Collins English Dictionary
In 1979, the Collins English Dictionary launched as a printed volume in Glasgow. This specific edition marked a turning point for British lexicography. Patrick Hanks served as editor while Laurence Urdang acted as editorial director. Their team created the first British English dictionary typeset from a computer database output. Every single entry aspect was handled by different editors using unique forms or templates. Once all entries assembled, they passed to keyers who inputted data into a slowly built database. The completed database enabled the final typesetting of that initial print run. The original computer database later donated itself to the ACL Data Collection Initiative.
Language research drives the dictionary through the Collins Corpus system. This corpus contains over 20 billion words and updates continuously. Editors increasingly used the Bank of English established by John McHardy Sinclair at COBUILD. They replaced examples composed by individual lexicographers with typical citations from this bank. These authentic language examples ground every definition in actual usage rather than invented scenarios. The method ensures definitions reflect how people actually speak and write today. The scale of the corpus allows for precise tracking of word frequency and trends.
The unabridged Collins English Dictionary appeared online on the 31st of December 2011 via CollinsDictionary.com. That launch included unabridged dictionaries for French, German, Spanish, and Italian languages. The website integrated example sentences showing word usage directly from the Collins Bank of English Corpus. It also displayed word frequencies and trends derived from the Google Ngrams project. Word images from Flickr added visual context to many entries. In August 2012, the site introduced crowd-sourcing features for neologisms. Editorial control remained strict despite public contributions to distinguish it from Wiktionary or Urban Dictionary. A discussion forum for new words had launched earlier in 2004.
The thirteenth edition arrived in November 2018 as a major update cycle. The current fourteenth edition published on the 31st of August 2023 contained more than 732,000 words, meanings, and phrases. This count excludes headwords and includes specific place names and biographies. The dictionary lists 9,500 place names alongside 7,300 biographical entries. A newer version of the fourteenth edition followed shortly after on the 7th of May 2024. Earlier editions typically released once every three or four years. A special thirty-year anniversary tenth edition appeared in 2010 to mark the milestone.
CollinsDictionary.com hosts specialized dictionaries beyond standard English definitions. In May 2015, the platform added 6,500 new Scrabble words to their Collins Scrabble Words collection. These terms reflect influences from slang, social media, food, technology, and other cultural shifts. The website also provides multilingual unabridged dictionaries for major European languages. Users access these resources through a single unified interface. The integration allows cross-referencing between different language pairs seamlessly. This expansion supports both casual users and professional word game players alike.
Common questions
When did the Collins English Dictionary launch as a printed volume in Glasgow?
The Collins English Dictionary launched as a printed volume in 1979. This specific edition marked a turning point for British lexicography and was edited by Patrick Hanks with Laurence Urdang acting as editorial director.
What is the source of language examples used in the Collins English Dictionary today?
Language research drives the dictionary through the Collins Corpus system which contains over 20 billion words. Editors use the Bank of English established by John McHardy Sinclair at COBUILD to replace invented scenarios with authentic citations from actual usage.
On what date did the unabridged Collins English Dictionary appear online via CollinsDictionary.com?
The unabridged Collins English Dictionary appeared online on the 31st of December 2011 via CollinsDictionary.com. That launch included unabridged dictionaries for French, German, Spanish, and Italian languages along with word frequencies derived from the Google Ngrams project.
How many words and meanings are contained in the fourteenth edition of the Collins English Dictionary published in August 2023?
The current fourteenth edition published on the 31st of August 2023 contained more than 732,000 words, meanings, and phrases. This count excludes headwords and includes specific place names and biographies alongside 9,500 place names and 7,300 biographical entries.
When was the special thirty-year anniversary tenth edition of the Collins English Dictionary released?
A special thirty-year anniversary tenth edition appeared in 2010 to mark the milestone. Earlier editions typically release once every three or four years while a newer version of the fourteenth edition followed shortly after on the 7th of May 2024.