See also: ’ and blue hyperlinks to related words and information given at other entries.Welcome to the Cambridge Dictionary of American English Second Edition Windows Mobile app. It is simple to use and you can:
The A-Z word list allows you to search for a particular word. Simply tap-and-hold a scroll bar or text in the word list, drag it to scroll up or down the list and tap a word to open its definition. Alternatively you can use your phone's directional controls.
Tap the input panel icon at the bottom of the screen and select your phone's keyboard. Enter text using the keyboard and the word list will automatically scroll so that the search term appears at the top. Tap the search term to go to the entry or to return to the A-Z word list tap the input panel icon again.
The headword (main word) is the first meaning of a word and is shown in large blue text. If a headword has several meanings, each meaning is indicated by a guideword shown in RED CAPS. Guidewords are a fast way of finding the meaning you are looking for. Derived words are grouped with the headword they relate to and are shown in blue text. Variants of the headword are shown after the headword in blue text.
The most frequent words and meanings in American English are marked with a blue star *. These are the most important and useful words and meanings to learn.
For each entry, the definition is shown in plain black text and examples are shown in black italics.
Common phrases in which a word is used are shown in blue in definitions and examples.
Idioms are phrases that have a different meaning from the meanings of each word considered separately, and are listed after the main meanings of the word in blue text.
Phrasal verbs are shown after all the other uses of the word in large blue text. When there is more than one main meaning of a phrasal verb, a guideword in RED CAPS follows the verb phrase.
A word in the definition that has its own entry in the dictionary is shown as a blue hyperlink.
Senses (smaller differences in meaning) are shown by separate numbered definitions.
The part of speech is shown in orange.
Spellings that are used in Canadian or British English are shown in green following the main entry word.
Plural forms, verb forms, and comparatives and superlatives are shown (in blue text) if they do not obey the usual rules for changing word endings.
The grammar of a word is shown as [SMALL CAPS] in square brackets. When the grammar information is given after the part of speech, it relates to all meanings in that entry. When it is given before a numbered sense or an example, it only relates to that meaning or example.
Usage labels in green italics show when a word or meaning expresses a particular attitude or may not be acceptable in certain situations.
Subject labels in red indicate more specialized words used among some groups.
Usage notes give more information about how a word is used.
Usage panels give additional information about which words go together and help you avoid mistakes when you speak and write English.
SMART Thesaurus panels contain links to SMART Thesaurus categories which you can use to find synonyms and other related words.
Cross references are shown by ‘ See also: ’ and blue hyperlinks to related words and information given at other entries.
Special topics contains essential dictionary information (usually available as front/end matter in print dictionaries) in the form of Further Information, Study Pages and SMART Thesaurus.
Further Information contains the following extra information for understanding a dictionary entry: Parts of speech, Grammar codes, Usage labels and Pronunciation symbols.
Study Pages are full of extra information about the English language and explain details of grammar, usage, pronunciation, vocabulary, writing, and more.
You can view a list of top level SMART Thesaurus categories. Select a category to view further category levels containing related words.
Tap Menu > History to view a list of the 50 last opened words.
Tapping Menu > About will bring up About this dictionary and About MSDict. Tap the About this dictionary item to go to the info screen with details about the Cambridge Dictionary of American English 2nd edition and the About MSDict item to go to appropriate info screen with correct details about the MSDict Viewer software.