Guide to the Online American Heritage Dictionary

The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition, is a record of English vocabulary as it is used by a broad and diverse group of educated speakers and writers. Its word list reflects the many complex elements that constitute our language. This guide explains how we have organized and presented the great array of information contained in the online dictionary and is intended to enable you to find and understand that information quickly and easily.

Superscript numbers

Unrelated words with identical spellings are entered separately and have superscript, or raised, numbers: tick¹ (“A light, sharp, clicking sound”), tick² (“A small bloodsucking arachnid”), tick³ (“A cloth case for a mattress or pillow”), etc.

Syllabication

An entry word and its derived forms are divided into syllables by dots: ac·e·tate. In entries such as ethyl acetate that consist of two or more words separated by spaces, the words without centered dots are divided into syllables at their own places in the dictionary. Pronunciations are syllabicated as well, for the sake of clarity. Sometimes the syllabication of the pronunciation differs from the syllabication of the entry word because the division of the pronunciation follows phonological rules, while the division of the entry word reflects the established practice of printers and editors in breaking words at the end of a line for ease of reading.

Pronunciation

To hear the pronunciation of the word spoken aloud, you can simply click on the speaker icon that appears immediately after the word at the beginning of the entry. The pronunciation is also represented by special symbols that are enclosed in parentheses and appear after the boldface entry word. If an entry word and a variant of that entry word share the same pronunciation, the pronunciation is shown immediately after the variant. If the pronunciation of the variant differs, pronunciations follow the forms to which they apply. If an entry or variant includes more than one pronunciation, subsequent pronunciations show only the syllables that are different in sound quality or stress from the first pronunciation or that are necessary for clarity. When multiple pronunciations are shown, the first is assumed to be the most common, but the difference in frequency may be insignificant.

Stress

The relative emphasis with which the syllables of a word or phrase are spoken, called stress, is indicated in three different ways. The strongest, or primary, stress is marked with a bold mark (). An intermediate, or secondary, level of stress is marked with a similar but lighter mark (′). The weakest stress is unmarked. Words of one syllable show no stress mark.

Variants

Written English in the United States is relatively standardized, but it nonetheless allows for many variant spellings and stylings. All variants shown in this dictionary are acceptable in any context unless a restrictive label, such as a dialect label, indicates otherwise. Variants appear in boldface and are of two kinds: equal and unequal.

• Equal variants The word or joining an entry word and its variant (on·line or on-line) indicates that these forms occur with roughly equal frequency in edited sources based on our electronic and printed citational evidence.
• Unequal variants The word also joining an entry word and its variant (am·bi·ance also am·bi·ence) indicates that the variant form occurs less frequently than the form given first.

Variants that are alphabetically very close to their entry words do not have their own entries entered in the online dictionary. All other variants are entered as cross-references:

British variants

A number of variants consist of spellings preferred in the United Kingdom and in many former British colonies and territories other than the United States. These variants, such as defence and colour, are labeled Chiefly British. They have their own entries but are not listed at the American-English entries to which they relate. (Words that end with the suffix –ize, such as realize, are an exception to this rule. In most cases, this dictionary does not enter the British spelling ending in –ise at all.) When a word with a chiefly British variant occurs in compounds, the variant is not repeated at the compound. For example, the chiefly British variant colour is given for color but not for colorblind, color guard, and other such compounds.

Part-of-Speech Labels

The following italicized labels indicate parts of speech:

• adj. adjective
• adv. adverb
• conj. conjunction
• def.art. definite article
• indef.art. indefinite article
• interj. interjection
• n. noun
• prep. preposition
• pron. pronoun
• v. verb

The part-of-speech labels are supplemented as necessary by the following additional abbreviations:

• pl. plural
• sing. singular
• pl.n. plural noun
• tr. transitive
• intr. intransitive
• aux. auxiliary
• pref. prefix
• suff. suffix
• abbr. abbreviation

Certain entries, such as contractions, symbols, and trademarks, do not have part-of-speech labels.

Sometimes an entry word fulfills more than one grammatical function. For example, current can be an adjective (current pricing; current negotiations) and a noun (a current of air; the swift current of a river; electric current). In such cases the different parts of speech are defined within a single entry called a combined entry. The shift in grammatical function is indicated by the appropriate part-of-speech label. Syllabications and pronunciations that differ for these parts of speech are also included, along with any variant spellings. Inflected forms are given if necessary and are followed by definitions:

Inflections

Some entries include additional inflected forms of the word in question, such as principal parts of verbs (cap·i·tal·ize, -ized, -iz·ing, -iz·es), degrees of comparison of adjectives and adverbs formed by inflection (a·ble, a·bler, a·blest), and irregular plurals of nouns and plurals whose formation might cause a spelling problem (ra·di·us, -di·i, -di·us·es). These inflected forms are usually shortened to the last syllable of the entry word plus the inflectional ending.

Principal parts of verbs

The principal parts of verbs are listed in this order: past tense, past participle, present participle, and third person singular present tense. For example, fly¹(flī) has the principal parts flew, flown, fly·ing, flies. When the past tense and the past participle are identical, only three principal parts are given.

Comparison of adjectives and adverbs

Adjectives and adverbs whose comparative and superlative degrees are formed by adding –er and –est to the unchanged word show these comparative and superlative suffixes immediately after the part-of-speech label:

Irregular comparative and superlative forms are given in full, as in bad, worse, worst.

Irregular plurals

Plurals of nouns other than those formed regularly by adding the suffixes –s or –es are shown and labeled pl.:

When a noun has a regular and an irregular plural form, both forms appear:

Regular plurals are also shown when spelling might be a problem, as in the case of ra·di·o.

A noun that is chiefly or exclusively plural in both form and meaning, such as cat·tle, has the part-of-speech label pl.n. Nouns that are plural in form but sometimes or always take a plural verb, such as aer·o·bics and pol·i·tics, are labeled n. (used with a sing. verb) or n. (used with a sing. or pl. verb).

Separate entries for inflected forms

Inflected forms that are irregular are entered separately in the dictionary when they are not near the main entry word alphabetically. For instance, went (wĕnt) has its own entry where it is defined as the past tense of go¹. Inflections that fall very close to the main word alphabetically, such as muddled, the past tense of mudd·le, are not given their own entries.

Labels

This dictionary uses various labels to identify entries that are part of the terminology of specific subjects and entries for which usage is limited to certain geographical areas. Other labels provide guidance regarding various levels of formality and usage.

• A subject label, such as Chemistry or Sports, identifies the special area of knowledge to which an entry word or a single definition applies.
• A status label, such as Nonstandard, Slang, Informal, Offensive, or Derogatory, indicates that an entry word or a definition is limited to a particular level or style of usage. All words and definitions not restricted by such a label should be regarded as appropriate for use in all standard or formal contexts.
• The label Usage Problem label warns of possible difficulties or controversies involving grammar, diction, or writing style. A word or definition so labeled is discussed in a Usage Note.
• The labels Archaic and Obsolete signal words or senses whose use in modern English is uncommon. Archaic words have not been in common use since at least the early 1900s except in self-consciously old-fashioned or poetic contexts. The label Obsolete is used for words and senses that have not been in common use since at least the mid-1700s.
• A regional or dialect label, such as Chiefly British or Upper Midwest, indicates that a particular entry word or sense is mostly limited to specific areas of the English-speaking world or to particular parts of the United States.

Cross-references

A cross-reference signals that additional information about one entry can be found at another entry. Cross-references have two main functions: to avoid needless duplication of information and to indicate where further discussion of a word occurs. The entry referred to in a cross-reference appears in boldface type preceded by a brief descriptive or instructional phrase:

Order of Senses

Entries containing more than one sense are arranged for the convenience of the reader with the central and often the most commonly sought meaning first. Senses and subsenses are grouped to show their relationships with each other. For example, in the entry at fatal, the commonly sought meaning “Causing or capable of causing death” appears first and the now obsolete sense “Having been destined; fated” comes last in the series of five.

Information such as regional labels or alternate pronunciations that apply only to a particular sense or subsense is shown after the number or letter of that sense or subsense.

Illustrative Examples

In this dictionary there are tens of thousands of illustrative examples that follow the definitions and show the entry word in typical contexts. These illustrative examples appear in italics; about 5,000 of them are quotations. The examples are taken from our files of electronic and printed citations showing patterns of word usage by a broad group of educated speakers in a wide array of publications. These examples are especially helpful in showing changing usage, attesting new words and meanings, illustrating transitive and intransitive verbs, and exemplifying levels and styles of usage.

Phrasal Verbs

A phrasal verb, such as make up or set about, is an expression consisting of a verb and an adverb or a preposition that together have a meaning that is different from the total of the meanings of its constituent parts. Phrasal verbs, which appear in boldface, follow the main definitions in an entry and are listed in alphabetical order.

Idioms

An idiom is an expression, such as kick the bucket or under a cloud, consisting of two or more words whose meaning cannot be deduced from the literal meanings of its words. Idioms, like phrasal verbs, are listed alphabetically in boldface and fully defined near the end of an entry. Idioms normally appear at the entry for the first important invariant word in the idiom—usually a verb or noun.

Undefined Forms

At the end of many entries additional closely related words appear in boldface without definitions. These words, usually formed from the entry words by the addition (or in some cases, the subtraction) of suffixes, involve the same basic meaning as the entry word but have different grammatical functions, as indicated by their part-of-speech labels. For instance, the entry at ex·cuse includes four undefined forms: —ex·cusa·ble adj., —ex·cusa·ble·ness n., —ex·cusa·bly adv., and —ex·cuser n.