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Class 7 English — Using a dictionary and a thesaurus

Find a word by alphabetical order and guide words, read what its entry tells you, and use a thesaurus to find a better word.

Name: ________________________

Before you start

One entry from a dictionary page, with every part of it drawn as a block. Find out what each part is there to tell you.

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  1. 1. The two guide words at the top of the page
  2. 2. The headword — the word being explained
  3. 3. How the word is said aloud
  4. 4. Which part of speech it is
  5. 5. The first meaning
  6. 6. A second meaning of the same word
  7. 7. An example sentence, showing the word in use

The guide words are the fastest thing on the page: if your word does not fall between them, the whole page can be turned past without a single entry being read.

  1. 1.Which comes first in a dictionary, "celery" or "cellar"? Write the word.

  2. 2.A thesaurus is most useful when you want to ____.

    • a) find another word with a similar meaning
    • b) find out how to say a word aloud
    • c) find out where a word came from
    • d) find out how to spell a word

  3. 3.Put these words in the order you would find them in a dictionary.

    • breeze
    • bread
    • brave
    • branch
    • break

  4. 4.Sort each job by whether you would reach for a dictionary or a thesaurus.

    Groups: Dictionary · Thesaurus

    • Check how a word is spelled
    • Find a more interesting word for "nice"
    • Find out what a word means
    • Find a word meaning the opposite of "brave"
    • Stop yourself repeating one word all through a paragraph
    • Check whether a word is a noun or a verb
    • Find three other words for "walk"
    • Find out how a word is said aloud

  5. 5.Sort each word by whether it comes before or after "middle" in a dictionary.

    Groups: Before "middle" · After "middle"

    • melt
    • marble
    • monkey
    • mild
    • metal
    • mud
    • machine
    • mist

  6. 6.Which comes first in a dictionary, "quiet" or "quite"? Write the word.

  7. 7.Match each part of a dictionary entry to what it tells you.

    • headword
    • part of speech
    • definition
    • example sentence
    • pronunciation guide
    • how the word is used
    • how the word is said aloud
    • what the word means
    • the word being explained
    • whether the word is a noun, a verb or an adjective

  8. 8.In a dictionary, the label "n." after a word tells you that the word is a ____.

    • a) noun
    • b) negative
    • c) number
    • d) name

Answer key — Class 7 English — Using a dictionary and a thesaurus

  1. 1. celery
  2. 2. a) find another word with a similar meaning
  3. 3. 1. branch 2. brave 3. bread 4. break 5. breeze
  4. 4. Find out what a word means → Dictionary; Check how a word is spelled → Dictionary; Check whether a word is a noun or a verb → Dictionary; Find out how a word is said aloud → Dictionary; Find a more interesting word for "nice" → Thesaurus; Find a word meaning the opposite of "brave" → Thesaurus; Find three other words for "walk" → Thesaurus; Stop yourself repeating one word all through a paragraph → Thesaurus
  5. 5. machine → Before "middle"; marble → Before "middle"; melt → Before "middle"; metal → Before "middle"; mild → After "middle"; mist → After "middle"; monkey → After "middle"; mud → After "middle"
  6. 6. quiet
  7. 7. headword → the word being explained; part of speech → whether the word is a noun, a verb or an adjective; definition → what the word means; example sentence → how the word is used; pronunciation guide → how the word is said aloud
  8. 8. a) noun