Oxford Student's Dictionary

Oxford's student dictionary is squarely aimed at older schoolchildren up to A-levels, and it largely hits its target. Robust and compact, it is comprehensive enough for most purposes. Definitions are concise and clear and type design is clean. It sensibly includes a wide range of scientific terms, clearly defined, to help students encountering technical terms on science courses. It is also fairly up-to-date in its inclusion of new words including information technology terms such as FTP, though it is left behind by such now common words as webcam. Like most school dictionaries, it scrupulously avoids all sexual and drug slang, making it easy and safe for parents and teachers to recommend - although it is arguable that education on sex and drugs may not be helped by this self-censorship. A potentially useful feature is the inclusion of synonyms, though the suggested alternatives they include for what they say is the overused word 'nice' - friendly, considerate, suggest it may not be so overused after all. I could say this is a really nice dictionary. Friendly and considerate really don't cut it at all - a new sense of cut which, by the way, they miss. All in all, though, a reliable word companion for school.