Whether you're a student committed to building your vocabulary or simply an unabashed lover of the English language, starting each day with a fresh word in your email can be intellectually nourishing--and more enjoyable than a bowl of All-Bran.
Here are three of our favorite daily word sites: all are free and available through email subscriptions.
- Oxford English Dictionary Word of the Day
For many of us, the Oxford English Dictionary is the ultimate reference work, and the OED Word of the Day provides a complete entry, including a wealth of illustrative sentences, from the 20-volume dictionary. You can sign up to have the OED's Word of the Day delivered by e-mail or RSS web feed.
Recommended for scholars, English majors, and logophiles. - Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day
Less expansive than the OED site, the daily word page hosted by this U.S. dictionary-maker provides an audio pronunciation guide along with basic definitions. The Merriam-Webster Word of the Day is also available as a podcast, which you can listen to on your computer or MP3 player.
Recommended for high school and college students as well as advanced ESL students. - A.Word.A.Day (AWAD)
Now in its 13th year, A.Word.A.Day at Wordsmith.org is the creation of Anu Garg, an India-born computer engineer who clearly enjoys sharing his pleasure in words. Simply designed, this popular site (over half-a-million subscribers) offers concise definitions and examples of words that relate to a different theme every week.
Recommended for all word lovers.
