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Frequently Asked Questions

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Table of Contents

Collins Online Dictionary

Published Products

Collins Online Dictionary

Can you explain your new log in process?

We have implemented a new login process that incorporates advanced security measures and introduces the option of social logins. Find out more here.

I didn’t receive an activation email. What should I do?

If you have created an account and don’t seem to have received an activation email, please check your junk or spam folder. If it still hasn’t arrived, please contact us.

I wish to raise a complaint about inappropriate or sensitive content on the website.

Please contact us with details of the issue you wish to raise. The information will then be passed to relevant team for consideration.

How do I use the pronunciation text next to a dictionary entry?

Please have a look at our pronunciation guides for more information:
COBUILD Dictionary Pronunciation Guide
Collins English Dictionary Pronunciation Guide
IPA French Pronunciation Guide
IPA German Pronunciation Guide
IPA Italian Pronunciation Guide
IPA Spanish Pronunciation Guide

What are CEFR labels?

CEFR categorize language ability into 6 levels, ranging from A1 for beginners up to C2 for fluent speakers. Please have a look at our guide for more information:

CEFR Labels explained

Can you explain what the abbreviations used in the dictionaries stand for?

Please have a look at our abbreviation guides for more information:
Collins English Dictionary (CED) Abbreviations
COBUILD Abbreviations
German Abbreviations
Italian Abbreviations
Portuguese Abbreviations
Spanish Abbreviations

Can you explain the parts of speech used in the dictionary?

Please have a look at our glossary explaining parts of speech for more information:
Parts of speech glossary

How do I submit a guest blog for the website?

We don’t currently accept guest posts or blogs for our site.

How do I submit a new word that isn’t already in the dictionary?

Before any word/term is included in our dictionary, we have to be convinced that it has become accepted in English. Our lexicographers will only include a new word in a dictionary after they have conducted extensive research on the word.

If you believe a particular term is in current usage and that it is becoming part of the English language, you can make an account on our CollinsDictionary.com website and submit the word.

We review suggestions as they come in and track the use of words over a period of time (using corpora and other sources) to determine whether the word is deemed to be accepted in English. At some point in the future, our editors may decide to add your word to our online data or to be printed in a new edition.

Why is the word I am looking for not in the online thesaurus?

Our online thesaurus was originally sourced from a print thesaurus, meaning some words had to be omitted as headword entry words simply for reasons of space. We had to make the assumption that users are likely to look up more common words in order to find synonyms or alternatives, which meant that some less frequent words are not found in the online thesaurus.

The word trend graphs are based on information from Google n-grams, and the numbers represent relative frequency of words across books (i.e. written form only) up to 2008. If you hover over a point on the graph, the number which appears next to the cursor is the value of the ‘recorded usage’ axis at that point (i.e. the relative frequency of the word across books at a certain time). More information on the creations of these graphs can be found at https://books.google.com/ngrams/info.

What Translator do you use on the website?

The Translator available on our website is an API tool supported by Microsoft. If you believe that a translation is not correct, please visit the Microsoft Support pages.

How do I get a refund for an app?

You will be able to ask for a refund from Apple.

I am interested in advertising on your website. Can you give me more information?

Please have a look at our advertising pages for more information.

Published Products

Why is the word I am looking for not in my dictionary?

Words are included in our dictionaries on the basis of their frequency in our language databases, and the lower the frequency of usage, the lower the chances a word will be included in a smaller dictionary, where we are constrained by space as to how many words we can include. So, if you have a smaller version of one of Collins’ dictionaries, such as a paperback edition, the word may not be included there. It is best to check in our online dictionary. If you still can’t find it, please feel free to suggest it via our submissions facility.

Why do you show the -ize spelling of verbs before the -ise spelling?

When a verb can end in -ize or -ise, or a noun end in -ization or -isation, in British English, it is Collins’ policy to use the -ize/-ization forms as primary spelling forms because these spellings are almost universally acceptable (whereas the -ise/-isation forms are regarded as incorrect in some countries). Elsewhere, we give precedence to British English spellings that have no acceptable variants in British English, such as ‘colour’ and ‘fibre’.

I want to make a complaint about the quality of a dictionary (missing pages, poor binding, etc).

Please contact us with details of the issue you have come across. A member of our team will contact you to help with your issue.

Do you publish any dictionaries in large-print?

Unfortunately, we do not presently publish hard-copy large-print dictionaries. However, there are some digital alternatives that may be of interest.

A number of our dictionaries are available as ebook files on Kindle, the font sizes of which can be adjusted by users to suit their needs. These can be browsed on Amazon. It should be noted that each side of a bilingual Kindle dictionary title is sold separately.

There are also some Collins dictionaries and language-learning materials (including our Easy Learning titles) available in PDF format on the RNIB’s Bookshare website. Please find further information on eligibility criteria for access to this service.

I can’t seem to find the website for the “Tony Buzan Language Revolution” products.

Unfortunately, our entire Language Revolution product range has been discontinued since 2014, and the website was as a result made non-operational.

If you would like to explore alternative Collins products at a beginner level, you might like to take a look at the Collins Easy Learning range, which is available for various languages.

We also publish a range of language-learning products, such as the Paul Noble range and the Easy Learning Audio Courses.

I can’t seem to find the website for the “Easy Learning In a Click” products.

Unfortunately, the Collins In A Click series is no longer supported by Collins. We withdrew these titles from sale several years ago and the website that accompanied them had to be closed as there was no longer enough demand for the site.

If you are looking for a similar product, we can recommend the Collins Easy Learning Audio Courses, available for purchase, or the Collins Talk 60 Audio, which you can download and then listen to on your PC/device.

I am a translator and am interested in applying for work with Collins.

We are not looking for any translators at the moment.

I want to quote a part of one of Collins’ products. How do I obtain permission?

Please email our Business Development Team with details of your request and someone will get back to you.

I am interested in accessing the API for a particular text. Who do I contact?

Please email our API Team with details of your request and someone will get back to you.