NAVIGATING the Collegiate Dictionary:
Reading a Dictionary Entry

If you've been clicking on the highlighted and capitalized words in this website, you have a pretty good sense of what a dictionary entry looks like. There is a purpose for each NOTATION, so when you look up new words, you should read the entry carefully and use the tables and charts provided to make sure you understand. Here is the entry for the word bias:

And here is a little visual which identifies the main parts of the dictionary entry.

1. All entries begin with the word written in bold face type, with the syllables separated by centered dots (·) if the word has more than one SYLLABLE. Bi·as has two syllables.
2. Next, in parentheses, is the PRONUNCIATION of the word. If you've taken an ESL class you are probably familiar with this notation. If you haven't, there's help with understanding the odd marks and symbols used in the pronunciation. In the front of most dictionaries, you will find a Pronunciation Key that lists each of the marks, along with examples of common words with the same sound as the one indicated by the symbol. Here's what a Pronunciation Key looks like:

3. The pronunciation notation for bias indicates that the first syllable (bi) has a funny little line over the letter i. According to the key, this i is pronounced like the i in the words pie and by (find the pronunciation key in your dictionary and follow along). The pronunciation notation for the second syllable is a symbol of an upside-down e (it's called a schwa and pronounced like uh). In this case, the key gives me an example for each VOWEL. Put the two together: the i in bias is pronounced like the i in pie and by, and the a in bias is pronounced like the a in about. Phew! (See the note below for the pronunciation key for our online dictionary.)
4. There is one other important note for the pronunciation of bias, called a stress mark. Stress marks come in two types: primary and secondary. They both look like an apostrophe ('), but the primary stress is in bold. Stress marks tell you which syllables to emphasize when speaking the word. In the case of bias the dictionary gives primary stress to the first syllable: BI  (If you have the sound turned on this notation indicates that bias would be pronounced like this, BI as, instead of like this, BI as' ).  The word bias doesn't have a secondary stress--these are found in words with more than two syllables. All one-syllable words, have only one emphasis and therefore will not carry any marks. In a POLY-syllabic word like BIBLIOPHILE (bib'-li-o-phile') these stress marks become very important to the pronunciation as the first syllable, bib, carries a primary stress, while the last syllable, phile, carries a secondary stress.

A note about the online Pronunciation Key: You'll notice that this website doesn't allow us to have the full range of symbols that you have in your print dictionary. Unfortunately, the only way to get around this is to devise a new way to write the pronunciations of the words in our online dictionary. Look below at the pronunciation of the word BIAS. You'll see that at the end of the entry (you might have to scroll down), there will be a hypertext link for our online PRONUNCIATION KEY. Any time you have questions about the pronunciation of words in our online dictionary, click on "Pronunciation Key" to learn how it's pronounced. 

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