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HOW TO USE YOUR DICTIONARY What Is a Dictionary? A dictionary is a book of words listed in alphabetical order. It is also a very special kind of reference book. To get the most out of a dictionary, you need t o know how to find what you want, what kind of information is provided, and how that information is organized. This dictionary shows you how to spell words, what the words mean, what part or parts of speech they are, how to separate the words into syllables, and how to pronounce the words. In addition, you will almost always see how a word is used in a sentence or phrase. Many times you will also discover words that have the same, or nearly the same, meaning, as well as words that have the opposite meaning. And for some words you will find a special feature � a Word History, or a Language Fact, or a Word Power. There are also hundreds of pictures to help increase your understanding. If you want to know something about a word, the best way to find what you want is to look the word up in your dictionary. But there are a few things you do need to know first. There is lots of information on every page of this dictionary. Here�s a quick look at many of the things you might find. On the following pages, you will find an explanation of all the features that make this dictionary a very useful book � how to find a word, how to understand and use all the information given about the word, and much, much more.