Word.ws English Dictionary

How to use dictionary in a sentence

40 example sentences · noun, verb

Dictionary means a reference work listing words or names from one or more languages, usually ordered alphabetically, explaining each term's meanings or senses, often also containing information on its etymology, pronunciation, usage, semantic relations, translations, as well as other relevant information. Example: “If you want to know the meaning of a word, look it up in the dictionary.”

Examples of dictionary by meaning

nounA reference work listing words or names from one or more languages, usually ordered alphabetically, explaining each...

  • If you want to know the meaning of a word, look it up in the dictionary.

nounA synchronic dictionary of a standardised language held to only contain words that are properly part of the language.

  • Look it up in the dictionary, and what do you find?1930, Norman Lindsay, chapter 6, in Redheap, Sydney, N.S.W.: Ure Smith, →OCLC, section I, page 106
  • By 1986 the name Walkman was included as a word in the English dictionary.2019, John Hughes, Life Pre-Intermediate Student's Book, National Geographic Learning, page 188

nounA reference work on a particular subject or activity in which the entries are arranged alphabetically; an alphabetical...

  • a law dictionary
  • a dictionary of sports

nounAn associative array; a data structure where each value is referenced by a particular key, analogous to words and...

  • User calls RouteCollection.GetVirtualPath, passing in a RequestContext, a dictionary of values, and an optional route name used to select the correct route to generate the URL.2011, Jon Galloway, Phil Haack, Brad Wilson, Professional ASP.NET MVC 3

verbTo add to a dictionary.

  • Should I use a word that a lot of people use but isn't in the dictionary?2001, The Michigan Alumnus, page 25

More sentences with dictionary

  • The name Wiktionary is a play on the words wiki and dictionary.From the entry play
  • Your dictionary defines "brave" as "courageous", and "courageous" as "brave". That's a circular definition.From the entry circular
  • Samuel Johnson compiled one of the most influential dictionaries of the English language.From the entry compile
  • It's worth keeping a dictionary around in case you come across an unfamiliar word.From the entry keep around
  • Elizabeth knows so many words that they call her the walking dictionary.From the entry walking
  • I didn't know what a mitochondrion was until I looked it up in a dictionary.From the entry look up
  • I had no prior knowledge of linguistics, but that didn't stop me from writing a dictionary.From the entry prior knowledge
  • Some dictionaries list hyphenated words as though they contained no punctuation.From the entry hyphenated
  • He pulled out a well-thumbed dictionary and began searching for a translation.From the entry well-thumbed
  • Wiktionary provides great step-by-steps on how to create a complete dictionary entry.From the entry step-by-step
  • To find the meaning of a word, your first port of call should be a decent dictionary.From the entry first port of call
  • The dictionary chose to unhyphenate "cry-baby", and listed it as "crybaby".From the entry unhyphenate
  • Experts warn against using ordinary words as passwords as they are vulnerable to dictionary attacks.From the entry dictionary attack
  • Wiktionary is meant to be both an explanatory dictionary and a translation dictionary.From the entry translation dictionary
  • As I writer, I always keep a dictionary close at hand.From the entry close at hand
  • Each illustration in the dictionary is accompanied by a sign gloss, like CAT or HAPPY.From the entry sign gloss
  • Holding a brick over your head is hard work. It takes a lot of work to write a dictionary.From the entry work
  • This dictionary shows the phonetics of the words.From the entry phonetics
  • My cheap dictionary is not the authority on word derivations.From the entry authority
  • An abridged dictionary can be further condensed to pocket size.From the entry condense
  • The online dictionary is regularly spidered by search engines.From the entry spider
  • I have decided to become an oil magnate, after spending quite some time reading the dictionary definition of the word magnate.From the entry magnate
  • “Wiktionary is a good dictionary” is a proposition.From the entry proposition
  • Entries in English dictionaries aim to reflect common usage.From the entry reflect
  • I'll need another dictionary beside this one.From the entry beside
  • I unlocked the dictionary article so I could edit it.From the entry unlock
  • He chanced upon the definition when leafing through the dictionary.From the entry chanced
  • I can't find this word in my print dictionary; let me go look it up on the internets.From the entry internets
  • The OED is the gold standard for English dictionaries.From the entry gold standard
  • Will online dictionaries ever supplant paper dictionaries?From the entry supplant
  • Most dictionaries cover most adverbs with only run-on entries.From the entry run-on
  • The new edition of the dictionary contains several antedatings.From the entry antedating
  • The unsourced quote was useless as a dictionary citation since no one could tell if it had actually been printed.From the entry unsourced

Meaning of dictionary

  1. noun A reference work listing words or names from one or more languages, usually ordered alphabetically, explaining each term's meanings or senses, often also containing information on its etymology, pronunciation, usage, semantic relations, translations, as well as other relevant information.
  2. noun A synchronic dictionary of a standardised language held to only contain words that are properly part of the language.
  3. noun A reference work on a particular subject or activity in which the entries are arranged alphabetically; an alphabetical encyclopedia.

Full definition of dictionary

Questions about dictionary in a sentence

How do you use dictionary in a sentence?
Dictionary is used as a noun and verb. For example: “If you want to know the meaning of a word, look it up in the dictionary.”
What is a short sentence with dictionary?
“a law dictionary”
What does dictionary mean?
Dictionary means a reference work listing words or names from one or more languages, usually ordered alphabetically, explaining each term's meanings or senses, often also containing information on its etymology, pronunciation, usage, semantic relations, translations, as well as other relevant information.

Source and license

Adapted from Wiktionary: dictionary (page history and authors) and the entries each sentence comes from. Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws chose the sentences, left out offensive ones and quotations older than 1900, and marked the word in each. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.

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Cite this page: “How to use dictionary in a sentence.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/sentences/dictionary. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.