‘It’s the most human of dictionaries, the most quirky and eccentric, the hardest to put down once picked up’ Philip Pullman ‘Impeccable as a reference tool, Chambers is a delight to browse through’ Jilly Cooper The Chambers Dictionary remains the dictionary of choice for professional writers, puzzle and wordgame enthusiasts and everyone with a love of words. The latest edition of the dictionary includes definitions of over 500 new words that have recently entered the language. While the traditional Chambers virtues of being informative, witty and authoritative have been retained, the design and content have been updated to provide a clear and modern text for today’s users.
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Amazon Review
It's official! The word techie--a devotee of or expert in (some aspect of) technology--has made it into the Chambers Dictionary. And there are a slew of other net-specific words too, including netiquette, browsing, applet, span, cybersex and cybercafé. It just goes to show how the world of computing and electronic communications has advanced and changed our world. Of course, there are also those other little things that have become part of our lives: Prozac, sound bite, cellulite...
--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
Review
Chambers is my dictionary of choice and always has been, because its
practice is to detail a word's etymology with clarity, brevity and
exactness, so that to look up a word in Chambers is to be able to
unpack its meaning and also to marvel at its compactness... Chambers is
an open door to words at their wittiest, most rooted, most reavealing
and most powerful.
It's good to see that the latest, 11th, edition of Chambers Dictionary has lost none of its wit.
(Mark Sanderson, Literary Life, Telegraph.co.uk 20080831)It's official! The credit crunch has finally found its way into the hallowed columns of this iconic work of reference...
Hats off, incidentally, to the editor who archly defines 'comfort food' as 'mood-enhancing food that meets the approval of one's taste buds but not of one's doctor'.
Chambers is the one I keep at my right hand
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
87 of 87 people found the following review helpful
By J. Knight
Format:Hardcover
I wanted to find out the meaning of the word "mommet" that crops up in Hardy's "Tess of the Durbevilles". I looked through increasingly large versions of the Oxford English Dictionary, and only found it eventually in the two-volume Shorter Oxford. However, when I turned to my Chambers Dictionary, it was right there.
The point being, Chambers' style of categorising words under similar roots allows it to cram far more into a single volume. If you want lots of words, rather than long, encyclopaedic and often repetitious, definitions, go for Chambers.
78 of 80 people found the following review helpful
By Dr R Johnson
Format:Hardcover
The ultimate single volumed dictionary. This is the only dictionary you'll ever need: invaluable for all crossword and scrabble lovers. Don't be misled into buying the Chambers 21st Century Dictionary, it's not as good as this one! Every home should have one very good dictionary and if you want one to serve you well for life then get this!
53 of 57 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
The Chambers is the best available source of obscure dialect words, obsolete words from Spencer et al, and senses of ordinary words that have long been forgotten. It is this comprehensiveness that has made it the cruciverbalist's bible, particularly for crosswords of the more fiendish variety.
Qua dictionary, though, it is awkward to use compared to the various Oxford dictionaries (the Concise Oxford Dictionary, the New Oxford Dictionary of English, and the Shorter Oxford English Dictionary, in order of size). Moreover, the famously amusing definitions are far and few.
In short, buy this dictionary if you have to - i.e., if you while away your time solving (or setting) crosswords, or if you delight in our language's paths less trod. Otherwise, your best one-volume bet is probably the New Oxford Dictionary of English.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
5.0 out of 5 stars
Johnson would flush with pride
I found the dictionary gives tremendous detail, not only regarding English words, but those of other languages too. Read more
Published 1 month ago by Andrew Jerram
5.0 out of 5 stars
Perfect
I ordered the dictionary and after less than 8 days it arrived here in Germany. My son is on international school and this book ( especially the 9th edition)
was requested by... Read more
was requested by... Read more
Published 7 months ago by Irene Kleinmann
5.0 out of 5 stars
Great Introduction
Chambers Dictionary does what all good dictionaries do which gives you detailed etymology of any English word you could think of as well as being useful as a bookend or door stop. Read more
Published 22 months ago by Dean Cowan
5.0 out of 5 stars
A Dictionary to beat them all
I bought this dictionary to replace a 1971 Edition and I am very happy with it.
Suitable for all ages.
Suitable for all ages.
Published on 8 Dec 2010 by Mr. W. Davidson
1.0 out of 5 stars
world of books Not Good !
This ones easy,i never received the order! Ive had to rate this item unfortunately on this occasion 0 stars.
Published on 22 Sep 2010 by bitsy
5.0 out of 5 stars
Not much more I can say except....
.... that I'm really pleased with this dictionary too, and I bought the The Chambers Thesaurus as well, and they're very attractive (and matching) on my shelf!
Published on 7 Feb 2009 by J. C. Chamberlain
4.0 out of 5 stars
Watch out for the next edition
If you're about to buy this for crossword purposes, be aware that a new edition comes out on 22 August 2008. Read more
Published on 8 July 2008 by Peter Biddlecombe
5.0 out of 5 stars
A to Z
Had a Chambers dictionary for years and just bought another. Still the same quality - all entries in alphabetical order so they're easy to find and all the words you could possibly... Read more
Published on 9 Jan 2008 by P. A. Turner
5.0 out of 5 stars
The best single-volume dictionary there is
This is the best single-volume dictionary of the English Language. If you know Chambers, then you need no persuading. If you don't, then it's time to get one. Read more
Published on 4 Jan 2008 by G. Pattison
5.0 out of 5 stars
AMAZING!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
This is one great dictionary. Although not perfect (especially in persistant use of semicolons for sense differentation - here Oxford Dictionary of English is definitely more... Read more
Published on 1 Sep 2006 by Ardent dictionary user:)
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