Which spelling is correct: dependant or dependent? Do you know the meaning of diverse? Where does the word derrick come from? With headwords in colour, straighforward definitions, pronunciation guides, and grammar and language tips, the Oxford Elementary School Dictionary will support you in your reading and writing and help you to acquire essential dictionary skills.

This is a new edition of the Oxford Primary School Dictionary. It is a core OUP dictionary for children aged 8 and over and specially written for home and school use. Now fully revised and updated, with a new design, this dictionary is clearer and easier to use. New additions include a large number of headwords for the first time and many derivatives defined for the first time, such as naturally, strongly and squarely. Usage notes have been expanded, for example on sew/sow, and spaceman and spacewoman, and American equivalents are given for high-profile words such as sidewalk and hood (of a car). New vocabulary includes words such as byte, mad cow disease, road rage and millenium, and all plurals, verb and adjective forms are written out in full. Pictures are specially drawn in whole sentences to show how words are used in context and idioms have also been added, for example, neck and neck, in dire straits and pipe dream. Information boxes give the origins of words and give advice about usage.

An ideal first dictionary that gives learners all the help they need to use new vocabulary correctly.

A major new edition of the trusted, bestselling, comprehensive Oxford School Dictionary with new curriculum support. This fantastic new edition will boost your children's vocabulary with new words and meanings from across the curriculum. A helpful new spelling, grammar and punctuation sectionis included to enhance language skills and bring the dictionary up to date.What makes it the best? It is uniquely powered by the Oxford Children's Corpus, the largest bank of children's language in English, so you can be confident that all entries are clearly written in child-friendly language that children actually understand. Each example is perfectly age-appropriate,making it easy and enjoyable for every child to use. New for this edition is a robust supplement on spelling, grammar and punctuation, giving targeted help with the tricky bits, making this dictionary the perfect tool to support children in their journey to become good readers and writers. As usual,it has been extensively trialled with schools, so you can be sure it is still the best dictionary for your children, in a handy pocket-sized format. Further help with writing skills is available in the updated new edition of the companion Oxford School Thesaurus.Looking for great word activities to match this dictionary? Find fun free downloadable activities, puzzles, and word games at www.oxforddictionaries.com/schools