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Now updated with more than 3,000 new words and meanings, the Shorter Oxford English Dictionary manages more than one third of the coverage of the OED in one-tenth the size. More than 500,000 definitions grace its 3,984 pages, and its innovative, open design makes this vast amount of information easily navigable and identifiable. The Shorter covers virtually every word or phrase in use in English--worldwide--since 1700. Drawing on the continuous research for The Oxford English Dictionary, each definition's changing meanings are followed throughout history and are illustrated by more than 83,000 quotations from some 7,000 authors. The world's most comprehensive, thorough, and up-to-date unabridged dictionary, the Shorter Oxford English Dictionary is an essential resource for every library.