How to Use Your Dictionary

Using a Dictionary can be easy if you know how.

If you know the shortcuts, you can quickly find what you need.

All words in a dictionary are listed in

alphabetical order. That means all words
that start with A are in the front of the
book and words that start with Z are in
the back of the book
 How to Use Your Dictionary
Step 1:
Learn to recognize the abbreviations your dictionary uses for the
various parts of speech. Hopefully they will be the same for both
the English-to-Spanish and the Spanish-to-English halves of your
dictionary; check to see. Some typical abbreviations:

adj - adjectives (easy, fácil; marvellous, maravilloso).

adv - adverbs (quickly, rápidamente; never, nunca).
conj - conjunctions (pero, but; when, cuando)
interj - interjections (ugh, uf; crash, cataplum).
n - n ouns (window, ventana; dictionary, diccionario).
prep - prepositions (with, con; behind, detrás de).
pron - pronouns (she, ella; I, yo).
v - verbs (speak, hablar; live, vivir).
 How to Use Your Dictionary
Step 2:
Another shortcut to fi nding words quickly is to use the
Guide Words. Guide Words are words that are on the top of every page.
They help to "guide you" to the right page. The fi rst guide word
(snowfl ake) is the fi rst main entry on the page. The second word (soggy)
is the last main entry on the page.
CARBON DIOXIDE
CORE

carbon dioxide ( kar ben di ok sid) n. a heavy colorless gas found in the air.
cavity ( kav e te) n. any hollow space or hole esp. in teeth.
cloud (klowd) n. 1. masses of water particles that form over the earth. 2. anything
that darkens or threatens.
crater (kra ter) n. the area found around the surface of the moon.
crust n. 1. the outer most layer of the earth 2. the outer edge of a piece of bread.
condensation n. the change from a gas to a liquid.
core (kor) n. 1. the layer of the earth under the mantle. 2. the center of an apple.
 How to Use Your Dictionary
Step 3:
•Words show you how to spell the words.
•Pronunciation tells you how to say the word.
•Parts of Speech tell you how to use the word.
•Defi nitions tell you what each word means. Some words have more than
one meaning.

Entry word
Pronunciation
Part of Speech

bicycle (bi sik el) n. a vehicle that has two wheels. I like to ride my bicycle
around the block. Example Sentence
big adj. 1. large in size. Definitions
2. important.
3. generous, tolerant.