The Free Dictionary

Type of Resource: Teacher Tools and Information, Administrator Tools and Information, Student tools and information
Free or Fee: Fee
Computer Needs: None Apparent
Link: Visit the Site!

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Recommendation:

This site certainly makes a hardcover dictionary seem prehistoric. One may find a definition for a word but will often find much more. Information and additional links flush out a full picture beyond a definition. The home page shares interesting bits that encourage curiosity in sidetracks about news, new words or even a famous person´s birthday.

Description:

From the site: "English, Medical, Legal, Financial and Computer Dictionaries, Thesaurus, Acronyms, Encyclopedia, a Literature Reference Library and a Search Engine all in one!" From an ESN review: "With more than 100 million visitors to its site since 2003, TheFreeDictionary.com has developed a reputation as a multifaceted, virtual research hub for students and teachers. Not only can visitors use this free web site to look up words--it features more than 1 million entries for words in general use--but they also can access a virtual encyclopedia, thesaurus and reference guide, among other tools. Students and teachers can use the site's flagship interactive dictionary feature to look up definitions, synonyms, antonyms and usage examples from classic literature, as well as audio/phonetic pronunciation guides and word etymologies. The site also includes repositories for more obscure terms, including those specific to the medical, legal and computer professions, as well as thousands of photos and diagrams. All information is either assembled by the site's editorial staff or obtained from other recognized, premier reference sources, developers said. `Most dictionary sites just 'dump' information onto a page. We decided to make our web site not only the most comprehensive, but also the most organized and intuitive of all the dictionary sites,´ said Nick Simonov, president of Farlex Inc., the parent company of TheFreeDictionary.com. The idea, according to Simonov, is to provide every student and teacher who visits the site with `an array of information that paints a rich, complete picture of the entry in question.´"

Possible uses:

This site is a good starting point for research. Students will find quality information that is extensive enough to provoke questions for further research. Not quite encyclopedic, but the layout encourages sidetracks to find out about related material. Use the site to look up definitions for words or curriculum based vocabulary.

Related Resources:

Pre-K, K-3, 4-5, 6-8, 9-12+

Language Arts : Vocabulary & Mechanics
ESL/EFL/ELL : Vocabulary & Mechanics

Teacher Tools and Information, Administrator Tools and Information, Student tools and information