Advanced search

An OED entry is typically divided into a number of senses, and each of these senses will normally have numerous quotations.

The scope of a search can be changed using the Entries, Senses, and Quotations tabs at the top of the search panel. A search will return a list of matching entries, individual senses, or quotations depending on the tab selected.

Enter your search terms, choose your parameters, and select the Search button to begin.

Searches can be narrowed by date. You can enter a single date (e.g. 1965), a closed date range (e.g. 1970-1975), or an open date range (e.g. -1401 for 1401 and earlier, 1910- for 1910 and later).

Enter your search text into the search fields. Use the drop-down menus to restrict your search to specific areas such as Headword or Definition.

Use the Boolean drop-down menu to construct searches using more than one search term.

Proximity searches can be run using the Near and Not Near options. By default this searches within one word, but this can be changed using the Options for NEAR/NOT NEAR drop-down menu.

Select the Ordered check box to search for terms in the order in which they appear in the search fields.

Searches can be narrowed by part of speech (e.g. noun, combining form). Select a particular part of speech from the drop-down menu.

Searches can be narrowed by entry letter or alphabetic range. An asterisk (*) can be used as a wildcard character.

For example, enter b* to search only entries beginning with the letter b, or enter lie to search only entries with that headword.

Searches can be narrowed by Origin (e.g. European languages, Japanese), Usage (e.g. derogatory, ironic), Region (e.g. Caribbean, Australia), or Subject (e.g. Arts, Logic).

Select one of the Browse options (e.g. Browse origin ») to show the available filters. A plus symbol (+) can be selected to expand a category into further subcategories.

Start typing the name of a filter into the box and the auto-complete prompt will help to enter it in the correct form.