HOW TO USE THE DICTIONARY
To look up an entry in The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language, use the search window above. For best results, after typing in the word, click on the “Search” button instead of using the “enter” key.
Some compound words (like bus rapid transit, dog whistle, or identity theft) don’t appear on the drop-down list when you type them in the search bar. For best results with compound words, place a quotation mark before the compound word in the search window.
THE USAGE PANEL
The Usage Panel is a group of nearly 200 prominent scholars, creative writers, journalists, diplomats, and others in occupations requiring mastery of language. Annual surveys have gauged the acceptability of particular usages and grammatical constructions.
AMERICAN HERITAGE DICTIONARY APP
The new American Heritage Dictionary app is now available for iOS and Android.
THE AMERICAN HERITAGE DICTIONARY BLOG
The articles in our blog examine new words, revised definitions, interesting images from the fifth edition, discussions of usage, and more.
INTERESTED IN DICTIONARIES?
Check out the Dictionary Society of North America at http://www.dictionarysociety.com
v. bel·lowed, bel·low·ing, bel·lows v.intr. 1. To make the deep roaring sound characteristic of a bull. 2. To shout in a deep voice. v.tr. To utter in a loud, powerful voice. See Synonyms at yell. n. 1. The roar of a large animal, such as a bull. 2. A very loud utterance or other sound. [Middle English belwen, perhaps from Old English belgan, to be enraged, and bylgan, to bellow.] bellow·er n. |
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition copyright ©2022 by HarperCollins Publishers. All rights reserved.
pl.n. (used with a sing. or pl. verb) 1. a. An apparatus for producing a strong current of air, as for sounding a pipe organ or increasing the draft to a fire, consisting of a flexible, valved air chamber that is contracted and expanded by pumping to force the air through a nozzle. b. Something, such as the pleated windbag of an accordion, that resembles this apparatus. 2. The lungs. [Middle English belowes, from Old English belgas, pl. of belg; see bhelgh- in the Appendix of Indo-European roots.]  (click for a larger image) bellowsthree-row diatonic accordion |
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition copyright ©2022 by HarperCollins Publishers. All rights reserved.
