Look for a single word as a bold-faced headword at the beginning of an entry. Entries are generally arranged alphabetically.

Words are sometimes grouped together at an entry when they are used as different parts of speech or because they are very closely related and similar in form and meaning.

Look for a compound word (two or more words used together as a single word) at its alphabetical place in the list of entries.

A word may be followed by a GUIDEWORD (a word or short phrase in capital letters). This means that the word has two or more main meanings and that there is at least one other entry for that word. The different guidewords help you to find the sense of the word that you need.

If there is a variant or less common form of a word it is shown in brackets soon after the main headword.

If the word you are looking for is grouped in an entry that is distant from its alphabetical position, a reference will often tell you where to find it.

Sometimes the second word of a headword is shown in brackets. This shows that the meaning is the same whether or not you use the first word or both words together.

Some words in the alphabetical list include ‘the’ before the headword, to show that they are always used in this form.