Oxford English Dictionary

The historical English dictionary

An unsurpassed guide for researchers in any discipline to the meaning, history, and usage of over 500,000 words and phrases across the English-speaking world.

Find out more about OED

Understanding entries

Glossaries, abbreviations, pronunciation guides, frequency, symbols, and more

Explore resources

Historical Thesaurus

Explore different words used for the same concept or meaning over time

About the thesaurus

Personal account

Change display settings, save searches and purchase subscriptions

Account features

Recently added

Word of the day

vejigante

noun

In Puerto Rican folklore: an evil character represented in carnival celebrations by people wearing brightly coloured and richly decorated horned masks, costumes with bat-like wings, and carrying rattles traditionally made from dried cow bladders filled with seeds or beans.

Word stories

Read our collection of word stories detailing the etymology and semantic development of a wide range of words, including ‘dungarees’, ‘codswallop’, and ‘witch’.

Word lists

Access our word lists and commentaries on an array of fascinating topics, from film-based coinages to Tex-Mex terms.

World Englishes

Explore our World Englishes hub and access our resources on the varieties of English spoken throughout the world by people of diverse cultural backgrounds.

History of English

Here you can find a series of commentaries on the History of English, charting the history of the English language from Old English to the present day.