Dictionaries & Thesauri
Dictionaries
Full-text. Second edition, updated quarterly. Click on "Sign In" to access the dictionary. More info
American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th edition
"Over 90,000 entries feature 10,000 new words and senses, 70,000 audio word pronunciations, 900 full-page color illustrations, language notes and word-root appendixes."
Searches several reputable dictionaries at one time. Also links to a variety of other types of dictionaries, such as etymological, rhyming, and pronunciation.
ARTFL Project: Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary, 1913 Edition
Published by the University of Michigan Press. More info
Other useful print dictionaries in the library's reference collection:
Oxford English Dictionary, 2d ed.
Webster's Third New International
Olin Library has many English language dictionaries. Look in the library catalog under the subject heading "English Language Dictionaries."
Bilingual Dictionaries
Olin Library has hundreds of bilingual dictionaries. See the Quick Location Guide for a selected list. These dictionaries may be found in the library catalog using a subject search in the format, "[language name] language dictionaries [language name]". For example, to find a Spanish-English dictionary, perform a library catalog subject search as follows: "Spanish Language Dictionaries English". Ask for further assistance at the Olin Library Reference Desk on Level 1.
Thesauri
Chicago Tribune columnist, Bob Greene, wrote a great column on John Peter Roget, "The Man Who Didn't Know the Meaning of 'Whatever'," that appeared in the November 3, 1999, issue of the newspaper. Unfortunately, it is no longer available for free on their website.
Roget's II: The New Thesaurus, 3rd ed.
"Containing 35,000 synonyms in an easy-to-use format, this thesaurus features succinct word definitions and an innovative hyperlinked category index."