Online Resources for Writers and Editors

I can't promise that these are the best, the most popular, or the most useful online resources for writers and editors. They're simply some of my favorite reference sites--and all of them are free. I hope you'll find at least one or two worth bookmarking.

If you'd like to recommend other online resources for writers, please click on the "comments" button at the end of this post.

Acronyms & Abbreviations
You can count on either of these sites to do an XLNT job of finding or deciphering just about any acronym or abbreviation imaginable.

• Abbreviations.com
  This well-organized site (part of the STANDS4 LLC network of reference sites) offers the "world's largest and most comprehensive directory and search engine for acronyms, abbreviations and initialisms on the Internet."


• Acronym Finder
  Site founder and developer Mike Molloy also lays claim to providing "the world's largest and most comprehensive dictionary of acronyms, abbreviations, and initialisms."

English Dictionaries
Though nothing surpasses the Oxford English Dictionary (available online by subscription), these two online dictionaries are free and should serve most everyday needs.

• The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language
  The 90,000 entries include audio pronunciations, word histories, and usage notes.


• Merriam-Webster Online
  In addition to the online English dictionary (based on the print version of Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary, eleventh edition), you'll find a Spanish-English dictionary, a thesaurus, word games, and much more at Merriam-Webster Online.

Facts, News, and Ideas

• Arts & Letters Daily
  A service of The Chronicle of Higher Education, Arts & Letters Daily has been described as "a thinking person's guide, by way of 80 or so regularly updated, annotated links, to interesting, stylish and original writing on the web." Check out the left-hand column for links to major newspapers and magazines as well as columns, book reviews, and blogs.


• SciTechDaily Review
  The "sister site" of Arts & Letters Daily, SciTechDaily Review claims to offer "the best intelligent, informed science and technology coverage and analysis you can find on a daily basis."


• The New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy
  Comprehensive? Certainly not. Useful and reliable? Yes indeed. Hosted by Bartleby.com, this is the online version of the third edition of The New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, by E. D. Hirsch, Jr., Joseph F. Kett, and James Trefil (2002).


• Refdesk
  Online since 1995, Refdesk characterizes itself as a "free and family-friendly web site that indexes and reviews quality, credible, and current web-based resources." Not the snazziest site on the web or the most clearly organized, but it should (eventually) help you find almost anything you're looking for online.

Grammar & Usage
Both of these works are available by way of our favorite megasite, Bartleby.com.

• The American Heritage Book of English Usage
  Browse or search this "detailed look at grammar, style, diction, word formation, gender, social groups and scientific forms."


• The Columbia Guide to Standard American English
  This "ideal handbook of language etiquette" is based on Kenneth G. Wilson's 1993 text.

Publication

• The Writer Gazette
  If getting published is your goal, start here: "free writer-related articles, paying call for submission and freelance job postings, contests, resources, tips, and more to help induce, improve, and promote your writing career."


• Absolute Write
  You'll find plenty of helpful articles at Absolute Write and a lively forum for "intermediate and advanced-level writers."

Quotations
"I hate quotations. Tell me what you know." To find out who said that, visit either one of these excellent sites.

• BrainyQuote
  Browse or search this "vast and comprehensive quotations site" by topic, author, or keyword.


• The Quotations Page
  The "oldest quotation site on the Web" has "over 26,000 quotations online from over 3,100 authors."

Synonyms & Antonyms

• Thesaurus.com
  One of several reference services provided by Dictionary.com, this site is based on Roget’s II: The New Thesaurus, Third Edition.


• Synonym.com
  The search engine for Synonym.com is based on Word Net, a lexical database for the English language.

More Online Resources for Writers:

• Daily Word Sites
• Online Writing Labs
• Grammar and Usage Advice Sites
• Top 10 Blogs for Writers
• Best Business Writing Sites