About the Libraries  > Reference & Instructional Services
 

How do I...?

Find a Dictionary

• Find an online dictionary or thesaurus
• Find an English language dictionary
• Find a foreign language dictionary

Find an online dictionary or thesaurus

• CU Oxford English Dictionary
• Alternative Dictionaries - words and expressions you most likely won't find in a normal dictionary including slang, insults, racial slurs, and terms for bodily functions and sexual acts
• American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language - by Bartleby.com
• Cambridge Dictionaries Online - by Cambridge University Press
• Dictionary.com- includes translation dictionaries, grammar help, thesaurus, writing guides, word of the day and more
• OneLook Dictionaries - complete dictionary and glossary list
• Roget's Thesauri - by Bartleby.com
• Webster's Hypertext Dictionary - access to various dictionary services.
• yourDictionary.com - portal for language and language-related products and services on the web with more than 1800 dictionaries with more than 250 languages

Find an English language dictionary

To find the location and call number of dictionaries in the Libraries, you can go to the Chinook library catalog, choose the "LC Subject Heading" search option, and then type in the language you want followed by the terms "language dictionaries." If you know the name of the dictionary you are looking for, you can do a title or keyword search on its name.

Many frequently used dictionaries are located in the Reference Stacks in Norlin Library in the following call number sequence:

Find a foreign language dictionary

The Libraries own an extensive collection of foreign language dictionaries, including directories in the languages of other countries and bilingual dictionaries.

Electronic Dictionaries | Print Dictionaries

Electronic Dictionaries available at CU

• Oxford Digital Reference Shelf CU
• The Oxford Business French Dictionary (English-French) CU
• The Oxford Business French Dictionary (French-English) CU
• The Oxford Business Spanish Dictionary (English-Spanish) CU
• The Oxford Business Spanish Dictionary (Spanish-English) CU
• The Concise Oxford-Hachette French Dictionary (English-French) CU
• The Concise Oxford-Hachette French Dictionary (French-English) CU
• The Concise Oxford German Dictionary (English-German) CU
• The Concise Oxford German Dictionary (German-English) CU
• The Pocket Oxford Irish Dictionary (English-Irish) CU
• The Pocket Oxford Irish Dictionary (Irish-English) CU
• The Pocket Oxford Italian Dictionary (English-Italian) CU
• The Pocket Oxford Italian Dictionary (Italian-English) CU
• The Pocket Oxford Latin Dictionary (English-Latin) CU
• The Pocket Oxford Latin Dictionary (Latin-English) CU
• The Concise Oxford Spanish Dictionary (English-Spanish) CU
• The Concise Oxford Spanish Dictionary (Spanish-English) CU
• The Pocket Modern Welsh Dictionary (English-Welsh) CU
• The Pocket Modern Welsh Dictionary (Welsh-English) CU

Free Online Resources

French

• ARTFL French/English Dictionary
• WordReference.com
• Base de données lexicographiques panfrancophone
• Dictionnaire Littré en ligne

Spanish

• Collins Lexibase
• English<>Spanish Dictionary (Granada University, Spain)
• Merriam-Webster's Spanish-English Dictionary
• Diccionario de la lengua española (RAE)
• Diccionarios en línea para hispanohablantes

German

• BEOLINGUS (German-English Dictionary)
• Collins English German/ German English Dictionary
• FreeDic
• Grimms deutsches Wörterbuch

Italian

• LOGOS Dictionary
• Parole nuove
• R-O-Matic Italian/English Dictionary
• Tesoro della Lingua Italiana delle Origini
• Wordreference.com

Print Dictionaries

Many of them are located in the Reference Stacks in Norlin Library. A call number chart similar to the one below is located on the end of Reference Stacks Row 6. Also check the Norlin stacks (on the third floor) for dictionaries that you can check out.

CU = Resources marked with this symbol are available in campus libraries and to students, staff, and faculty via the campus network. Use of these resources is subject to copyright laws and license limitations. Off-campus access information.