Oxford English Dictionary

The Oxford English Dictionary (OED) is the main historical dictionary of the English language, put out by Oxford University Press (OUP), a publishing house of the University of Oxford. Starting in 1884, this dictionary looks at how the English language has changed over time. It is a very helpful tool for scholars and researchers, and it keeps describing how English is used around the world.

People started working on the dictionary in 1857, but it wasn’t published until 1884. At first, it came out in small parts called fascicles while more parts were still being worked on. Originally, it was called A New English Dictionary on Historical Principles; Founded Mainly on the Materials Collected by The Philological Society. In 1895, it began to be called The Oxford English Dictionary on the covers, and in 1928, the whole dictionary was printed in 10 books.

In 1933, the name The Oxford English Dictionary was used for sure in all copies, printed in 12 books with an extra book of additions. More additions came out over the years until 1989, when the second edition was published in 20 books with 21,728 pages. Since 2000, work has been happening on a third edition, about half done by 2018.

In 1988, the first computer version of the dictionary became available, and the online version has been ready to use since 2000. By April 2014, it was getting over two million visits each month. The third edition will likely only be available on computers, and it probably won’t ever be printed.

Historical nature

The Oxford English Dictionary is a special kind of dictionary that shows how words have changed over time. For each word, it starts with the oldest known meaning and then shows newer meanings in the order they appeared. After each meaning, it gives short examples from books and other writings that show how the word was used, helping us see when and how it changed.

The way the OED uses examples has inspired many other dictionary projects. Unlike some earlier dictionaries that used few examples, the OED chose many short examples from lots of different books and writers. This approach has been used by many dictionaries ever since.

Main article: lexicography

Main articles: Deutsches Wörterbuch

Entries and relative size

As of January 2026, the Oxford English Dictionary had 520,779 words, 888,251 meanings, 3,927,862 examples, and 821,712 thesaurus words. The last full printed version (second edition, 1989) had 20 books with 291,500 words in 21,730 pages. The longest word to explain was "set," needing 60,000 words for about 580 meanings.

Even though it is very big, the OED is not the world's largest or earliest dictionary. Other big dictionaries include the Grimm brothers 33-book German dictionary, Deutsches Wörterbuch, which began in 1838 and finished in 1961. The first great dictionary for a modern European language (Italian) was the first edition of the Vocabolario degli Accademici della Crusca, published in 1612. The first edition of the Dictionnaire de l'Académie française came from 1694. The official Spanish dictionary is the Diccionario de la lengua española, first printed in 1780. The Kangxi Dictionary of Chinese was published in 1716. The biggest dictionary by pages is thought to be the Dutch Woordenboek der Nederlandsche Taal. By number of definitions, the online dictionary Wiktionary has the most, with 1,680,897 English meanings and 11,361,634 meanings across all languages as of January 2026.

History

The Oxford English Dictionary (OED) started as a project by a group of intellectuals in London. They were not happy with the existing English dictionaries and wanted to create a new one. The project began in 1857 but wasn’t published until 1884.

Richard Chenevix Trench played a big role at first but left to take another job. Herbert Coleridge became the first editor but sadly passed away not long after. Frederick Furnivall took over next but struggled to keep things organized. Eventually, James Murray became the editor and worked with others to bring the dictionary to life.

The first part of the dictionary was published in 1884. Over the years, more editors joined to help finish the work. The dictionary took many years to complete, with the final part published in 1928. It includes words from many writers and sources, making it a rich resource for understanding the history of the English language.

Later, updates and supplements were added to include new words and changes in the language. Today, the OED continues to grow with new entries added regularly.

Formats

Compact editions

In 1971, the 13-volume OED1 was printed in a smaller, two-volume form. Each page was made half its original size, fitting four original pages on one small page. A magnifying glass was included to help read the tiny print. Many people bought these smaller books through book clubs. In 1987, a third volume was added to this smaller edition.

The 20-volume OED2 was also printed in a compact form in 1991. This version was one-third the size of the original, fitting nine original pages on one small page. It needed a stronger magnifying glass, which was included. This version had definitions for 500,000 words.

Electronic versions

After the dictionary was put into a computer, it could also be published on CD-ROM. The first version became available in 1987. Later, three versions of the second edition were made. Version 1 (1992) had the same words as the printed book and could be copied. Version 2 (1999) added new words from 1993 and 1997. These CD-ROM versions worked only on Microsoft Windows.

Version 3.0 came out in 2002 with more words and better software. Version 3.1.1 in 2007 could be installed on a computer's hard drive, so you didn’t need the CD to use it. This version could also work on other operating systems using special programs. Version 4.0 was released in June 2009 and worked on both Windows (7 and later) and MacOS X (10.4 and later). It used the CD for installation but ran from the computer's hard drive.

On 14 March 2000, the Oxford English Dictionary Online became available to people who paid to use it. This online version is updated every three months with changes that will be part of the OED3. It is the most current version of the dictionary. The website is not easy to use on mobile devices, but plans exist to make it work better on phones and tablets.

Using the online version costs £100 or US$100 a year, so most users are big organizations like universities. Some public libraries in the United Kingdom and New Zealand also pay for it. People who belong to these libraries can use the service at home for free.

Relationship to other Oxford dictionaries

The Oxford English Dictionary has helped create many other dictionaries that carry the Oxford name, although not all are directly connected to it.

The Shorter Oxford English Dictionary started in 1902 and finished in 1933. It is a shorter version of the full dictionary, keeping its historical focus but leaving out words that were no longer used before 1700, except those found in the works of Shakespeare, Milton, Spenser, and the King James Bible.

The Concise Oxford Dictionary focuses only on current English and does not include historical information. It was first published in 1911 and has been updated many times to reflect changes in how we use English today.

The New Oxford Dictionary of English was published in 1998. Unlike the others, it was created using modern language research methods and is not based on the Oxford English Dictionary. After this, new versions of the Concise Oxford Dictionary were made from the New Oxford Dictionary of English. This dictionary continues to be the main source for Oxford’s current English dictionaries, including the New Oxford American Dictionary. The Oxford English Dictionary remains the key resource for scholarly historical dictionaries.

Spelling

Main article: Oxford spelling

The Oxford English Dictionary uses British spellings for main words, like labour and centre, but also shows other ways to spell them, such as labor and center. When it comes to endings that often end in -ise in British English, the dictionary prefers to use -ize, like realize instead of realise, and globalization instead of globalisation. This choice is based on the history of these endings, which come from ancient Greek and Latin. Sometimes, using -ze is seen as an American way of spelling, like in the word analyze, which is spelt analyse in British English.

Reception and criticism

Many people admire the Oxford English Dictionary, with one British prime minister calling it a "national treasure" and an author calling it a "lex icon." However, the dictionary has faced some criticism since the 1960s. Some feel it focuses too much on British English and does not give enough attention to English spoken around the world. It has also been noted for being very careful about which words it includes, sometimes leaving out useful words from newspapers and other sources.

The dictionary has worked to change some of these practices. It now tries to describe how words are used rather than saying what is "right" or "wrong." It is also working on a special dictionary for African American English with help from Harvard University. Some critics also point out that the dictionary was slow to include certain words, partly because of old-fashioned ideas about language. Despite these challenges, the dictionary continues to be an important resource for understanding the English language.

Research using the OED

The OED helps people study how words change and grow. Researchers use it to look at how words get new meanings, like when we use a word in a new way that wasn’t its original meaning. They also study how some words, like “foot,” started as a real measurement and later came to mean something else. The OED even helps us see patterns in how new words are made by mixing parts of other words, such as creating “brunch” from “breakfast” and “lunch.”

The OED in popular culture

The British quiz show Countdown gave the complete leather-bound version of the dictionary as a prize to the champions of each series from 1982 until 2010. The prize was stopped in 2021 because it was thought to be out of date.

The 2020 novel The Dictionary of Lost Words by Pip Williams is about the creation of the OED. The story follows a child narrator who spends time in the Scriptorium and later becomes an assistant there. The book has been adapted for the stage, and a television series is planned.

The 2019 film The Professor and the Madman stars Mel Gibson and Sean Penn. It shows how Professor James Murray began compiling words for the first edition of the Oxford English Dictionary in the 19th century, with help from many entries sent by a patient at Broadmoor Criminal Lunatic Asylum, Dr. William Chester Minor.