Language Resources

Using all of our expertise in the area of language learning, we create educational material that is both unique and entertaining and helps make the information in the dictionary more accessible.

English language resources, games and videos

Word of the Day

electron

a part of an atom that moves around the nucleus (=centre) and has a negative electrical charge

Pronunciations

Set your default to American or British English in the options tab.

You can also switch between British English and American English by using the link at the end of each entry.

more about English pronunciation

Red Words and Stars

90% of the time, speakers of English use just 7,500 words in speech and writing.These words appear in red, and are graded with stars.

more about red words and stars

Dictionaries to go out of print

Macmillan Dictionaries will no longer appear as physical books. The final copies are rolling off the presses at this very moment and from next year Macmillan Dictionary will be available only online. The future of the dictionary is digital.

view press release

Competition winner

A big thank you to everyone who took part in our Beatles competition. The winner of the competition was announced over on Macmillan Dictionary Blog.

read more about the Beatles and the English language

Thesaurus

Every definition has an accompanying thesaurus entry.

The English language is growing, and so is Macmillan Dictionary

We're constantly adding new words to the site. Many of them are appearing in a dictionary for the first time.

Check out this week's new entries the worried well and stress test.

Real Examples

Clear and current example sentences mean that the English you read here is the English that is being used today.

example sentences

Usage Notes

Hundreds of usage notes provide helpful guidance on using language in context. Topics covered include Metaphor, Collocations, and How to avoid common errors.

how words are used
Macmillan Dictionary Blog

A must for anyone with an interest in the changing face of language. The Macmillan Dictionary blog explores English as it is spoken around the world today.

global English and language change from our blog

charticle

a news article that consists of a chart … and only has a small amount of text

Open Dictionary

Add your word to our record of English as it is used today: enriched by speakers around the world; driven by the speed of technology; powered by the globalization of language.

Gadgets

From a toolbar gadget to double-click functionality for your website, we've got a host of gadgets to choose from.

Social Media

We're all over social media – follow us!

social media

Happy 10th birthday, BuzzWords!

10 years of BuzzWords

Macmillan Dictionary's weekly BuzzWord column is celebrating its 10th anniversary! Since 2003, Kerry Maxwell has been keeping us up to date with her weekly BuzzWord article, monitoring, capturing, and explaining new words and phrases as they emerge in the English language.

Read Kerry's blog post about the anniversary

Language Games

Irregular Verb Wheel

Who doesn't love a game? We're creating language games that make some of the trickier aspects of learning English fun. They’re equally addictive fun for fluent English speakers.

Go to interactive language games

Language Resources

Using our expertise in the area of language learning, we create language resources that are both unique and entertaining. Recommended this month:

Read blog posts on the topic of American English on Macmillan Dictionary Blog.

Watch featured videos on our brand-new videos page.

Word of the Day

electron

a part of an atom that moves around the nucleus (=centre) and has a negative electrical charge

Pronunciations

Audio recordings of all headwords are available in both British and American accents.

more about English pronunciation

Red Words and Stars

The most common 7,500 words of English are highlighted in red, and are graded with stars to show their frequency. These are the words that all learners need to know.

more about red words and stars

Clear Definitions

Definitions are written in plain English, using a vocabulary of just 2,500 words. This means that learners can be confident that they will understand all definitions first time.

more

It's your English!

Find out more about our 2013 campaign, or browse the 'What's your English?' archives:

What's your English? – 2012 archive
What's your English? – 2011 archive
International English – 2010 archive

Thesaurus

Every definition has an accompanying thesaurus entry.

The English language is growing, and so is Macmillan Dictionary

We're constantly adding new words to the site. Many of them are appearing in a dictionary for the first time.

Check out this week's new entries the worried well and stress test.

Real Examples

Sometimes, an example can tell you as much as a definition. Macmillan Dictionary is packed with real examples which show you how the language is really used in the 21st century.

example sentences

Usage Notes

macmillandictionary.com gives you much more than a dictionary: hundreds of notes give guidance on difficult points of English usage, and help you to avoid those typical mistakes that are so easy to make.

how words are used

macmillandictionaryblog carries some of the best writing on the web about the English language, the way it's changing, and the way it's used across the globe.

What's your English? Do you learn it, live it or love it?

Every week, an in-depth article looks at a new or current word.

charticle

a news article that consists of a chart … and only has a small amount of text

Open Dictionary

You don't have to work at Macmillan to write a dictionary entry. Our Open Dictionary welcomes contributions from lovers of English throughout the world.

Gadgets and API

From a toolbar gadget to double-click functionality for your website, we've got a host of gadgets to choose from.

  • get gadgets
  • read about API
  • Social Media

    We're all over social media – follow us!