Product Description

Collins COBUILD Advanced Learner's English Dictionary offers detailed treatment of today's language. Based on the evidence from the Bank of English corpus, which now contains over 524 million words, the fifth edition contains the most important new words and meanings which have come into the language over the past two years, as well as thousands of new, updated examples, taken directly from the corpus.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #110089 in Books
• Published on:
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Dimensions: 9.45" h x 2.28" w x 6.26" l, 3.84 pounds
• Binding: Hardcover
• 1768 pages

Review

Customer Feedback

"I teach ESL to adults and this dictionary is the best! It defines words and phrases in complete sentences, indicates which words are the most used, and distinguishes between American and British English, which helps when someone learned English in Europe. I highly recommend it for both students and teachers." Michelle D, Florida.

About the Author
Through a collaborative initiative, Collins COBUILD and Heinle are co-publishing a dynamic new line of learner's dictionaries offering unparalleled pedagogy and learners' resources. The first Collins COBUILD dictionary was published in 1987, thanks in part to John Sinclair, one of the very first modern corpus linguists who personally oversaw the creation of the Bank of English. Every COBUILD dictionary is based on the Bank of English, a huge electronic database of both written and spoken language, which today contains over 650 million words.

Customer Reviews

Most helpful customer reviews

46 of 48 people found the following review helpful.
Collins Cobuild - When Definitions Prove Elusive
By brian-paquette_at_unforgettable.com
The Collins Cobuild was developed for non-English speaking persons, but is still very useful for native English-speakers. It has an extremely unique style and it tries hard to present the idiomatic language in a manner that is easily assimilable. While it may not please all the people all the time, on many occasions I've turned to it for a definition when my Webster's New World, American Heritage or Oxford Concise ran dry. The definitions include much description of the meaning, with very illustrative examples (not mere sentences). I don't use it as a primary dictionary, but for those hard-to-find definitions, it proves very handy.

29 of 30 people found the following review helpful.
The best and well-presented English Language Dictionary
By A Customer
I bought this dictionary in May 1990 in Singapore.

The way the content presented is the best I had ever seen. This dictionary is written in ordinary, everyday English that is easy to understand. It has an excellent Guide to the Use of the Dictionary. Every explanation comes with at least one example that is taken from actual texts wherever possible. The extra column in the dictionary, right beside the explanation of a word, creates a visual attraction to the reader. This extra column is used to give two different types of information: grammar notes and semantic relationships (similar or opposite) for the word that is being explained. I love it.

CoBuild is the appreviation of Collins Birmingham University International Language Database. This dictionary was developed and compiled in the English Department at the University of Birmingham as part of a language research project commissioned by Collins Publishers.

Currently, I am looking for its enriched and/or, if any, CD-ROM version. Unfortunately, it seems that the publisher stopped publishing this great dictionary.

17 of 17 people found the following review helpful.
Worth having whether you're beginner or not
By Paulo Roberto Dorow
Cobuild has been with me since my very first steps in English. It always helped me in all the stages of my learning. It won't matter how good your English get or if you're a seasoned English speaker, Cobuild will always have much to offer. Its down-to-earth explanations and rich examples give very precise definitions and understanding of the words and expressions. The pronunciation is easy to learn, and the differences between the major English variations are pointed out when necessary. It's so good to use this dictionary, that I get myself reading it for very long. Sometimes you just get it to take a look at one definition, and then you feel like exploring and reading on and on (which is great for who's learning; you learn even more!). Another important thing is that, once you get used to Cobuild's Dictionary, it'll be easier if you get other Cobuild publications, because their layout and structure are pretty the same. You won't be disappointed at all if you buy it. As another substitute for Cobuild I would also suggest the Longman Series for Learners. Both Longman and Cobuild, have unique features. Which one you're going to choose is up to you and it's a hard choice. To avoid having to choose do just like me and buy both.