Rating: 
Summary: Some things we never outgrow...
Review: How can anyone do without this book? If we are reverent readers, we will often come across new words, or evolving words or perhaps old words whose deeper meaning we want to understand, in context with what we are reading. This dictionary has been a great pal to keep by my side as I read. Clear writing, great info, just a "must have". It uses the clearest print style available, but do keep those reading glasses handy....
Rating: 
Summary: Great value, great tool
Review: If you're looking for a very comprehensive dictionary on a modest budget, look no further. M-W's offering is a very fine tool indeed. It is an indispensable part of my desktop, and gets used often. Easy to install and use, I can't imagine not having it.
Rating:
Summary: CONTAINS ENOUGH DEFINITIONS FOR MOST USERS
Review: The 1600 pages that constitute this "Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary" contain every term and definition, which an average English speaker would need. The book is up-to-date. It comes at a low price; and utilizes descriptive approach. Its information, (which include concise etymological evolution of words), is indispensable for both students and teachers. It is an essential tool for home, office, and school.
However, for poets and versatile writers, whose realm goes beyond American English, I would recommend the unabridged, over 2700-paged "Webster's Third New International Dictionary".
Rating:
Summary: dictionary
Review: I'm not going to say anything good about it. But if you are going to take SAT I, build vocabulary, or just reading high quality literary work, then this dictionary is a best and a must.
Rating:
Summary: Full Scaled
Review: Merriam Webster's Collegiate Dictionary is an incredibly powerful word search tool. It is a perfect reference guide to assist you in writing and speaking precisely. As a fiction and non-fiction author, I have found the comfort and ease of the Merriam Webster's CDR to have the same effect that "the blanket" had to Linus in the Charlie Brown cartoons. I personally own the Electronic Edition that has the Thesaurus with it, so any word that I may need a synonym for, I have it right at my disposal! With over 215,000 definitions, 340,000 synonyms and related words and 1,000 color illustrations, (electronic edition w/Thesaurus) Merriam Webster's Collegiate Dictionary is the ultimate source for all reference affiliated work. I cannot find a more exhaustive dictionary available. It is the most perfect and complete information tool you will ever use. I personally recommend this item for all screenwriters and novelists. It will certainly help you to master the art of word usage. Kudos!!
Rating:
Summary: The best general purpose dictionary on the market
Review: When I recently discovered that the dictionary I owned was out of date (it didn't even have the word "internet" in it!), I set out to find a new one. Because I'm a professional writer, I can't afford to have a substandard or incomplete volume; yet, I didn't want one that was so bulky that I couldn't easily slip it from the bookcase and balance it on my lap. After going to bookstores and browsing through those in stock, I finally settled on the Merriam-Webster's Collegiate. The text is printed on paper thick enough to block out the print on the reverse side, but thin enough to take up minimal room on the shelf. When opened, the pages lie flat without assistance. The comprehensive listings are easy to read and understand for most people over the age of 14. In addition to the usual guide to pronunciation, you'll find sections in the back on biographical and geographical names, abbreviations, foreign words and phrases, signs and symbols, and a "handbook of style." Although much has been made about the added line drawings to supplement the definitions, I find them sparse and only mildly interesting. I recommend this for high school and college students as well as anyone who owns an older, pre-high tech version. If you are searching for a mid-size, comprehensive dictionary, you've found your book.
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Summary: what's the ideal dictionary for ESL.
Review: Hello, I am from China.
For a long time, I am plagued by the dilemma of which dictionary to choose for my English studying. Hold to my believing that American English differs from British English greatly, I thought it might be detrimental to learn American English by British dictionary. Even not so, I still cannot bear the bulky information contains both American and British English usages, especially about monstrous idioms and phrases. It is so burdensome!
In china bookshop, you cannot find an ideal dictionary for American English studying; Longman English dictionaries and oxford English dictionaries prevail here. Sometimes you can see some dictionaries in Merriam-Webster series, but they are original version for Native American and no further explanation for the usage of words. From Merriam-Webster dictionary, we can learn many words without recognizing how to use them and what their contexts are. For example, I learn a word from Webster, but I do not know whether often it is used in modern times or it is outdated, for derogatory or for appreciatory usage, and what the word¡¯s extent, scope and degree different from other synonyms. The paucity of illustrative sentences is a neck bottle for ours reading and learning in Webster too.
For ESL,How to use what kind of dictionary for American English studying?
Rating: 
Summary: Good, but it can not be run in XP
Review: It is interesting that this software runs well at my home's XP, but not the XP in my office. It says there is some problem with xnmba500.dll. I don't know anybody can help me out of this problem.
Rating:
Summary: A Fabulous Resource
Review: This is probably the best dictionary available for the average person. I have yet to be unable to find a word in this dictionary. As a frequent public speaker I often rely on this dictionary and have never regretted purchasing it. I don't know much about dictionaries, but i do know what works. Over 215,000 words with clear explanations of what they mean, where they come from and how they can be used. There is a chart at the beggining of the dictionary to help people learn to use it in its fullness. At the end of the book there are the little things that we were taught in school that have served me as a wonderful brush up. This is a very handy tool for any high school, college or university student. It's also a nice to have tool to have on your bookshelf just in case you need it. I am not an advanced graduate university student or a PhD holder so I don't know if this would qualify as an adequate resource for those who are in the more advanced educational fields. For a paramedic turned firefighter turned pastor this serves my needs very well.
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Summary: Scrabble Reference
Review: This is one of two dictionaries that every college student should have. The other is "Scribner-Bantam Dictionary" in paperback (it is excellent and will fit in a backpack full of books). This volume is not as heavy as the Oxford English Dictionary (OED), but has an incredible amount of words with excellent definitions that are concise and informative. For a high school neighbor graduating next year, I plan to give these two dictionaries and Richard Feynman's book "Surely You're Joking, Mr. Feynman!". By the way, this dictionary is THE reference for official Scrabble tournaments for the longer words (ten letters or more).
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