2.3 Finding and understanding specific information about a word

Answer

Figure 2 The Macmillan Dictionary information about the word strategy

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Screenshot of The Macmillan Dictionary website showing results of a search for the word strategy. The results shown are:

• a link to pronunciation of the word strategy. The phonetic transcription of the word:/ˈstrætədʒi/. A link to common collocations.

• A definition of the word as a countable noun:

  [COUNTABLE] a plan or method for achieving something, especially overa long period of time

  Examples:

  successful language-learning strategies

  The countries hope to devise a common strategy to provide aid.

• A definition of the word as an uncountable noun:

  [UNCOUNTABLE] the skill of planning how to achieve something,especially in war or business

  Example:

  experts in military strategy

• Links to thesaurus entries for both meanings of the word strategy.

Figure 2 The Macmillan Dictionary information about the word strategy

This dictionary provides:

• Two definitions. This word has two meanings, so two definitions are given.
• Frequency of use. Three stars indicate that strategy is one of the 7500 most used words.
• Grammatical information. Strategy is a noun and can be both countable and uncountable. The meaning of countable and uncountable will be explained in the following section.
• Word forms. For this word, the dictionary gives the singular form (strategy) and the plural form (strategies). This information is very useful when using words that have unusual plural forms such as man (singular) and men (plural) or analysis (singular) and analyses (plural).
• Pronunciation. By clicking on the British or American flag, you will be able to look up the British English and the American English pronunciation as, occasionally, these can be different.
• Origin of the word. The word ‘strategy’ comes from Greek and French. If you know either or both these languages, this information can help you to better understand and remember the word strategy.
• Examples. These are very useful examples that can help you to see how this word is normally used in the context of a phrase or sentence.
• Some collocations. These are words that normally precede or follow the word ‘strategy’. For example, ‘devise a strategy’, ‘plan a strategy’ and ‘adopt a strategy’ are common combinations of words. This information helps if you need to use this word in your own writing.
• Synonyms. These can be found by clicking on the red symbol ‘T’ (Thesaurus). You may need to find synonyms if you need to paraphrase a text or wish to refer to something in a variety of ways throughout your essay. More synonyms can be found by looking up the word in a specialised website such as Thesaurus.com [Tip: hold Ctrl and click a link to open it in a new tab. (Hide tip)]