When to Start Using an English-English Dictionary: Getting Used to Plain-English Definitions

According to Oxford University Press, every definition in the Oxford Advanced Learner’s Dictionary (OALD) is written using words from the Oxford 3000, a list of core English words (Teaching English with Oxford). The same article traces the OALD back to the Idiomatic and Syntactic English Dictionary, edited by A. S. Hornby and others and published in Japan by Kaitakusha in 1942, which it calls the world’s first fully-fledged English-English dictionary for learners. Learner’s dictionaries were designed from the start to explain words in simple English.

Even so, many learners think of monolingual dictionaries as something for advanced students. This post covers when to move from a bilingual dictionary to an English-English one, and how to use it once you do.

When to start

One way to judge the right time is not by your school year or exam level but by whether you can read the definitions of basic words. As above, learner’s dictionaries write their definitions with a core vocabulary of roughly 2,000 to 3,000 words. If you mostly know those words, you should be able to read most definitions.

Checking is simple. Pick about ten words whose meaning you already know and look them up in a learner’s dictionary. Some, like the online Cambridge Dictionary, are free. If most of the definitions make it clear which word they describe, you are ready. If many definitions contain several words you don’t know and the meaning doesn’t come through, it is fine to keep your bilingual dictionary as the main one for a while and build your vocabulary first.

You also don’t have to switch all at once. One way to begin is to use the English-English dictionary only for words you half know. Because you already have a rough idea of the answer, you can get through a definition even when its English is a little hard. Start with a split like this: unknown words in the bilingual dictionary, checking familiar words in the monolingual one. Then shift the balance gradually.

What an English-English dictionary does well

It shows differences that translations hide. In many languages, “see”, “look” and “watch” all translate to the same verb. An English-English dictionary explains the difference in its definitions: “see” is about something reaching your eyes, “look” is about turning your eyes towards something, and “watch” is about paying attention to something for a period of time. When one word in your language matches several in English, a translation alone won’t tell you which to use.

You stay in English. Looking up a word in a bilingual dictionary while reading switches your mind back to your own language. With a monolingual dictionary, you check the meaning without leaving the flow of English.

The definitions are reading practice. Definitions are short sentences built from core words. Look up a few words every day and you are reading those core words in new combinations every day.

Examples and usage come with it. Learner’s dictionaries are rich in example sentences and information about which words go together. That helps when you write and speak, not only when you read.

Where it doesn’t work so well

Monolingual dictionaries have their weak spots. For names of plants and animals, illnesses and technical terms, one translated word is faster than a long English explanation. For abstract words, the definition can be harder than the word itself. Sometimes you look up a word in the definition, and its definition contains another word you don’t know.

In those cases, you can simply use your bilingual dictionary or a translation. Moving to an English-English dictionary doesn’t mean throwing the bilingual one away. It means the monolingual one is the first one you open.

How the learner’s dictionaries differ

Each publisher’s learner’s dictionary has its own character.

• Oxford (OALD): definitions written with Oxford 3000 words, as above. Words in the Oxford 3000 are marked in the dictionary.
• Longman (LDOCE): has its own restricted list of defining words, the Longman Defining Vocabulary, and was an early adopter of this approach.
• Cambridge: the online Cambridge Dictionary is free, and many entries show a CEFR level from A1 to C2, so you can see at what stage a word is usually learned.
• Collins COBUILD: known for full-sentence definitions such as “If you …, you …”, which put the word inside a sentence. The definition itself shows how the word is used.

As long as it is made for learners, you can choose whichever you will keep using: paper or app, free or paid, how many examples it gives.

How WordNet differs from a learner’s dictionary

You may also come across WordNet as a source of English definitions. WordNet is a lexical database of English built at Princeton University. It groups words into sets of synonyms (synsets) and gives each a short definition.

The main difference from a learner’s dictionary is its purpose. WordNet aims to cover the relationships between word meanings broadly, and it does not restrict its definitions to easy words. In return, it lists many fine distinctions of meaning for a single word. A learner’s dictionary explains the most common meanings first, in simple words, with examples. One way to divide them is simple learner definitions for core words and a comprehensive resource like WordNet for finer senses and less common words.

Getting used to English definitions with ABC George

ABC George, an app I make for iPhone and iPad, lets you read Project Gutenberg classics with a built-in dictionary. It is free, with no ads and no in-app purchases, and the dictionary works without a connection.

Long-press a word in the text and tap Look up. For core words, the sheet opens with “In plain English”, a simple learner definition. These cover the words in the app’s NGSL, NAWL and NGSL-Spoken word lists, 3,788 words in all. NGSL is a list of words common in general English, NAWL of words common in academic writing, and NGSL-Spoken of words common in speech. Below that come the WordNet 3.1 senses, grouped by part of speech: nouns, verbs, adjectives and so on. The split above, simple definitions for core words and a comprehensive dictionary for finer senses, happens within one sheet.

You can choose whether the simple definition comes first with “Plain-English definition first” in Settings. When an English definition doesn’t click, the translate button in the sheet opens Google Translate inside the app. Pick the target language under “Translate into” in Settings; it starts as your device language. To read a learner’s dictionary entry, choose Cambridge in the selection menu and the Cambridge Dictionary entry opens inside the app.

One possible order: read “In plain English” first, and if that is enough, keep reading. If it doesn’t fit the sentence, check the WordNet senses. If you still aren’t sure, open the translation. Every word you look up is saved to your word book with its definition and the sentence you met it in.

Which words to look up is in Which Words Should You Look Up When Reading in English?, how many words you need is in How Many English Words Do You Need to Read a Novel?, building a word book is in Build Your English Vocabulary Notebook from Your Own Reading, and Getting Started with ABC George walks through your first book.