The Pocket Oxford Dictionary and Thesaurus (New Look for Oxford Dictionaries)

Rating:
Summary: Excellent dictionary combined with useful thesaurus.
Review: American, not British English! Too large to fit in my pocket, this is a superior inexpensive reference book. The dictionary is excellent for a book of this size. The thesaurus is clearly more limited than a dedicated tome, but the list of synonyms is useful. The guide to pronounciation is as good as any, though I feel this is one area where CD-ROM computerized dictionaries have the advantage. There is also a brief "Special Reference Section" containing signs and symbols, easily confused words (e.g affect/effect), terms for groups of animals, et al., but includes other items I found less appropriate to a dictionary such as metric/US weights, measures, and temperatures, multiplication tables - redundant in the age of calculators, presidents/states of the US, etc.

Rating:
Summary: Excellent dictionary combined with useful thesaurus.
Review: American, not British English! Too large to fit in my pocket, this is a superior inexpensive reference book. The dictionary is excellent for a book of this size. The thesaurus is clearly more limited than a dedicated tome, but the list of synonyms is useful. The guide to pronounciation is as good as any, though I feel this is one area where CD-ROM computerized dictionaries have the advantage. There is also a brief "Special Reference Section" containing signs and symbols, easily confused words (e.g affect/effect), terms for groups of animals, et al., but includes other items I found less appropriate to a dictionary such as metric/US weights, measures, and temperatures, multiplication tables - redundant in the age of calculators, presidents/states of the US, etc.

Rating:
Summary: Excellent Dictionary (not for your pocket)
Review: I bought this dictionary/thesaurus a few years ago for college, and have used it well. While it won't fit in your pocket, it will fit in your book bag, and I was more than happy to sacrifice the extra weight for a few more definitions and synonyms. And, while this is much more detailed dictionary than any other "pocket" dictionary I have come across (which typically fit in your pocket), it is certainly not THE definitive dictionary you'll want to own. I have come across a few words in my studies that have not been listed in this dictionary, and that I had to find at home (in a behemoth edition that fits on a CD-ROM). All in all, a great buy--best portable dictionary you will find. (Weight: 970 grams; 2 lbs, 2 1/2 oz. For those of you planning on taking it hiking.)

Rating:
Summary: Excellent Dictionary (not for your pocket)
Review: I bought this dictionary/thesaurus a few years ago for college, and have used it well. While it won't fit in your pocket, it will fit in your book bag, and I was more than happy to sacrifice the extra weight for a few more definitions and synonyms. And, while this is much more detailed dictionary than any other "pocket" dictionary I have come across (which typically fit in your pocket), it is certainly not THE definitive dictionary you'll want to own. I have come across a few words in my studies that have not been listed in this dictionary, and that I had to find at home (in a behemoth edition that fits on a CD-ROM). All in all, a great buy--best portable dictionary you will find. (Weight: 970 grams; 2 lbs, 2 1/2 oz. For those of you planning on taking it hiking.)

Rating:
Summary: Excellent dictionary/thesaurus for your high school student.
Review: I would like to say that this book is excellent for students with hard courses in high school. It's a pretty good size to fit in your backpack although I wouldn't call it pocket size, I would call it backpack size :). They also have a special reference section where they give you basic information such as country/capital, states, metric conversion, etc... All in all a very excellent purchase that would benifit your education.