hawala, lycopene, malware, micropolis,
proteome, Qi Gong, SARS, shout-out, speed dating, sudoku, Texas hold'em,
text message, and wiki.

The renowned American Heritage® Usage Panel, a group of more
than 200 distinguished writers, scholars, and scientists, offers advice on
problems of grammar and style; engaging notes explain word histories
and clarify differences among synonyms; thousands of quotations and
example sentences show words in context; and elegant definitions are
enhanced by 4,000 full-color photographs, drawings, and maps, making
this one of the most readable dictionaries available anywhere.

This dictionary can also be purchased with a fully loadable
Windows® / Mac® CD-ROM that contains the entire text of the
updated Fourth Edition, 68,000 audio pronunciations, 1,000 full-color
photographs and illustrations, and a college-level thesaurus with more
than 260,000 synonyms. The CD-ROM has spell-check capability and
can be used in conjunction with any Microsoft® Office application to get
definitions at the click of a mouse.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #5298 in Books
• Published on: 2006-04-12
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Hardcover
• 2112 pages

About the Author
The Editors of the American Heritage Dictionaries and of other reference titles published by Houghton Mifflin Company are trained lexicographers with a varied array of interests and expertise. Most of the editors hold graduate degrees and have studied at least one foreign language. Several have degrees in linguistics or in the history of the English language. Others have degrees in science or sometimes other disciplines. All the editors familiarize themselves with the vocabulary in specific subject areas, collect materials on new developments and usage, and work in association with consultants to ensure that the content of our publications is as accurate and as up-to-date as possible.

Customer Reviews

American Heritage Dictionary
This is the best dictionary on the market. I have one at work and all the staff use it instead of the more common Merriam Webster dictionary. I just got one for home and my kids love it. It is easy to use and the word explanations and origins make sense.

Very nice
I was torn between the new AH and MW's, and went with the AH, although I don't think I could have gone wrong with either. The illustrations are very well done, add a lot of interest and the kids are much more likely to browse. I also like that the geographic and biographic entries are in with everything else. The pages are a bit thin, but any more paper would require a lift! Excellent quality and a very nice book.

An Excellent Buy
This dictionary is very detailed and in most instances provides pictures along with definitions. A good investment.