Macmillan School Dictionary

The Macmillan School Dictionary is a completely new reference resource for students learning through the medium of English.
Macmillan Essential Dictionary


Perfect for school

The Macmillan School Dictionary is completely relevant to the needs of young people who are studying a wide range of subjects through the medium of English and preparing for school examinations. It explains - clearly and accurately - the vocabulary needed for successful study in any of the key school subjects.

At every stage, experienced teachers, textbook writers, and syllabus designers have contributed their expertise, giving us a clear idea of what the dictionary's users really need to know. In addition, we have used state-of-the-art software to analyse the corpora, so that we have a reliable scientific basis for selecting the words to include in the dictionary and for deciding how much information is needed about each word.

  • Curriculum words in the dictionary are clearly identified in red using one of twenty subject labels (see panel for a list of these labels). Click here to view a sample from part of a dictionary page.
  • Over 100 pictures and diagrams throughout the dictionary illustrate everything from flora and fauna to natural or scientific processes.
  • Over 20 full-page illustrations, many in two colours, present and reinforce topic vocabulary. Click here to see a full-page illustration.
  • The Study Skills section provide extra tips for school work and includes information on:

    • Dealing with Data
    • Experiments and Projects
    • Capital Letters and Punctuation
    • Composition Skills
    • Information and Communication Technology
    • Revision and Examination Skills

    • Click here to see a Study Skills page.

Language help

The Macmillan School Dictionary retains the award-winning features of the Macmillan English Dictionary in the language help it provides students:

  • 200 usage notes help users develop their vocabulary and avoid common errors in English.
  • 'Menus' for entries with five or more meanings make it easier to find the specific meaning they are looking for.
  • All the definitions are written using a carefully-selected vocabulary of 3,000 words so that they are easy to understand.
  • Example sentences in italics show students how a word is used in context.
    Grammar boxes give extra information to help students learn more about how a word is used.
  • 'Word family' boxes bring together groups of words that are formed from the same 'base word'.
  • 'Build your vocabulary' boxes bring together words that are related to a particular subject, or suggest more specific alternatives for very common words.
  • Entries also provide information on collocation and syntax, pronunciation, stress marks, style and British/American English differences.

Click here to see a sample spread showing the above features.

the Macmilan School Dictionary .