The first purpose of any student’s dictionary is to provide the basic information necessary to be able to understand a meaning, decipher a pronunciation, make a correct syllable break, and employ vocabulary appropriate to a particular situation. Th e Facts On File Student’s Dictionary of American English is designed to provide such information as accurately, concisely, and clearly as possible. Its modest entry list of about 90,000 words includes the vocabulary most of us use every day in ordinary writing and encounter in reading a newspaper, novel, magazine, or online article. It also includes a selection of widely used new terms in English from science and technology and contemporary American culture.
