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These are answers to the most frequently asked questions about Cambridge Dictionary. If you have a question which isn't in this list, or if the answer given does not satisfy you, pleasecontact uswith your question.

How are words added to the dictionary?
What is the SMART Vocabulary?
How can I find out a word's pronunciation?

What do the phonetic symbols mean?
What do the codes in the dictionary entries mean?
What dosbandsthin entries mean?
What do the A1, B2, C1, etc. labels mean?

How are words added to the dictionary?

We have a team oflexicographerswho are always on the lookout for new words appearing in the English language. They look at theCambridge English Corpusto check thefrequencyof the word, and where it is used (in newspapers, in casual conversation, in academic texts, etc.). If the word is used in many different contexts over a period of time, the lexicographers add it to the dictionary. If the lexicographers think that a new word might beephemeral, they keep a record of it to review at a later date.

What is the SMART Vocabulary?

Our SMART Vocabulary panels appear in many of our entries. They provide words and phrases related to the one you've looked up. You can click on the bar that saysSMART Vocabulary: related words and phrasesto reveal or hide the panel. If you click onSee more resultsyou can see all the words and phrases in that topic in a cloud. The words are bigger or smaller depending on their frequency.

How can I find out a word's pronunciation?

In most entries in the dictionary, you will see two speaker iconsunder the word; one British and one American. You can click on them to hear the pronunciation of the word. In addition, all entries in the dictionary include phonetic transcriptions in the International Phonetic Alphabet.

What do the phonetic symbols mean?

Phonetic symbols represent the sounds of words (for example, the pronunciation of words is /wɜːdz/). You can see afull list of phonetic symbolsused in our dictionaries, with examples of their pronunciation.

What do the codes in the dictionary entries mean?

You can see a full list ofgrammar codesused in our dictionaries, with explanations of what they mean.

What dosbandsthin entries mean?

sbmeanssomebody, andsthmeanssomething.

What do the A1, B2, C1, etc. labels mean?

These symbols show theEnglish Profilelevel of a word, phrase or meaning. For example, a word that has a B1 symbol is a word that intermediate learners of English usually know.

A1Beginner

A2Elementary

B1Intermediate

B2Upper-Intermediate

C1Advanced

C2Proficiency