ShmoopTube

00:04

[Coop and Dino singing]

00:14

What is a dictionary, and why is it important to learn how to use one? [Person picks up a dictionary]

00:17

Let’s hope we didn’t get that “I “heart” dictionaries” tattoo for nothing…

00:20

A dictionary is a book or electronic resource that lists the words of a language …typically [Coop discussing what a dictionary is]

00:25

in alphabetical order… …and provides their meaning and parts of speech.

00:29

It also provides information about pronunciation, origin, and usage of a word.

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About the only thing it doesn’t tell you is what the weather’s like outside. [Man reading dictionary and walks away]]

00:37

So…sorry.

00:39

You’ll have to pop open a window.

00:40

Using a dictionary helps us learn the meanings of new and unfamiliar words. [Baby sleeping in a crib]

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So that they can become, uh…old and familiar.

00:47

First, we find the word we want to look up.

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To locate it, we’ll need to look at the first letter of the word. [School bus arrives at school]

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For example, the word “school.”

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School starts with S, so in our dictionary, we’re going to go to the section of the

00:58

dictionary that starts with S. It’s helpful that everything is in alphabetical order.

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Because if “S” was hidden between “C” and “Q,” we could be here all day.

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Once we’ve found S, we’re going to look at the second letter of the word “school”,

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which is C. [Arrow points to letter C]

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There are guide words at the top of each page of the dictionary.

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These guide words will help us find out if our word is on the page.

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The guide words will start with “S-A” and go all the way through the end of the

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“S” words.

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We need to find the page that includes “SC” words. [Pair of scissors appear]

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Like “Scallion,” “Scissors” and “Scatalogical.”

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Once we’re there, we scan down the page until we find the word “school.”

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Here, the dictionary will tell us exactly what the word means. [Definition of school highlighted]

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If it has more than one meaning, it will tell you the most common one first.

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It will also tell us how to pronounce the word, how to capitalize it if it's a proper

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noun, what part of speech it is and so on.

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Now that we know how to use a dictionary, we can look up any word we want. [Man walks towards a dictionary]

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But…you probably already knew how to use one.

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After all, your picture is in there.

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Right next to the word “gullible.”

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Wait for it…

01:55

Gotcha! [Man reading dictionary]

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