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Quora
quora.com › Where-can-we-get-free-online-versions-of-Oxford-dictionaries
Where can we get free online versions of Oxford dictionaries? - Quora
Answer: Liddell and Scott-- the Great Scott and Middle Scott -- and Lewis and Short are available at the Perseus Project web site. The Perseus texts and dictionaries can also be downloaded from the Plaistow. Another version of zlewis and Short is available at the Glossa web site. Although not fro...
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Spaceneedle
ftp.spaceneedle.com › libweb › mL60BF › 602856 › Oxford English Dictionary Unabridged.pdf
ftp.spaceneedle.com - Oxford English Dictionary Unabridged
Attackers might be trying to steal your information from ftp.spaceneedle.com (for example, passwords, messages, or credit cards). Learn more about this warning · Subject: ftp.spaceneedle.com
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Oxford Learner's Dictionaries
oxfordlearnersdictionaries.com › us
Oxford Learner's Dictionaries | Find definitions, translations, and grammar explanations at Oxford Learner's Dictionaries
The largest and most trusted free online dictionary for learners of British and American English with definitions, pictures, example sentences, synonyms, antonyms, word origins, audio pronunciation, and more. Look up the meanings of words, abbreviations, phrases, and idioms in our free English ...
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Amazon
amazon.com › Oxford-English-Dictionary-Vols-1-20 › dp › 0198611862
Amazon.com: The Oxford English Dictionary, Volume 1-20, (20 Volume Set): 8580000723984: Simpson, John, Weiner, Edmund: Books
Also available online at: www.oed.com. ... The Amazon Book Review Book recommendations, author interviews, editors' picks, and more. Read it now. ... Merriam-Webster’s Everyday Language Reference Set: Includes: The Merriam-Webster Dictionary, The Merriam-Webster Thesaurus, and The Merriam-Webster Vocabulary Builder ... The Compact Edition of The Oxford English Dictionary, Complete Text Reproduced Micrographically (in slipcase with reading glass)
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RMIT University
rmit.libguides.com › reference
General reference - Dictionaries and Encyclopedias - All guides at RMIT University
Oxford Reference Online consists of a wealth of facts, figures, definitions, and translations found in dictionary, language reference, and subject reference works published by Oxford University Press. Note only selected titles are included in the RMIT subscription.
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Internet Archive
archive.org › texts
The Oxford English Dictionary : Free Download, Borrow, and Streaming : Internet Archive
20 volumes ; 32 cm The Oxford English Dictionary provides definitions of approximately 290,500 English words, arranged alphabetically in twenty volumes, with cross-references, etymologies, and pronunciation keys, and includes a bibliography. 1998 reprint Includes bibliographical references (v.
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Oxford University Press
global.oup.com › academic › product › oxford-english-dictionary-online-9780195216813
Oxford English Dictionary Online - - Oxford University Press
Free trial Librarians can register for a free trial. Flexible Pricing OUP offers flexible pricing options to institutions worldwide. Get in touch with your Oxford representative today to learn more.
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Microsoft Store
apps.microsoft.com › detail › 9wzdncrdp7tc
Oxford Dictionary & Thesaurus – Learn English with 1M+ definitions, audio pronunciation, synonyms, etymology & 15 dictionaries including Spanish, French, and Japanese - Free download and install on Windows | Microsoft Store
Elevate Your Language Skills with ... language resource trusted by millions worldwide. This comprehensive app, powered by Oxford Languages, offers a wealth of linguistic tools to help you achieve your language goals....
Find elsewhere
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Logos Community
community.logos.com › home › logos and verbum › english forum
Book request: The REAL Oxford English Dictionary (unabridged) - Logos Community
January 7, 2010 - * Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed. (20 volumes) The Concise OED is nice, but it doesn't have all words I come across in it. I've been a fan of the complete and unabridged Oxford English Dictionary since childhood. My mother had the 2-volume complete but reduced print edition that had such ...
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Oxford English Dictionary
oed.com
Oxford English Dictionary
Example queries I can run are "Which words in English are borrowed from French?", "Which words were first used by Charles Dickens?" or "How are words added to the dictionary?". I cannot search for synonyms yet, but I’m ready to help with other advanced searches. Give me a try! ... Sign up to receive the Oxford English Dictionary Word of the Day email every day.
Top answer
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Search Engines

Yes, you can still access the definitions freely online, since apparently Google and Bing are still licensed to provide them. (Note: Some entries for proper nouns are missing or incomplete in Google, while Bing's were complete.)

For best results, search for define [term]. You can also search for dictionary and type your word in the box (autocomplete will show you what words are in the dictionary).

Here's what I see in Google compared with NOAD (they're the same, though I wasn't able to show the full NOAD entry which includes the origin):

From define whipping boy

ODE vs NOAD

It's not entirely clear to me how this works, but I think it's identical to NOAD for most definitions. (For people who live elsewhere, it may use something based on ODE instead, the British counterpart to NOAD.) Unfortunately, Lexico had some definitions that were missing in NOAD/ODE, such as "fireman's pole".

For your convenience I made bookmarklets to switch between dictionaries, based off the information in Nardog's answer. To use, bookmark any page and replace the URL with one of the snippets below.

Switch to British English:

javascript:window.location=window.location.toString().includes('gl=us')?window.location.toString().replace(/gl=us/,'gl=gb'):window.location.toString()+'&gl=gb'

Switch to American English:

javascript:window.location=window.location.toString().includes('gl=gb')?window.location.toString().replace(/gl=gb/,'gl=us'):window.location.toString()+'&gl=us'

(Could probably use fine tuning.)

Attribution

If you use a definition in your post, please credit the dictionary provider, which you can see at the top: "Definitions from Oxford Languages". For greatest clarity I recommend citing how you found the definition: "Oxford Languages via Google".

Finding example sentences

Lexico had more example sentences, and sadly I don't think they are available anywhere else. No other dictionary has examples quite like that. The closest alternative may be Cambridge, which seems to have about two examples per definition, plus a few more that belong to each group of definitions. However, while Lexico had "found" examples, Cambridge seems to have examples that were made up for the dictionary.

Operating systems that include Oxford Dictionaries

Some systems also come with Oxford Dictionaries installed. This is usually a more convenient way of accessing it. Here's a list:

  • MacOS
  • iOS (as I'm using in the screenshot)
  • Kindle

Apps

As you noted, there are also mobile apps (iOS and Android). I may have used the Android one but I honestly don't remember much about it. The reviews seem to be very mixed.

Archive sites

Lastly, many of the pages (but not all) were backed up by archivers like archive.org. For the best chance to find an archive, it's important to remember all the renames the site went through:

  • lexico.com
  • oxforddictionaries.com (can't get it to list all the definitions)
  • en.oxforddictionaries.com
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To add to Laurel's answer, this URL scheme seems to be the way to make sure everybody who follows a link to a define search on Google sees the same thing:

https://www.google.com/search?gl=gb&hl=en&q=define+example&forcedict=example&dictcorpus=en&expnd=1

Let's break it down one by one:

  • gl=gb: Makes sure the dictionary is the one based on ODE, not on NOAD. gl=us if you want to cite the one based on NOAD. Without this, it'll give you NOAD if Google thinks you're in North America, and ODE otherwise.
  • hl=en: Forces English as the interface language. Essential if the language the user usually sees Google in has a word spelled the same as the query.
  • q=define+example: Self-explanatory, except that it has to be + (or anything that converts to a space), not : (%3A). Some queries, such as a prefix beginning with a hyphen, do not work with define:.
  • forcedict=example, dictcorpus=en: I haven't found a case where these parameters actually make a difference, but they're there when you click on a synonym, so probably better include it.
  • expnd=1: Expands the entry, saving you a click.

For Bing, which includes proper nouns unlike Google, these seem to work:

https://www.bing.com/search?q=define+example&cc=gb&setlang=en

https://www.bing.com/search?q=define+example&cc=us&setlang=en

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Wikipedia
en.wikipedia.org › wiki › Oxford_English_Dictionary
Oxford English Dictionary - Wikipedia
October 20, 2025 - On 14 March 2000, the Oxford English Dictionary Online (OED Online) became available to subscribers. The online database containing the OED2 is updated quarterly with revisions that will be included in the OED3 (see above). The online edition is the most up-to-date version of the dictionary ...
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Encyclopediacenter
encyclopediacenter.com › dictionaries › unabridged-dictionaries.html
Unabridged Dictionaries - Dictionaries
Unabridged Dictionaries · Filter · Sort By · Position · Product Name · Price Set Descending Direction · 3 Items · Show · 5 · 10 · 15 · 20 · 25 per page · View as List Grid · The Oxford English Dictionary (20 Volume Set) - 2nd Edition · The Oxford English Dictionary, 20 Volume Set, 2nd Edition Learn More ·
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Internet Archive
archive.org › texts
The Oxford English Dictionary Vol. 1(a-b) : Murray,james A.h.ed. : Free Download, Borrow, and Streaming : Internet Archive
dc.contributor.author: Murray,james A.h.ed. dc.date.accessioned: 2015-07-01T17:01:02Z dc.date.available: 2015-07-01T17:01:02Z dc.date.digitalpublicationdate: 2011-12-22 dc.date.citation: 1913 dc.identifier.barcode: 4990010059255 dc.identifier.origpath: /data8/upload/0256/538 dc.identifier.copyno: 1 dc.identifier.uri: http://www.new.dli.ernet.in/handle/2015/99992 dc.description.scanningcentre: C-DAK, Kolkata dc.description.main: 1 dc.description.tagged: 0 dc.description.totalpages: 1282 dc.format.mimetype: application/pdf dc.language.iso: English dc.publisher.digitalrepublisher: Digital Library
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Oxford English Dictionary
oed.com › dictionary › unabridged_adj
unabridged, adj. meanings, etymology and more | Oxford English Dictionary
new senses or phrases added in print and online updates since OED2 (1989). Revisions and additions of this kind were last incorporated into unabridged, adj. in March 2024. ... View unabridged, ppl. a. in OED Second Edition ... Oxford English Dictionary, “,” , .