"Specially designed to meet the needs of ESL students ... [covers] American English ..."--Back of dust jacket.

For the first time, the editors of the acclaimed American Heritage(R) Dictionary have applied their efforts to word usage as its own subject. The result is this practical guide that includes chapters on grammar, style, diction, gender, social groups, pronunciation, word formation, science terms, and a subject and a word index.

This new edition offers newly updated terms, and provides the latest research on word origins and meanings, with guidelines on accurate usage.

Contains entries for over 10,000 new words reflecting the explosion of computer and Internet technology as well as changes in popular culture and slang.

Discusses the nature, origins, and development of language and lists the meanings and associated word for more than thirteen thousand Indo-European root words.

Contains over seventy thousand entries including 1,000 new words and their meanings.