Dictionary of Definitions
Dictionary entries
The dictionary of definitions is similar in appearance to an ordinary dictionary, providing a description in everyday language for each of its entries. There are definitions for more than 172,000 words and expressions, including 28,000 proper nouns including names of countries, major world cities, famous people and UNESCO World Heritage sites.
The definitions are clear and precise, and describe the various meanings of each word. The main meanings and sub-meanings are organized and presented in a tree structure, which makes it easier to pick them out. Examples are provided for each meaning, illustrating and clarifying how the word is used. Domain labels situate the word’s meaning within the specialized vocabulary of the corresponding field (medicine, architecture, finance, etc.). Usage labels indicate the register of language to which the word belongs (formal, informal, slang, etc.), or the region in the English-speaking world where it is used (Canada, the United States, the United Kingdom, etc.). Indeed, particular attention has been paid to the description of regional variants, as for example toque in Canadian English, thongs in Australian English and hoagie in American English.
The entry for each word displays all its inflected forms (singular/plural, comparative/superlative), its phonetic transcription, its pronunciation, its etymology and any alternative spellings along with their respective frequency. A frequency index is provided for each word; it indicates the relative frequency of the word in our corpus, which is described below. The population figures for cities and countries come from recent censuses, particularly those found on the sites GeoNames.org and PopulationData.net.
Finally, the definition of each common noun, each proper noun and most noun expressions includes a link to the corresponding article in the online encyclopedia Wikipedia (for which an Internet connection is required). The content of the Wikipedia article is displayed within Antidote’s dictionary window, for easy reading. Antidote also provides smart links to other high-quality external resources, such as Google Maps and TERMIUM Plus®. You can even add your own links as you see fit.
Expressions, idioms, phrasal verbs and proverbs
To facilitate the reading and discovery of expressions, Antidote groups them at the end of the dictionary articles. Expressions appear right below the definitions and are classified into four groups: expressions, idioms, phrasal verbs and proverbs. Links allow direct access to each.
In addition to single words, idioms are an important part of the lexicon. An idiom is a fixed group of words forming a lexical unit that has a precise meaning. Some are figurative expressions, while others constitute specialized terminology.
Everyday language is full of figurative expressions, which may seem nonsensical when interpreted literally (red herring, bury the hatchet). To understand the expression’s conventional meaning, one must consult a dictionary.
Specialized expressions, such as the term heavy water in chemistry, denote entities that are specific to specific fields of knowledge. There exist many such specialized expressions, whose meanings are often opaque to non-specialists.
Antidote includes tens of thousands of common idioms, specialized expressions, phrasal verbs and proverbs, each provided with its own definition and, very often, examples. Domain labels indicate the area in which the specialized expressions are used. Meanings are organized in distinct groups, making it easier to see and understand the contexts in which these expressions are used. To find the definition of a given expression, simply look up one of its key words. For example, you can find the meaning of the idiom bury the hatchet by looking up either bury or hatchet.
In the case of many expressions, the content is so rich that the locution is also displayed in its own separate entry to show all the synonyms, combinations, quotations, and more.These expressions are shown in the form of a blue link to their detailed entry. Other expressions, shown in black, also contain valuable information, such as inflected forms, frequency information, or a direct link to Wikipedia or to the guides.
Antidote’s listed expressions include hundreds of proverbs, which are included in their own section following the idioms. These are easy to locate thanks to the search-by-criteria function. Finally, constructions that should be avoided are indicated in red; these often represent mistranslations from French or incorrect usages.