Finding information in a dictionary

All dictionaries arrange their information alphabetically. Each piece of information is called an entry.

For example, in an English dictionary you’ll find words beginning with a at the front, and z at the back. Because there are lots of words beginning with a each letter that follows decides which word comes first. For example, ant will come after ankle because the first two letters are the same but the third letter is different, and t comes after k in the alphabet.

To find the word sunny start by finding words beginning with s, then su, then sun until you eventually narrow it down to sunny.

Electronic dictionaries

To find a word in an electronic dictionary you type it into a search box. The results will tell you everything a printed dictionary does. You can still browse through each letter if you want to.