Online Dictionary

Frequently Asked Questions

We hope the following FAQs will answer most of the questions you may have about the free online dictionary. If they don't, then please contact our marketing department at askmarketing@oup.com. We will try to deal with your query as quickly as possible.

Why can't I find the word of the day entry in your online dictionary?

The free dictionary available on AskOxford is the Compact Oxford English Dictionary of Current English. This covers a good proportion of the words needed for everyday use.

The entries for the AskOxford Word of the Day are taken from the Oxford Dictionary of English. Many of the words featured in our Word of the Day service won't be found in the Compact Oxford English Dictionary of Current English

Where can I get audio pronunciation for the dictionary entries?

Audio pronunciations are available on the Concise Oxford English Dictionary on CD-ROM and the Shorter Oxford English Dictionary (fifth edition) on CD-ROM.

Why can't I find a word when I search, even though I know the word is in the dictionary

Some words are blocked by our search facility, so you won't find them by searching. Words you won't find by searching include:
  • a
  • about
  • after
  • all
  • also
  • an
  • and
  • any
  • are
  • as
  • at
  • be
  • because
  • been
  • but
  • by
  • can
  • co
  • could
  • for
  • from
  • had
  • has
  • have
  • he
  • her
  • his
  • if
  • in
  • inc
  • into
  • is
  • it
  • its
  • last
  • more
  • most
    		•
  • Mr
  • Mrs
  • Ms
  • no
  • not
  • of
  • on
  • one
  • only
  • or
  • other
  • out
  • over
  • s
  • she
  • so
  • some
  • such
  • than
  • that
  • the
  • their
  • there
  • they
  • this
  • to
  • up
  • was
  • we
  • were
  • when
  • which
  • who
  • will
  • with
  • would
    		•