COBUILD: Shifting senses. How meanings of words have changed over the last 30 years

In the 30 years since the publication of the first COBUILD dictionary, a whole flurry of new words has come into the language and as they’ve caught on and become part of everyday usage, they’ve been added to the dictionary. I’m not just talking about the trendy new coinages that… Read More

COBUILD: The Early Years: Part 2. A dictionary from a corpus

By the time I arrived at COBUILD as part of the 1993 intake recruited to work on the second edition of the dictionary, the whole project had been fully computerised for several years. This meant working on screen at terminals linked to mainframe computers that hummed away in a separate… Read More

COBUILD Design and Layout: Changes over the last 30 years

Where were you 30 years ago? I was in the middle of my university studies, still to embark on my ELT career, and as such, a smidgin too late to be part of the intrepid and free-spirited COBUILD dictionary team. Led by the late John Sinclair, this large young team… Read More

COBUILD: The Early Years: Part 1. Where it all began

I have always counted myself as incredibly fortunate to have worked as part of the COBUILD team at the time that I did, between October 1983 and the end of 1986. I was not quite 24 when I arrived in Birmingham, not knowing one end of a dictionary definition from… Read More

COBUILD 30th ANNIVERSARY

Since 1987, Collins COBUILD has been a leading source of authentic English worldwide. Now celebrating its 30th year, COBUILD continues to provide invaluable and detailed guidance on the English language. 1st edition, 1987 2nd edition, 1995… Read More

Suffragette, Falcon Heavy, and Frankenkilt: February’s Words in the News

This February marked 100 years since the passing of the Representation of the People Act, which gave some women the right to vote in the United Kingdom. While not the universal suffrage that they had been campaigning for, this anniversary drew renewed attention to the Suffragettes and their long, historic… Read More

The language of love: 5 ways to express your love on Valentine’s Day

In the words of Shakespeare, ‘speak low if you speak love’. Or shout it from the rooftops, whichever you prefer. The most romantic day of the year is upon us, and if you’re celebrating with loved ones this Valentine’s Day, it’s time to pick up your pen and let your… Read More

Unlocking Mandarin with Paul Noble

This autumn best-selling language expert Paul Noble, author of the Unlocking language series, will release an exciting new title that will help you unlock Mandarin. We sent one of the Collins team for a one-to-one learning experience with the man himself, and here’s how they found part one of the… Read More

Fat Cat Thursday, Super Blue Moon, and jackpotting: January’s Words in the News

In previous Januarys, I’ve written about Blue Monday, which is a certain Monday in January (usually the second or third after the festive season) when everyone’s back to work, Christmas is a distant memory, and there are still many more weeks of winter. But this year I thought I’d… Read More