Product Description

Here is a new edition of the acclaimed Shorter Oxford English Dictionary, the first since 2002, updated, enlarged, and enlivened by new words, new definitions of old words, new illustrative quotations--and a new, fully customizable CD-ROM.
If the 20-volume Oxford English Dictionary is the mother of all dictionaries, the Shorter is its most accomplished offspring. At one-tenth the size of OED--and a fraction of the price--the Shorter offers one-third the content and the same quality of lexical excellence of its parent dictionary. Indeed, no other dictionary, apart from the OED itself, comes close to the Shorter's range and depth, offering over 500,000 definitions that cover virtually every word or phrase in use in English--worldwide--since 1700. Each entry offers everything you would expect from a leading unabridged dictionary: it identifies each word's various meanings, origins, part of speech, pronunciation, and combinations in which the word is often found, as well as cross-references to related words. The Shorter, however, offers something that no competitor can match: the historical, literary approach made justly famous by the OED. Thousand upon thousands of changing meanings are followed throughout history, illustrated by 85,000 quotations from 7,000 authors.

And now, with 2,500 new words and 500 new quotations, the Shorter is fresher than ever, fully responsive to ever-changing English language.
The Shorter Oxford Dictionary has opened its pages to the thousands of new words which have come into use since the previous edition and which have expanded the precision and expressive power of English. Here are such new words as Afrobeat, carbon-neutral, darknet, heaviosity, impactful, knuckle-dragger, nanomaterial, retro-futurist, smoosh, testosteronic, webinar, and thousands more. (To call someone a testosteronic, retro-futurist knuckle-dragger is no longer an incomprehensible insult).

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #17220 in Books
• Published on: 2007-09-20
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Hardcover
• 3888 pages

Review

"This latest (sixth edition) version of the Shorter (the full Oxford is 20 volumes) features 2,500 new words, including blogroll, cremains and crapola, but its real value is in its explanation of word origins and the distinguished examples of usage."--Seattle Times
"The big language book of the year."--William Safire, New York Times Magazine
"The one dictionary you ought to have."--Philadelphia Inquirer
"A browser's paradise....The Shorter Oxford English Dictionary remains the most reliable and certainly the most capacious of abridged dictionaries. Now with the CD-ROM thrown in, it is also the most convenient."--Edward Short, The American Spectator
"The Shorter Oxford English Dictionary is an affordable and highly useful resource and continues to deliver the high quality one expects. The addition of the CD-ROM makes it very portable and convenient to use."--American Reference Books Annual
"Academic and public libraries that do not own the second edition of the OED or the fifth edition of the Shorter should purchase the sixth edition since it contains a significant portion of the OED's content. Libraries with comprehensive collections will want the Shorter even if they have the other works."--Booklist, starred review
"The Shorter OED continues to be a superb source of information for information on English words from 1700 forward, plus Shakespearean and biblical vocabulary....Recommended. All levels."--CHOICE

Customer Reviews

Sadly not a major update
The Shorter OED is too Britocentric and does not cover North American English well. If you live in the US or Canada, the Merriam Webster is a much better work.
Unlike the OED, specific dates are not given and only date ranges such as E17 (for early 17th century) are provided.
The quotations are given haphazardly for some senses but not others and many words have no quotations at all. You might be better off getting the whole OED if you're interested in the history of words.
If you already have the fourth or fifth edition, do not bother buying this sixth edition as sadly little has changed. Apparently, Oxford University Press is more interested in churning out editions in order to pad its bottom line but won't make the effort to truly update the dictionary.

Finest dictionary
I got SOED from Amazon.com few weeks ago. It helps me a lot in translation of one English text in my first language. So far I can only say praise for the dictionary. Meanings of the headwords are listed in very clear manner - so I could find the best "shade" of meaning - which wasn't the case with my other dictionaries. Although I need glasses for reading - even reading illustration blocks isn't a problem. Symbols for pronunciation seem to me standard as in other dictionaries - it takes little practice, but if in doubt there is clear pronunciation on the CD.
As an example - headword 'apprehensive' has a list of 5 meanings, and four of them are illustrated by quotation ( quotations are in fine print, tinted). Origin of this word is given from French and Latin. Noun 'knowledge' has a list of 14 meanings followed by a long list of phrases. Another example - word 'Wesak' ( which I couldn't find in any other dictionary, it comes from Buddhist tradition) also has it's origin given.
It is for anyone who needs very precise meaning of words or is after rare words. Highly recommended.

A Meaningful Gift
I bought the Shorter English Dictionary for my daughter, and she loves it. It was a meaningful present that she will treasure. She uses it often.