Research Guides: Literature: Reference and More: Dictionaries

Dictionaries: Standard, Idioms, Proverbs, Slang, Figures of Speech

Oxford English Dictionary This link opens in a new window
The definitive English language dictionary. It includes etymologies and traces historical word development, starting with the first known use.
Dictionary of American Regional English (DARE) This link opens in a new window
Regional differences in American English
Dictionary of Old English: A to I Online This link opens in a new window
Defines English vocabulary from 600-1150 CE

The American Heritage Dictionary of Idioms
Brewer's Dictionary of Phrase and Fable
Entries on the meaning and origin of a vast range of words and expressions
NTC's Dictionary of American Slang and Colloquial Expressions
Defines over ten thousand examples of American slang and provides information on usage and taboo language.
The Dictionary of Modern Proverbs
English language proverbs that originated in the twentieth and twenty-first centuries.
A Dictionary of Varieties of English
Presents a comprehensive listing of the distinctive dialects and forms of English spoken throughout the contemporary world.
New Oxford American Dictionary
Oxford Dictionary of Rhymes
Contains rhymes for 45,000 words, including proper names, place names, and foreign terms used in English.