Oxford dictionaries: the trusted choice for the world’s largest search engines, apps and e-readers

by | Jun 3, 2014 | Dictionaries, Schools News, Dictionary News

Oxford Dictionary blog post

1. Oxford dictionaries used by the world’s largest search engine

Oxford dictionaries have been the content provider for the world’s largest search engine dictionary since 2008, when Google announced that the Google English Dictionary had switched from using the Collins COBUILD Advanced Learner’s English Dictionary to the Oxford Pocket Dictionary of Current English. The Oxford Pocket Dictionary of Current English has since been integrated into Google Search when the definition of a word is searched using the “define” function.

2. Oxford dictionaries embedded in leading e-readers

Have you ever come across a word you don’t know while reading your favourite e-book? Look up the meaning of any word on your Kindle e-reader, now preloaded with The Oxford Dictionary of English and The New Oxford American Dictionary. These easy-to-use, built-in dictionaries allow you to look up the meaning of any word without leaving the page you are on. Simply select the word that you want to look up, and the definition will be displayed at the bottom of the screen. Since the dictionaries are built into the device, you can look up the meaning of any word without being connected to the internet.

4. Get your Oxford Word-of-the-Day on popular instant-messaging site Mxit

Enhance your vocabulary and learn the meaning of a new word every day with Oxford and Africa’s favourite instant-messaging site, Mxit. The Oxford Word-of-the-Day is an exciting new app that offers you definitions of more than 200 useful English words together with translations into Afrikaans, isiZulu, isiXhosa and Sepedi, plus excellent tips on avoiding common language mistakes. New material is regularly available.
Simply download and register for Mxit on your feature phone or smartphone (https://site.mxit.com/). Once you have registered, go to the Apps section and search for Oxford. Download the app and join in the excitement of spreading the Oxford Word-of-the-Day to millions of Mxit users across Africa!

5. Reach new heights with an Oxford dictionary

Oxford dictionaries worldwide build on the incomparable research and expertise that went into creating the very best range of dictionaries for everyone from pre-school children to matriculants and beyond. Now available on a multitude of platforms, ranging from traditional printed dictionaries all the way through to web-based dictionaries and phone apps you can access with the click of a button. It is no surprise that Oxford dictionaries remain the world’s most trusted dictionaries.

Latest News

  • How Oxford Reading Buddy is transforming reading success across Curro schools 
    On 4 September 2026, Angelique Timms, Curriculum Lead at Curro, was a guest speaker at the annual Oxford Digital Africa: Future Learning Labs event held in Cape Town. She spoke on why digital learning is becoming increasingly embedded in education and that schools face a critical question: How can technology be used to meaningfully improve literacy outcomes rather than simply digitize traditional learning.
  • Oxford University Press SA puts four school dictionaries under R200 as learners turn to AI 
    Four school dictionaries priced below R200 aim to help learners in Grades 4 to 9 build the language skills needed to understand and evaluate online answers.
  • Oxford’s Literacy Magazine: A,B,See! vol. 4 
    In the 2026 edition of Oxford’s literacy magazine, A, B, See!, we build on the themes of the third issue and explore the transition that learners make from learning to read to reading to learn, and how the shift from the Foundation Phase to the Intermediate Phase is one of the most significant milestones in a learner’s educational journey.

Oxford CAPS approved

View online samples of our trusted classroom solutions and support material across all phases and subjects.

Bigger, better, brighter

and more beautiful than ever before!

Brand new editions of our popular CAPS-linked bilingual dictionaries for South African learners in Grade R to 4

360° teaching at your fingertips

The all-in-one teacher’s toolbox