Rating: 
Summary: The original Webster's is still the best one!
Review: Noah Webster wrote the first American English dictionary in the 1806 and his name has come to be synonymous with the word "dictionary" in the US. As a result, every dictionary in the US that wants to make any sales calls itself a "Webster's."The M-W, however, is the original and still the best. I have every major American English dictionary in publication, and several British dictionaries, including the Random House, the Webster's 3rd (the unabridged dictionary), Microsoft's dictionary, the Oxford Dictionary, and several learner's dictionaries. Frankly, the differences among the top three,i.e., the M-W, the Random House, and the Microsoft (on CD), are not that great--choose a word like "efficiency" and see how each is defined. You might think they were all working together. That said, I have so say the M-W is still my favorite. Further, the M-W dictionary is consistently rated #1 in surveys of academics and language scholar. I am a professional language and test preparation instructor and rely on good dictionaries for precise definitions of words. The M-W consistently gives clear, accurate dictionaries and apposite examples. One extra feature that helps word lovers like me understand the words better is that M-W lists definitions in the order that they came into use, with the most recent usage last. This type of listing is extremely helpful for understanding how a word has evolved and what it is about that word that remains and what is not essential to the meaning. Such an understanding of words is essential for GRE and SAT preparation and is one of the main reasons I regularly turn to the M-W. In short, it's your best option for an American English dictionary.
Rating:
Summary: Great Software - Very Comprehensive
Review: I borrowed the CD from a friend and now I'm gonna buy it for myself. It is really user-friendly and I would recommend it to anyone!
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Summary: can't add much except to say...
Review: ...that this is a good buy to get the best and most usable words, the best definitions of them, in the most compact and convenient tome.
Rating:
Summary: Consistently useful definitions
Review: As an attorney, I often need to cite dictionary definitions for the meaning of words. I often use several dictionaries to find the best definition for my purposes. I have been disappointed by other dictionaries, even ones with big names. But I consistently find that this dictionary contains the best, most concise, precise and usable meanings. It is even better than the much heftier Webster's Unabridged dictionary.
Rating:
Summary: Thorough and well-written, with useful features
Review: This is a very high quality collegiate dictionary. I am a member of a word puzzle organization (puzzlers.org) and this is our standard reference, along with the unabridged version, "Webster's Third New International Dictionary". Many very obscure words show up in puzzles, but it is relatively rare I find I have to go to the unabridged dictionary to look them up. In addition to being thorough (with excellent sections on abbreviations, foreign words and phrases (such as "en plein jour" or "inshallah") it includes compressed but informative etymological data. For example, the entry on "spacious" has this - ME, fr. MF spacieux, fr. L spatiosus, space, room -- more at SPEED (14c)"; in a little over a single line you get the lineage, with a reference to yet more information. You may have to learn some of the abbreviations (Middle English, Middle French, 14th century) but I found them generally intuitive and didn't need to look them up much at all. In addition, there are excellent usage paragraphs scattered throughout. These are of two types. One type compares the usage of different words with very similar meanings. For example, the entry on "satiate" provides a usage paragraph that compares "satiate", "sate", "surfeit", "cloy", "pall", "glut" and "gorge", identifying the precise differences of usage between them. The paragraph is cross-referenced at each of the other six words, so you don't have to just stumble across satiate to find it. The other kind of usage paragraph discusses correctness. A good example is "hopefully", which in its sense "I hope that" is controversial. The dictionary asserts the validity of this controversial use, which is sure to annoy some purists, but it does acknowledge the debate and cite grammatical arguments for its position. The dictionary is available online, and I strongly recommend you take a look at it. There is a CD-ROM for sale too, which is worth getting as it adds some fancy search features, though if you're like me you'll want the paper version to keep by the bed.
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Summary: The Best English Reference
Review: If you are looking for the best English reference book... this is what you are looking for! This is the best one I've never seen!. It contains useful appendixes to those that are learning English (like address forms, abbreviations, pronunciation guide, and a lot more...).
Rating:
Summary: Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary
Review: I've purchased editions of Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary since 1942 when my college English teacher told the class that the Merriam-Webster dictionary was the ONLY one to purchase.
Rating: 
Summary: You Can't Go Back
Review: After using the weighty New American Heritage Dictionary for the past few years, I purchased Webster's Collegiate after reading the very favorable reviews. To my dismay, Webster's doesn't have any where near as many foreign, scientific, or legal words, and seems to be lacking in the word-origins category. Webster's is a fine dictionary if you're the average student in need of basic spelling and word usage information. If, however, you depend on a dictionary for every utterance, stick with New American. It's worth its weight.
Rating:
Summary: Essential.
Review: This book is essential to any high school student, and even the occasional high school drop-out like me. ;-)
Rating:
Summary: Correction to my previous review
Review: Previously I rated this dictionary with 4 stars; I now amend it to 5 stars. At the back of the book I found pages and pages of abbreviations (a godsend for use in my work!). I can't think of a better reference. In fact, we have purchased a copy for everyone in our office for instant answers.
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