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Useful Websites

Dictionaries, Grammar and Thesauri

  • Abbreviations.com — decipher abbreviations and acronyms. Handy for finding full titles of journals
  • Acronymfinder — find out what any acronym, abbreviation, or initialism means
  • Computer Desktop Encyclopedia — every important tech concept and product explained in simple language. The longest-running tech encyclopedia on the web
  • English Grammar Guide — by Education First (EF). Find brief, easy-to-understand guides on English grammar and punctuaion
  • Guide to Grammar and Writing — online tutorials on grammar and English usage. From subject-verb agreement and use of articles to exercises in parallel structures and argumentative essays
  • Lexicons of Early Modern English (LEME) — searches and displays word-entries from monolingual English dictionaries, bilingual lexicons, technical vocabularies, and other encyclopedic-lexical works, 1480-1755
  • Literary Encyclopedia — exploring literature, history and culture
  • Merriam-Webster — dictionary and thesaurus, with additional language resources at the bottom of the page
  • Multilingual Dictionaries
  • NetLingo — thousands of easy-to-understand definitions that explain the Internet and online world of business, technology and communication. Tracking terms and trends since 1995
  • Nonverbal Dictionary — of gestures, signs and body language cues. By the Center for Nonverbal Studies
  • Oxford English Dictionary Online — UTD users may access the full version of OED Online
  • Skeptic’s Dictionary — featuring definitions, arguments, and essays on hundreds of strange beliefs, amusing deceptions, and dangerous delusions. It also features dozens of entries on logical fallacies, cognitive biases, perception, science, and philosophy
  • Symbols.com — online encyclopedia that contains everything about symbols, signs, flags and glyphs arranged by categories such as culture, country, religion, and more
  • Translation Dictionaries & Services
  • Ultralingua — language site for definitions and translations
  • Urban Dictionary — hundreds of thousands of popular culture definitions and slang; entries submitted by users
  • Webopedia — dictionary of technology and Internet terms
  • Wordnik — for definitions, examples in use, pronunciation, and etymology of words, as well as statistics on their usage
  • yourDictionary.com — featuring a dictionary, thesaurus, "word of the day" feed, and grammar lessons