Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English, 4th Edition

Author: None
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2008-01-01
Features: The Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English (LDOCE) is one of the series dictionaries published by Longman Publishing Group. With its accurate and clear definitions, LDOCE has been widely praised by readers in the UK and overseas, especially students. The LDOCE published this time is the 4th edition, which not only inherits and retains the features and advantages of the previous three editions but also has the following significant characteristics:
1. Extensive Word List, Including Many New Words: The 4th edition of LDOCE fully reflects the current state of the English language, with a total of over 106,000 words and phrases, an increase of more than 24,000 compared to the 3rd edition. In addition to common vocabulary, it includes a large number of specialized terms in science, technology, humanities, social sciences, and encyclopedic fields, as well as many newly emerging words that reflect contemporary trends.
2. Rich and Diverse Examples, Natural and Idiomatic: The 4th edition of LDOCE includes over 155,000 example sentences, all sourced from the Longman Corpus Network, which contains 3 billion words. These examples are not randomly created but are selected from various real-life sources, including books, newspapers, magazines, spoken language, and online expressions. This helps learners better understand how words are used in specific contexts and learn "lively" English.
3. Comprehensive Collocations, Organized Clearly: English collocations are flexible and difficult to master, but the 4th edition of LDOCE includes over 220,000 collocations, providing detailed summaries and analyses for readers. To further facilitate reference, LDOCE also dedicates blue boxes to these collocations.
4. Practical and Detailed Sections: This dictionary features columns such as "Word Choice," "Word Focus," and "Grammar." In previous editions, the "Usage Note" was highly favored by English learners. In the 4th edition of LDOCE, the editors have further refined the "Usage Note" into three sections: "Word Choice," "Word Focus," and "Grammar," making its function more complete. "Word Choice" focuses on explaining the differences and usage of synonyms; "Word Focus" lists a category of words related to the main entry to help readers master vocabulary comprehensively, such as the "Word Focus" under the entry "marry," which includes words like "wedding," "bridegroom," "the best man," and "propose"; "Grammar" focuses on explaining the grammar related to the entry. Additionally, LDOCE includes over 7,000 synonyms and antonyms in its definitions, offering readers unexpected gains when consulting words.
5. Full-Color Printing, Vivid and Exquisite Illustrations, Clear Layout: The 3,000 most common words are marked in pink, less common words in light blue, and indicator words with a blue background. Furthermore, the dictionary uses various humanized symbols to facilitate easy reference.