Citing the Dictionary and Other Online Sources

A citation of any online dictionary or thesaurus should include the following information:

  • headword of the entry cited (in quotes)
  • title of the source (in italics)
  • date the dictionary or thesaurus was published, posted, or revised (Use the copyright date noted at the bottom of this and every page of the Merriam-Webster Dictionary.)
  • full URL of the site (up to and including the file name)
  • date you accessed the dictionary (in parentheses)

Here are three ways you might cite the entry for hacker in the Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary, if you accessed it on May 8, 2011.

"hacker." Merriam-Webster.com . 2011. https://www.merriam-webster.com (8 May 2011). MLA Style: "hacker." Merriam-Webster.com . Merriam-Webster, 2011. Web. 8 May 2011. APA Style: hacker. 2011. In Merriam-Webster.com . Retrieved May 8, 2011, from https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/hacker

Citing Other Online Sources

There is no universally accepted standard for citing online sources, but it is generally adequate to indicate the document's Web address, or URL (uniform resource locator), somewhere in the citation, usually following the date on which the electronic document was published, posted, or last revised (if known).

Thus a typical citation of an online source would show the author's name, the title of the document, the title of the complete work (such as the name of a periodical) in italics, the date, and the full URL. A URL is composed of the protocol used (such as http for Web pages; other less common protocols include gopher , ftp , and telnet ), the server's identification, the directory path, and the file's name.

Here are a five sample citations of online sources:

Agmon, Eytan. "Beethoven's Op. 81a and the Psychology of Loss." Music Theory Online 2, 4 (1996). http://boethius.music.ucsb.edu/mto/ issues/mto.96.2.4/mto.2.4.agmon.html Davies, Al. 1997. Mitral Valvular Prolapse Syndrome. Medical Reporter 2, 11 (Feb.). http://www.dash.com/netro/nwx/tmr/tmr0297/valvular0297.html Thursby, Ray. "Hopping into hybrids." Salon.com . Aug. 2000. http://www.salon.com/business/feature/2000/08/15/hybrid/index.html

In many cases it is necessary or desirable to include the date of access as well. Note that the date of access will often be the only date shown, since many online documents do not include dates.

Walker, John. "Resources for Learning French." http://www.fourmilab.ch/francais/1french.html (12 Aug. 2007).

Periodicals published on paper that happen to be accessed online may be cited just like normal periodicals, with no acknowledgment of their online status, if it is clear that the text has not been altered for the online version.

References to mailing lists or newsgroup postings should begin with the author's name, include the subject line (or a made-up descriptive subject line), and provide the name and electronic address of the mailing-list server or newsgroup and the date posted. A personal e-mail message can be called "Personal communication" with no mention of its electronic medium.

Marchand, Jim. "L'humour de Berceo." (1 Oct. 1997). Medieval Texts Discussion List. [email protected] Massey, Neil. "Year 2000 and Sendmail 8.86." (1 Oct. 1997). comp.mail.sendmail

Many mailing-list discussions are archived after messages are posted. Archives are usually maintained on the mailing list's server and may also be available through a Web page. An archived message is cited in its original form unless the message was accessed through a Web server rather than the list server or newsgroup.

McCarty, Willard. "The Fate of Universities." 13 June 1997. Humanist Discussion Group. http://www.iath.virginia.edu/lists_archive/ Humanist/v11/0097.html

Note: Since many online sources are highly subject to change or deletion, any online text likely to be cited — including personal e-mail messages — should always be either downloaded onto a disk or printed out and stored on paper (with a notation of the date accessed) as a permanent record.

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MLA Citation Guide (9th Edition): Encyclopedias & Dictionaries

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Encyclopedia or dictionary from library database - known author, encyclopedia or dictionary from library database - unknown author, encyclopedia or dictionary from a website - known author, encyclopedia or dictionary from a website - unknown author, encyclopedia or dictionary entry in print - known author, encyclopedia or dictionary in print - unknown author, citing two authors, citing three or more authors, abbreviating months.

In your works cited list, abbreviate months as follows: 

January = Jan. February = Feb. March = Mar. April = Apr. May = May June = June July = July August = Aug. September = Sept. October = Oct. November = Nov. December = Dec.

Spell out months fully in the body of your paper. 

It can sometimes be difficult to find out who the author of a website is. Remember that an author can be a corporation or group, not only a specific person. Author information can sometimes be found under an "About" section on a website.

If there is no known author, start the citation with the title of the article instead.

Capitalize the first letter of every important word in the title. You do not need to capitalize words such as: in, of, or an. Do not use all-caps (except for words like USA where each letter stands for something), even if the words appear that way on the article.

If there is a colon (:) in the title, include what comes after the colon (also known as the subtitle).

The publisher or sponsoring organization can often be found in a copyright notice at the bottom of the home page or on a page that gives information about the site.  When the page is authored and published by the same corporation/group/organization, omit the author and begin your citation with the title. 

Publisher information may be omitted for:

  • periodicals (journals, magazines, newspapers)
  • works published by an author or editor
  • web sites whose title is the same as the name of the publisher
  • a web site not involved in producing the work it makes (e.g. user-generated content sites like  YouTube )

The best date to use for a website is the date that the content was last updated. Otherwise look for a copyright or original publication date. Unfortunately this information may not be provided or may be hard to find. Often date information is put on the bottom of the pages of a website.

If you do not know the complete date, put as much information as you can find. For example you may have a year but no month or day.

Access Date

Date of access is optional in MLA 9th edition. When no publication date is included, we recommend including the date you last accessed the site.

Note : For your Works Cited list, all citations should be double spaced and have a hanging indent.

A "hanging indent" means that each subsequent line after the first line of your citation should be indented by 0.5 inches.

Author's Last Name, First Name. "Title of Entry." Title of Encyclopedia or Dictionary , edited by   Editor's First Name Last Name, Edition if given and not first edition, vol. Volume Number if more than one volume, Publisher Name, Date of Publication,  pp. First Page-Last Page. Name of Database .  https://doi.org/DOI if there is one.

 Note : MLA 9th edition recommends including a DOI, stable link, or URL. We recommend that URLs be left out when citing a work found in a library database. Because library databases require a login most URLs will stop working after the session ends. If there is a DOI, include this as the last element, beginning with https://doi.org/.

If you do not have information such as an editor's name, a volume or page numbers leave those sections out of your citation.

 "Title of Entry."  Title of Encyclopedia or Dictionary , edited by   Editor's First Name Last Name, Edition if given and not first edition, vol. Volume Number, Publisher Name, Date of Publication, pp. First Page-Last Page.  Name of Database .   https://doi.org/DOI if there is one.

Author's Last Name, First Name. "Title of Entry."  Title of Encyclopedia or Dictionary , Publication or Update Date,   URL. Accessed  Day Month Year site was visited .  

"Title of Entry."  Title of Encyclopedia or Dictionary , Publisher if known, Copyright Date or Date Updated,   URL. Accessed Day Month Year site was visited .  

"Title of Entry." Wikipedia: The Free Encyclopedia,  Wikimedia Foundation, Day Month Year entry was last modified, Time entry was last modified, URL of entry. Accessed Day Month Year Wikipedia entry was last viewed.

 Note : The date and time the article was last modified appears at the bottom of each Wikipedia article.

Keep in mind that Wikipedia may not be considered an acceptable source for a college or university assignment. Be sure to evaluate the content carefully and check with your instructor if you can use it as a source in your assignment.

Author's Last Name, First Name. "Title of Entry."  Title of Encyclopedia or Dictionary , edited by   Editor's First Name Last Name, Edition if given and not first edition, vol. Volume Number, Publisher Name, Year of Publication, pp. First Page-Last Page.

 "Title of Entry."  Title of Encyclopedia or Dictionary , edited by   Editor's First Name Last Name, Edition if given and not first edition, vol. Volume Number, Publisher Name, Year of Publication, pp. First Page-Last Page.

If there are two authors, cite the the authors as follows (list authors in the order they are given on the page, not alphabetically):

Last Name, First Name of First Author, and First Name Last Name of Second Author.

Example: Smith, James, and Sarah Johnston.

If there are three or more authors, cite only the name of the first author listed with their Last Name, First Name followed by a comma et al.

Example: Smith, James, et al.

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When including URLs, use a DOI or permalink  if available. The  MLA Handbook  encourages writers to list the available URL if there is not a DOI or permalink.

 Note : If you do not have information such as an editor's name, a volume or page numbers, omit those elements from your citation.

"Title of Entry." Wikipedia: The Free Encyclopedia,  Wikimedia Foundation, Day Month Year entry was last modified, Time entry was last modified, URL of entry. Accessed Day Month Year Wikipedia entry was last viewed.

"Body Image."  Wikipedia: The Free Encyclopedia,  Wikimedia  Foundation, 16 June 2016, 7:41 pm, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Body_image.

 Notes :

  • Wikipedia may not be considered an acceptable source for assignments. Be sure to evaluate the content carefully and check your assignment
  • The date and time the article was last modified appears at the bottom of each Wikipedia article. You may include an access date as an optional element if you think it will be useful to your readers.

Encyclopedia or Dictionary from Library Database

Author's Last Name, First Name. "Title of Entry." Title of Encyclopedia or Dictionary , edited by   Editor's First Name Last Name, Edition if given and not first edition, vol. Volume Number, Publisher Name, Date of Publication, pp. First Page - Last Page. Name of Database,  permalink URL or DOI.

Selby, Christine. "Assessment."  Eating Disorders: An Encyclopedia of Causes, Treatment, and Prevention , edited by Justine J. Reel,  ABC-CLIO , 2014, pp. 35-43. ProQuest E-book Central,  https:// ebookcentral.proquest.com/lib/knowledgecenter/detail.action?pq-origsite=primo&docID=1135401.

Encyclopedia or Dictionary From Database - Unknown Author

"Title of Entry."  Title of Encyclopedia or Dictionary , edited by   Editor's First Name Last Name, Edition if given and not first edition, vol. Volume Number, Publisher Name, Date of Publication, pp. First Page - Last Page.  Name of Database.  

"Shakespeare, William."  Funk & Wagnalls New World Encyclopedia , World Book, 2016.  Funk & Wagnalls New World Encyclopedia, https://unr.idm.oclc.org/login?url=https://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=funk&AN=SH093700&site=ehost-live&scope=site.

  Note: This example had no editor's name, edition, volume or page numbers, so these elements were left out of the citation.

Encyclopedia or Dictionary From a Website

Author's Last Name, First Name. "Title of Entry."  Title of Encyclopedia or Dictionary , Publication or Update Date , Name of Website. URL. Accessed Day Month Year of Access.  

McLean, Steve. "The Tragically Hip."  The Canadian Encyclopedia , 26 Mar. 2015,  Historica Canada . www.thecanadianencyclopedia.com/en/article/the-tragically-hip-emc. Accessed 27 Jun. 2016.

 Note : In this example the date of last edit is listed as publication or update date. List the full date if given in Day,  Month, Year format, abbreviating the month. Date of access is the day the website was visited.

Encyclopedia or Dictionary in Print

Author's Last Name, First Name. "Title of Entry." Title of Encyclopedia or Dictionary, edited by Editor's First Name Last Name, Edition if given and not first edition, vol. Volume Number, Publisher Name, Year of Publication, pp. First Page - Last Page.

Barber, Russell J. "Anthropological Ethics."  Ethics , edited by John K. Roth, Rev. ed., vol. 1, Salem Press, 2005, pp. 67-69.

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Citing encyclopedias & dictionaries: MLA (9th) citation guide

mla cite dictionary

This guide is based on the MLA Handbook for Writers of Research Papers, 9th ed. and provides selected citation examples for common types of sources.

For more detailed information, please consult the full manual: available in print and online .

Print encyclopedias may have different versions: this can take the form of different editions, with many volumes. See page 157 (section 5.50) of the Handbook for information on how to correctly cite versions.

Citing an encyclopedia article or dictionary entry is similar to citing a chapter in a book or anthology : include the author's name (if available), the entry title, and the title of the entire reference work.

If there is no author, begin the citation with the title (and italicize or use quotation marks as necessary). If there is no author and the title of the work is quite long, you may shorten the title: see the in-text and works cited examples of "Philosophers and Religious Figures" on this page. For more information on shortening titles, please see page 237 (section 6.10) of the Handbook .

If the work was accessed online, include the database you used to find it, and the URL. You may also choose to include an access date if there is a good chance the entry may be altered or removed (211).

Parenthetical (in-text)

Martin Heidegger was a German existentialist philosopher living from 1889-1976 (“Philosophers and Religious Figures” 183). 

The meaning of the word inflammable is often misunderstood, but it means something is easily set on fire (“Inflammable, Adj . and N ”).

Works cited

Printed reference book entries.

“Philosophers and Religious Figures of the Past.” The World Almanac and Book of Facts 2022 . Edited by Sarah Janssen, Skyhorse Publishing, 2021.

Bergmann, Peter G. "Relativity." The New Encyclopaedia Britannica: Macropaedia . 15th ed. Britannica, 2002. 29 vols.

Online dictionary entry

“Inflammable, Adj . and N .” OED Online, Oxford University Press. Oxford English Dictionary , www.oed.com/view/Entry/95464. Accessed 18 Oct. 2022.

Still using MLA 8?

We've now updated our citation guides to MLA 9, but you can still use the printable version of our MLA 8 citation guide. 

Need more help? Check our Ask a Librarian services .

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Cite a Dictionary in MLA

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Don't let plagiarism errors spoil your paper

Consider your source's credibility. ask these questions:, contributor/author.

  • Has the author written several articles on the topic, and do they have the credentials to be an expert in their field?
  • Can you contact them? Do they have social media profiles?
  • Have other credible individuals referenced this source or author?
  • Book: What have reviews said about it?
  • What do you know about the publisher/sponsor? Are they well-respected?
  • Do they take responsibility for the content? Are they selective about what they publish?
  • Take a look at their other content. Do these other articles generally appear credible?
  • Does the author or the organization have a bias? Does bias make sense in relation to your argument?
  • Is the purpose of the content to inform, entertain, or to spread an agenda? Is there commercial intent?
  • Are there ads?
  • When was the source published or updated? Is there a date shown?
  • Does the publication date make sense in relation to the information presented to your argument?
  • Does the source even have a date?
  • Was it reproduced? If so, from where?
  • If it was reproduced, was it done so with permission? Copyright/disclaimer included?
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Dictionary or Encyclopedia - Examples

Example 1 – Well-known General Dictionary

Works Cited:

Example 2 – Well-known General Encyclopedia

Example 3 – Specialized Dictionary or Encyclopedia

In-Text:       

( Olohan 248 )

NOTE: As long as you reference the entry (e.g. "eugenics") and the source (e.g. Encyclopaedia Britannica ) in the text, you need not include a parenthetical reference for well-known general dictionaries and encyclopedias.

The distinction between general and specialized reference works is not always clear.  If a dictionary or encyclopedia focuses on a particular subject or topic, and if the entries within it are substantial and are authored by scholars whose names are provided, it is likely best to use the format shown in Example 3 above.

If citing a specific entry among several for the same word, add Entry and the appropriate designation (e.g., number, letter):

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How to Cite a Dictionary Meaning in MLA

Last Updated: September 15, 2021 Fact Checked

This article was co-authored by Christopher Taylor, PhD . Christopher Taylor is an Adjunct Assistant Professor of English at Austin Community College in Texas. He received his PhD in English Literature and Medieval Studies from the University of Texas at Austin in 2014. There are 7 references cited in this article, which can be found at the bottom of the page. This article has been fact-checked, ensuring the accuracy of any cited facts and confirming the authority of its sources. This article has been viewed 78,948 times.

Citing a dictionary definition is a little different than referencing an authored book, but it’s easy to get the hang of. An MLA citation shows the reader exactly where to find the source you accessed, so you’ll need to provide specific information about the entry. Include an in-text citation in parentheses right after the sentence that referenced the term. On your works cited page, list the term, the dictionary's title, its edition, its date of publication, and the page number. For an online dictionary, include the URL and the date you accessed the site.

Making a Parenthetical Citation

Step 1 Add an in-text citation to the end of the sentence that referenced the term.

  • A basic parenthetical citation would be: (“Onomatopoeia”). Instead of placing the period after sentence, add it after the citation, like this: Onomatopoeia is a word that imitates or suggests the sound it describes (“Onomatopoeia”).

Step 2 Include the definition number for words with multiple entries.

  • For example, your in-text citation would look like this: (“Turn,” def. V. 2a). Note the “V.” stands for verb; use “Adj.” for adjectives and “N.” for nouns.
  • Write the part of speech and definition number as it appears in the dictionary. A dictionary might organize entries with numbers and letters (such as 1a) or with numbers alone (such as 1.2).
  • If the word has multiple entries but only a single part of speech, just include the entry number: (“Wonderful,” def. 2).

Step 3 Put the dictionary’s title in brackets if you’ve included multiple entries.

  • An example would be: (“Emoticon,” [Merriam-Webster’s Collegiate Dictionary]).
  • Suppose your paper references the definition of “Emoticon” in both Merriam-Webster’s Collegiate Dictionary and the Oxford English Dictionary . If your in-text citations were just (“Emoticon”) or (“Emoticon,” N.), the reader wouldn’t know which dictionary you were referencing.

Citing a Print Dictionary

Step 1 Begin with the term you’ve defined in quotation marks.

  • If you specified the part of speech and definition number, include them in your works cited entry: “Content,” def. N. 1c. [5] X Research source
  • Since there’s no known author, use the first letter of the term when you alphabetize your works cited page. For instance, you’d list “Content” after an entry authored by “Butler, J.” and before one authored by “Darwin, C.”

Step 2 Add the name of the dictionary in italics.

  • At this point, your entry would look like this: “Content,” def. N. 1c. Merriam Webster’s Collegiate Dictionary ,

Step 3 Write the edition if you’re citing a subsequent edition.

  • Now your entry would read: “Content,” def. N. 1c. Merriam Webster’s Collegiate Dictionary , 11th ed.,

Step 4 Include the publication date.

  • Add the date like this: “Content,” def. N. 1c. Merriam Webster’s Collegiate Dictionary , 11th ed., 2003,

Step 5 Put the page number at the end of the citation.

  • Your finished entry would read: “Content,” def. N. 1c. Merriam Webster’s Collegiate Dictionary , 11th ed., 2003, p. 269.
  • If your definition happens to appear on 2 pages, write “pp. 269-270.”

Citing an Online Dictionary

Step 1 Start with the term and the name of the online dictionary.

  • The first part works cited entry for an online dictionary looks the same as a citation for printed source: “Content,” def. N. 1.1. Oxford English Dictionary ,

Step 2 Use the copyright date the bottom of the website page.

  • Your entry at this point would read: “Content,” def. N. 1.1. Oxford English Dictionary , 2018,

Step 3 Don’t include “https” when you write the URL.

  • Add the URL like this: “Content,” def. N. 1.1. Oxford English Dictionary , 2018, en.oxforddictionaries.com/definition/content.

Step 4 Include the date you accessed the website.

  • Your completed entry would read: “Content,” def. N. 1.1. Oxford English Dictionary , 2018, en.oxforddictionaries.com/definition/content. Accessed 23 September 2018.

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  • Learn more about MLA style at https://style.mla.org . Thanks Helpful 0 Not Helpful 0

mla cite dictionary

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Cite the WHO in APA

  • ↑ https://style.mla.org/term-with-numbered-definitions/
  • ↑ https://style.mla.org/distinguishing-dictionary-entries/
  • ↑ https://owl.purdue.edu/owl/research_and_citation/mla_style/mla_formatting_and_style_guide/mla_works_cited_page_books.html
  • ↑ https://style.mla.org/when-citing-a-print-dictionary-in-mla-style-do-i-include-a-page-number/
  • ↑ https://www.merriam-webster.com/help/citing-the-dictionary
  • ↑ https://owl.purdue.edu/owl/research_and_citation/mla_style/mla_formatting_and_style_guide/mla_works_cited_electronic_sources.html
  • ↑ https://owl.purdue.edu/owl/research_and_citation/mla_style/mla_formatting_and_style_guide/mla_formatting_and_style_guide.html?_ga=2.19623804.558179429.1522454400-1709346682.1522454400

About This Article

Christopher Taylor, PhD

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Avoid plagiarism — quickly check for missing citations and check for writing mistakes., is your source credible don’t forget to consider these factors., purpose : reason the source exists.

  • Is the point of the information to inform, persuade, teach, or sell?
  • Do the authors/publishers make their intentions clear?
  • Does the information appear to be fact or opinion?
  • Does the point of view seem impartial? Do they identify counter-arguments?

Authority - Author: Source of the information

  • Who is the author? What are their credentials or qualifications?
  • What makes the author qualified to write on this topic?
  • Is there clearly defined contact information for the author?

Authority - Publisher: Source of the information

  • Who is the publisher? Is it a non-profit, government agency, or organization? How might this affect their point of view?
  • What makes the publisher qualified to generate works on this subject?
  • What can the URL tell you about the publisher? For instance, .gov may signify that it is a government agency.

Relevance : Importance of the information to your topic

Currency : timeliness of the information.

  • When was the information published? When was it last updated? Does it reflect the most current information available?
  • How does your topic fit in with this source’s publication date? Do you need current information to make your point or do older sources work better?

Comprehensiveness

  • Does the source present one or multiple viewpoints on your topic?
  • Does the source present a large amount of information on the topic? Or is it short and focused?
  • Are there any points you feel may have been left out, on purpose or accidentally, that affect its comprehensiveness?
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Dictionary or encyclopaedia - online, dictionary or encyclopaedia with author.

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MLA In-Text Citations: The Basics

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MLA (Modern Language Association) style is most commonly used to write papers and cite sources within the liberal arts and humanities. This resource, updated to reflect the MLA Handbook (9 th ed.), offers examples for the general format of MLA research papers, in-text citations, endnotes/footnotes, and the Works Cited page.

Guidelines for referring to the works of others in your text using MLA style are covered throughout the  MLA Handbook  and in chapter 7 of the  MLA Style Manual . Both books provide extensive examples, so it's a good idea to consult them if you want to become even more familiar with MLA guidelines or if you have a particular reference question.

Basic in-text citation rules

In MLA Style, referring to the works of others in your text is done using parenthetical citations . This method involves providing relevant source information in parentheses whenever a sentence uses a quotation or paraphrase. Usually, the simplest way to do this is to put all of the source information in parentheses at the end of the sentence (i.e., just before the period). However, as the examples below will illustrate, there are situations where it makes sense to put the parenthetical elsewhere in the sentence, or even to leave information out.

General Guidelines

  • The source information required in a parenthetical citation depends (1) upon the source medium (e.g. print, web, DVD) and (2) upon the source’s entry on the Works Cited page.
  • Any source information that you provide in-text must correspond to the source information on the Works Cited page. More specifically, whatever signal word or phrase you provide to your readers in the text must be the first thing that appears on the left-hand margin of the corresponding entry on the Works Cited page.

In-text citations: Author-page style

MLA format follows the author-page method of in-text citation. This means that the author's last name and the page number(s) from which the quotation or paraphrase is taken must appear in the text, and a complete reference should appear on your Works Cited page. The author's name may appear either in the sentence itself or in parentheses following the quotation or paraphrase, but the page number(s) should always appear in the parentheses, not in the text of your sentence. For example:

Both citations in the examples above, (263) and (Wordsworth 263), tell readers that the information in the sentence can be located on page 263 of a work by an author named Wordsworth. If readers want more information about this source, they can turn to the Works Cited page, where, under the name of Wordsworth, they would find the following information:

Wordsworth, William. Lyrical Ballads . Oxford UP, 1967.

In-text citations for print sources with known author

For print sources like books, magazines, scholarly journal articles, and newspapers, provide a signal word or phrase (usually the author’s last name) and a page number. If you provide the signal word/phrase in the sentence, you do not need to include it in the parenthetical citation.

These examples must correspond to an entry that begins with Burke, which will be the first thing that appears on the left-hand margin of an entry on the Works Cited page:

Burke, Kenneth. Language as Symbolic Action: Essays on Life, Literature, and Method . University of California Press, 1966.

In-text citations for print sources by a corporate author

When a source has a corporate author, it is acceptable to use the name of the corporation followed by the page number for the in-text citation. You should also use abbreviations (e.g., nat'l for national) where appropriate, so as to avoid interrupting the flow of reading with overly long parenthetical citations.

In-text citations for sources with non-standard labeling systems

If a source uses a labeling or numbering system other than page numbers, such as a script or poetry, precede the citation with said label. When citing a poem, for instance, the parenthetical would begin with the word “line”, and then the line number or range. For example, the examination of William Blake’s poem “The Tyger” would be cited as such:

The speaker makes an ardent call for the exploration of the connection between the violence of nature and the divinity of creation. “In what distant deeps or skies. / Burnt the fire of thine eyes," they ask in reference to the tiger as they attempt to reconcile their intimidation with their relationship to creationism (lines 5-6).

Longer labels, such as chapters (ch.) and scenes (sc.), should be abbreviated.

In-text citations for print sources with no known author

When a source has no known author, use a shortened title of the work instead of an author name, following these guidelines.

Place the title in quotation marks if it's a short work (such as an article) or italicize it if it's a longer work (e.g. plays, books, television shows, entire Web sites) and provide a page number if it is available.

Titles longer than a standard noun phrase should be shortened into a noun phrase by excluding articles. For example, To the Lighthouse would be shortened to Lighthouse .

If the title cannot be easily shortened into a noun phrase, the title should be cut after the first clause, phrase, or punctuation:

In this example, since the reader does not know the author of the article, an abbreviated title appears in the parenthetical citation, and the full title of the article appears first at the left-hand margin of its respective entry on the Works Cited page. Thus, the writer includes the title in quotation marks as the signal phrase in the parenthetical citation in order to lead the reader directly to the source on the Works Cited page. The Works Cited entry appears as follows:

"The Impact of Global Warming in North America." Global Warming: Early Signs . 1999. www.climatehotmap.org/. Accessed 23 Mar. 2009.

If the title of the work begins with a quotation mark, such as a title that refers to another work, that quote or quoted title can be used as the shortened title. The single quotation marks must be included in the parenthetical, rather than the double quotation.

Parenthetical citations and Works Cited pages, used in conjunction, allow readers to know which sources you consulted in writing your essay, so that they can either verify your interpretation of the sources or use them in their own scholarly work.

Author-page citation for classic and literary works with multiple editions

Page numbers are always required, but additional citation information can help literary scholars, who may have a different edition of a classic work, like Marx and Engels's  The Communist Manifesto . In such cases, give the page number of your edition (making sure the edition is listed in your Works Cited page, of course) followed by a semicolon, and then the appropriate abbreviations for volume (vol.), book (bk.), part (pt.), chapter (ch.), section (sec.), or paragraph (par.). For example:

Author-page citation for works in an anthology, periodical, or collection

When you cite a work that appears inside a larger source (for instance, an article in a periodical or an essay in a collection), cite the author of the  internal source (i.e., the article or essay). For example, to cite Albert Einstein's article "A Brief Outline of the Theory of Relativity," which was published in  Nature  in 1921, you might write something like this:

See also our page on documenting periodicals in the Works Cited .

Citing authors with same last names

Sometimes more information is necessary to identify the source from which a quotation is taken. For instance, if two or more authors have the same last name, provide both authors' first initials (or even the authors' full name if different authors share initials) in your citation. For example:

Citing a work by multiple authors

For a source with two authors, list the authors’ last names in the text or in the parenthetical citation:

Corresponding Works Cited entry:

Best, David, and Sharon Marcus. “Surface Reading: An Introduction.” Representations , vol. 108, no. 1, Fall 2009, pp. 1-21. JSTOR, doi:10.1525/rep.2009.108.1.1

For a source with three or more authors, list only the first author’s last name, and replace the additional names with et al.

Franck, Caroline, et al. “Agricultural Subsidies and the American Obesity Epidemic.” American Journal of Preventative Medicine , vol. 45, no. 3, Sept. 2013, pp. 327-333.

Citing multiple works by the same author

If you cite more than one work by an author, include a shortened title for the particular work from which you are quoting to distinguish it from the others. Put short titles of books in italics and short titles of articles in quotation marks.

Citing two articles by the same author :

Citing two books by the same author :

Additionally, if the author's name is not mentioned in the sentence, format your citation with the author's name followed by a comma, followed by a shortened title of the work, and, when appropriate, the page number(s):

Citing multivolume works

If you cite from different volumes of a multivolume work, always include the volume number followed by a colon. Put a space after the colon, then provide the page number(s). (If you only cite from one volume, provide only the page number in parentheses.)

Citing the Bible

In your first parenthetical citation, you want to make clear which Bible you're using (and underline or italicize the title), as each version varies in its translation, followed by book (do not italicize or underline), chapter, and verse. For example:

If future references employ the same edition of the Bible you’re using, list only the book, chapter, and verse in the parenthetical citation:

John of Patmos echoes this passage when describing his vision (Rev. 4.6-8).

Citing indirect sources

Sometimes you may have to use an indirect source. An indirect source is a source cited within another source. For such indirect quotations, use "qtd. in" to indicate the source you actually consulted. For example:

Note that, in most cases, a responsible researcher will attempt to find the original source, rather than citing an indirect source.

Citing transcripts, plays, or screenplays

Sources that take the form of a dialogue involving two or more participants have special guidelines for their quotation and citation. Each line of dialogue should begin with the speaker's name written in all capitals and indented half an inch. A period follows the name (e.g., JAMES.) . After the period, write the dialogue. Each successive line after the first should receive an additional indentation. When another person begins speaking, start a new line with that person's name indented only half an inch. Repeat this pattern each time the speaker changes. You can include stage directions in the quote if they appear in the original source.

Conclude with a parenthetical that explains where to find the excerpt in the source. Usually, the author and title of the source can be given in a signal phrase before quoting the excerpt, so the concluding parenthetical will often just contain location information like page numbers or act/scene indicators.

Here is an example from O'Neill's  The Iceman Cometh.

WILLIE. (Pleadingly) Give me a drink, Rocky. Harry said it was all right. God, I need a drink.

ROCKY. Den grab it. It's right under your nose.

WILLIE. (Avidly) Thanks. (He takes the bottle with both twitching hands and tilts it to his lips and gulps down the whiskey in big swallows.) (1.1)

Citing non-print or sources from the Internet

With more and more scholarly work published on the Internet, you may have to cite sources you found in digital environments. While many sources on the Internet should not be used for scholarly work (reference the OWL's  Evaluating Sources of Information  resource), some Web sources are perfectly acceptable for research. When creating in-text citations for electronic, film, or Internet sources, remember that your citation must reference the source on your Works Cited page.

Sometimes writers are confused with how to craft parenthetical citations for electronic sources because of the absence of page numbers. However, these sorts of entries often do not require a page number in the parenthetical citation. For electronic and Internet sources, follow the following guidelines:

  • Include in the text the first item that appears in the Work Cited entry that corresponds to the citation (e.g. author name, article name, website name, film name).
  • Do not provide paragraph numbers or page numbers based on your Web browser’s print preview function.
  • Unless you must list the Web site name in the signal phrase in order to get the reader to the appropriate entry, do not include URLs in-text. Only provide partial URLs such as when the name of the site includes, for example, a domain name, like  CNN.com  or  Forbes.com,  as opposed to writing out http://www.cnn.com or http://www.forbes.com.

Miscellaneous non-print sources

Two types of non-print sources you may encounter are films and lectures/presentations:

In the two examples above “Herzog” (a film’s director) and “Yates” (a presentor) lead the reader to the first item in each citation’s respective entry on the Works Cited page:

Herzog, Werner, dir. Fitzcarraldo . Perf. Klaus Kinski. Filmverlag der Autoren, 1982.

Yates, Jane. "Invention in Rhetoric and Composition." Gaps Addressed: Future Work in Rhetoric and Composition, CCCC, Palmer House Hilton, 2002. Address.

Electronic sources

Electronic sources may include web pages and online news or magazine articles:

In the first example (an online magazine article), the writer has chosen not to include the author name in-text; however, two entries from the same author appear in the Works Cited. Thus, the writer includes both the author’s last name and the article title in the parenthetical citation in order to lead the reader to the appropriate entry on the Works Cited page (see below).

In the second example (a web page), a parenthetical citation is not necessary because the page does not list an author, and the title of the article, “MLA Formatting and Style Guide,” is used as a signal phrase within the sentence. If the title of the article was not named in the sentence, an abbreviated version would appear in a parenthetical citation at the end of the sentence. Both corresponding Works Cited entries are as follows:

Taylor, Rumsey. "Fitzcarraldo." Slant , 13 Jun. 2003, www.slantmagazine.com/film/review/fitzcarraldo/. Accessed 29 Sep. 2009. 

"MLA Formatting and Style Guide." The Purdue OWL , 2 Aug. 2016, owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/747/01/. Accessed 2 April 2018.

Multiple citations

To cite multiple sources in the same parenthetical reference, separate the citations by a semi-colon:

Time-based media sources

When creating in-text citations for media that has a runtime, such as a movie or podcast, include the range of hours, minutes and seconds you plan to reference. For example: (00:02:15-00:02:35).

When a citation is not needed

Common sense and ethics should determine your need for documenting sources. You do not need to give sources for familiar proverbs, well-known quotations, or common knowledge (For example, it is expected that U.S. citizens know that George Washington was the first President.). Remember that citing sources is a rhetorical task, and, as such, can vary based on your audience. If you’re writing for an expert audience of a scholarly journal, for example, you may need to deal with expectations of what constitutes “common knowledge” that differ from common norms.

Other Sources

The MLA Handbook describes how to cite many different kinds of authors and content creators. However, you may occasionally encounter a source or author category that the handbook does not describe, making the best way to proceed can be unclear.

In these cases, it's typically acceptable to apply the general principles of MLA citation to the new kind of source in a way that's consistent and sensible. A good way to do this is to simply use the standard MLA directions for a type of source that resembles the source you want to cite.

You may also want to investigate whether a third-party organization has provided directions for how to cite this kind of source. For example, Norquest College provides guidelines for citing Indigenous Elders and Knowledge Keepers⁠ —an author category that does not appear in the MLA Handbook . In cases like this, however, it's a good idea to ask your instructor or supervisor whether using third-party citation guidelines might present problems.

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mla cite dictionary

How To Cite The Oxford English Dictionary: Using MLA And APA

mla cite dictionary

Written by:

Max Stevens

Max Stevens

Administrator

Writing academic essays and research papers can be more complex than it already is when you don’t know how to cite the Oxford English Dictionary (OED).

It becomes even more confusing depending on what type of OED you’re using, online or print. Why? Because you cite them in different ways. You can now rest easy since you’ve come to the right place. Read more if you want to learn how to cite the Oxford English Dictionary. 

And, if you’re looking to get ahead of your competition in education, then browse our summer programs in Oxford for high school students .

MLA or APA? 

The first step to citing any reference is to figure out what style you need to follow: MLA or APA? What’s the difference, you ask?

Good question!

The most significant is that MLA (Modern Language Association) is used for arts and humanities while APA (American Psychology Association) is for social science. Once you determine which style you need to use, you’re on your way to writing an academic essay ! 

How To Cite The Oxford English Dictionary Using MLA 9th Edition

Library database, known author.

If you’re accessing the Oxford English Dictionary via a library database and you know who the author is, this is how you cite it. 

Author’s Last Name, First Name. “Title of Entry.” Title of Encyclopedia or Dictionary , edited by Editor’s First Name Last Name, Edition if given and not first edition, vol. Volume Number if more than one volume, Publisher Name, Date of Publication, pp. First Page-Last Page. Name of Database . https://doi.org/DOI if there is one.

If the word you’re referencing is only found on one page, list it as such—no need to write it as a first page-last page. But if there’s no page number, you can choose to omit it. What if you don’t know who the editors are or what volume it is? You can also leave them out of your citation.  

In-Text Citation: 

(Author’s Last Name, page number)

If the page number is unavailable:

(Author’s Last Name)

Unknown Author

What if you don’t know who the author is? Here’s how to cite your entry.

“Title of Entry.” Title of Encyclopedia or Dictionary , edited by Editor’s First Name Last Name, Edition if given and not first edition, vol. Volume Number, Publisher Name, Date of Publication, pp. First Page-Last Page. Name of Database . https://doi.org/DOI if there is one.

What if you don’t have specific information such as pages volume numbers and editors? You don’t have to include them. 

Since you don’t know the author, you need to input the first one to three words from the entry title. Please remember to enclose the title within quotation marks. Also, don’t forget to capitalise the first letter of each word. Just like this:

(“Diversity”)

Perhaps the easiest way to access the Oxford English Dictionary is through their various websites. If you know the author, here’s how to cite it:

Author’s Last Name, First Name. “Title of Entry.” Title of Encyclopedia or Dictionary , Publication or Update Date, URL. Accessed Day Month Year site was visited.

Did you notice that “Accessed Day Month Year site was visited” is unique to website citations? If you’re wondering, it simply refers to the day you visited the website. Also, don’t forget to abbreviate the month for the publication/update date and the accessed date; it’s necessary to abbreviate the month. 

If you don’t know who the author is, you can cite your entry this way:

“Title of Entry.” Title of Encyclopedia or Dictionary , Publisher if known, Copyright Date or Date Updated, URL. Accessed Day Month Year site was visited.

With the lack of author information, all you have to do is place the first one to three words of the entry title within quotation marks. Remember to capitalise the first letter of each term. Here’s how:

(“Victorian”)

Of course, we can’t forget physical Oxford English Dictionaries! If you intend to use one, here’s how you can cite the material:

Author’s Last Name, First Name. “Title of Entry.” Title of Encyclopedia or Dictionary, edited by Editor’s First Name Last Name, Edition if given and not first edition, vol. Volume Number, Publisher Name, Year of Publication, pp. First Page-Last Page.

In case the author’s name is not provided, just the editors’, cite it this way: 

 “Title of Entry.” Title of Encyclopedia or Dictionary , edited by Editor’s First Name Last Name, Edition if given and not first edition, vol. Volume Number, Publisher Name, Year of Publication, pp. First Page-Last Page.

Since there’s no author information available, you can use the first one to three words of the entry title and enclose it with quotation marks. Capitalise the first letter of each word. Then place the page number after. Take a look at this:

(“Middle Age” 545)

How To Cite Two Authors

How should you cite the material if there are two authors? By listing them how they appear on the page. Not alphabetically! 

First Author’s Last Name, First Author’s First Name, and First Name Last Name of Second Author

Here’s what it will look like:

Will, Thomas, and Melissa Jones

How To Cite More Than Two Authors

If there are more than two authors, what you need to do is to focus on the first author in the list. 

Last Name, First Name, et al. 

In actual practice, it will look like this:

Will, Thomas, et al.

How To Cite The Oxford English Dictionary Using APA 7th Edition

The APA style is more straightforward than the MLA. When citing authors, remember it’s only the last name that’s spelt out. The first name is abbreviated. If the author’s name is Melissa Jones, the citation will look like this:

Jones, M. 

If the author’s middle name is given, for instance, Melissa Smith Jones, here’s how to cite it. 

Jones, M.S. 

When referencing the Oxford English Dictionary you find online, determine if it’s an archived version or not. If not, it means that the dictionary is continuously being updated. 

Online Archived Version: 

Author A. A. (Date). Title of entry. In E. E. Editor (Ed.), Name of dictionary/encyclopedia . URL.

Online Version With Continuous Updates:

Author A. A. (n.d.). Title of entry. In E. E. Editor (Ed.), Name of dictionary/encyclopedia (edition, if not the first). Publisher. URL.

No Authors, But There Are Editors: 

Editor, A., & Editor, B. (Eds.). (Date). Dictionary/Encyclopedia entry. In Name of dictionary/encyclopedia (edition, if not the first). Publisher.

No Authors And No Editors: Use Company As Corporate Author

Corporate Author. (Date). Dictionary/Encyclopedia entry. In Name of dictionary/encyclopedia (edition, if not the first). Publisher.

In-Text Citation

(Author’s last name, date)

Wrapping Up 

There you have it! By now you know how to cite the Oxford English Dictionary using both the MLA and APA styles. You’ll be more confident writing your papers from now on.

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mla cite dictionary

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How to cite in MLA format

MLA handbook 9th edition

MLA is one of the most common citation styles used by students and academics. This quick guide explains how to cite sources according to the 9th edition (the most recent) of the MLA Handbook . You can also use Scribbr’s free  citation generator to automatically generate references and in-text citations.

An MLA citation has two components:

  • In-text citation : Every time you quote or paraphrase a source, you cite the author and the page number in parentheses.
  • Works Cited : At the end of your paper, you give a full reference for every source you cited, alphabetized by the author’s last name.

MLA Works Cited list

The list of Works Cited (also known as the bibliography or reference page) gives full details of every source you cited in your text. Each entry is built from nine core elements:

Following this format, you can create a citation for any type of source—for example, a book , journal article , website , or movie . You only include information that’s relevant to the type of source you’re citing.

Missing information in MLA citations

Regardless of the source type, the most important elements of any MLA citation are the author , the source title , and the publication date. If any of these are missing from the source, the Works Cited entry will look slightly different.

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MLA in-text citations

MLA in-text citations are brief references that direct your reader to the full source entry. You include them every time you quote , block quote , paraphrase or summarize a source.

The in-text citation must match the first word of the Works Cited entry—usually the author’s last name . It also includes a page number or range to help the reader locate the relevant passage.

If you already named the author in your sentence, include only the page number in parentheses:

Sources with no page numbers

If the source has no page numbers, you either use an alternative locator, or leave the page number out of the citation:

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Besides the MLA Citation Generator, Scribbr provides many more helpful tools and resources;

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Cite a dictionary entry in MLA style

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  • Archive material
  • Chapter of an edited book
  • Conference proceedings
  • Dictionary entry
  • Dissertation
  • DVD, video, or film
  • E-book or PDF
  • Edited book
  • Encyclopedia article
  • Government publication
  • Music or recording
  • Online image or video
  • Presentation
  • Press release
  • Religious text

Use the following template or our MLA Citation Generator to cite a dictionary entry. For help with other source types, like books, PDFs, or websites, check out our other guides. To have your reference list or bibliography automatically made for you, try our free citation generator .

Reference list

Place this part in your bibliography or reference list at the end of your assignment.

In-text citation

Place this part right after the quote or reference to the source in your assignment.

Popular MLA Citation Guides

  • How to cite a Book in MLA style
  • How to cite a Website in MLA style
  • How to cite a Journal in MLA style
  • How to cite a DVD, video, or film in MLA style
  • How to cite a Online image or video in MLA style

Other MLA Citation Guides

  • How to cite a Archive material in MLA style
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  • How to cite a Chapter of an edited book in MLA style
  • How to cite a Conference proceedings in MLA style
  • How to cite a Court case in MLA style
  • How to cite a Dictionary entry in MLA style
  • How to cite a Dissertation in MLA style
  • How to cite a E-book or PDF in MLA style
  • How to cite a Edited book in MLA style
  • How to cite a Email in MLA style
  • How to cite a Encyclopedia article in MLA style
  • How to cite a Government publication in MLA style
  • How to cite a Interview in MLA style
  • How to cite a Legislation in MLA style
  • How to cite a Magazine in MLA style
  • How to cite a Music or recording in MLA style
  • How to cite a Newspaper in MLA style
  • How to cite a Patent in MLA style
  • How to cite a Podcast in MLA style
  • How to cite a Presentation or lecture in MLA style
  • How to cite a Press release in MLA style
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Since a dictionary does not have an author, when you are citing an entry, be sure to use the title of the entry within the in-text citation. Use the word “def” to denote definition, and include the definition number that you are referring to.

(“Term,” def. number)

(“Metaphor,” def. 2)

Appendix 2 of the MLA 9 handbook provides works cited entries for dictionary entries, both for online dictionaries and print dictionaries.

“Word, nature of the word. (number of explanation referred to).” Dictionary Name , Year, URL.

“Word, nature of the word. (number of explanation referred to).” Dictionary Name , # ed., Publisher, Year, p. number.

“Author, N. (1).” The American Heritage Dictionary , 2022, https://www.ahdictionary.com/word/search.html?q=author.

“Author, N. (1).” The American Heritage Dictionary , 5th ed., Collins Reference, 2018, p. 45.

How do I cite the dictionary feature of Microsoft Word ?

Note: This post relates to content in the eighth edition of the MLA Handbook . For up-to-date guidance, see the ninth edition of the MLA Handbook .

When you right-click a word in Microsoft Word , a drop-down menu appears. In some versions you will see “Look Up.” In recent versions you might see “Smart Lookup.” If you click that, a pane pops up with definitions of the word. Earlier versions of Word use the Microsoft Encarta Dictionary , while more recent versions use the Oxford English Dictionary . These dictionaries are not contained in the Microsoft Word software. They are retrieved from external websites. Much like Google results, the search results from the “Look Up” feature of Word are not works that can be cited. (See our post on citing Google definitions .) If you want to cite a dictionary, you should navigate to the website of the dictionary itself or use a print edition.

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MLA Citation Guide (9th Edition): Encyclopedias and Dictionaries

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On This Page

Examples (Encyclopedia or Dictionary From Library Database):

  • Known Author
  • Unknown Author

Examples (Encyclopedia or Dictionary From a Website):

Examples (Encyclopedia or Dictionary Entry In Print):

More Examples:

Citing Two Authors

Citing three or more authors.

It can sometimes be difficult to find out who the author of a website is. Remember that an author can be a corporation or group, not only a specific person. Author information can sometimes be found under an "About" section on a website.

If there is no known author, start the citation with the title of the website instead.

The publisher or sponsoring organization can often be found in a copyright notice at the bottom of the home page or on a page that gives information about the site.  When the page is authored and published by the same corporation/group/organization, begin your citation with the section title ( MLA Handbook, ​ p. 25). 

According to p. 42 of the  MLA Handbook , publisher information may be omitted for:

  • periodicals (journals, magazines, newspapers)
  • works published by an author or editor
  • web sites whose title is the same as the name of the publisher
  • a web site not involved in producing the work it makes (e.g. user-generated content sites like  YouTube )

The best date to use for a website is the date that the content was last updated. Otherwise look for a copyright or original publication date. Unfortunately this information may not be provided or may be hard to find. Often date information is put on the bottom of the pages of a website.

If you do not know the complete date, put as much information as you can find. For example you may have a year but no month or day.

Access Date

Date of access is now optional in MLA 8th edition. If no publication date is included, we recommend including the date you last accessed the site.

Note : For your Works Cited list, all citations should be double spaced and have a hanging indent.

A "hanging indent" means that each subsequent line after the first line of your citation should be indented by 0.5 inches.

Encyclopedia or Dictionary From Library Database - Known Author

Author's Last Name, First Name. "Title of Entry." Title of Encyclopedia or Dictionary , edited by Editor's First Name Last Name, Edition if given and not first edition, vol. Volume Number, Publisher Name, Date of Publication, pp. First Page-Last Page. Name of Database .

Lander, Jesse M. "Shakespeare, William." World Book Student , 2016. World Book .

(Author's Last Name)

Example: (Lander)

Note : Because the specific page number can't be determined, the page number is left out of the in-text citation. Include a page number after the author's last name if one is given.

Encyclopedia or Dictionary From Library Database - Unknown Author

"Title of Entry." Title of Encyclopedia or Dictionary , edited by Editor's First Name Last Name, Edition if given and not first edition, vol. Volume Number, Publisher Name, Date of Publication, pp. First Page-Last Page. Name of Database .

"Racism." Britannica Academic , 2013. Encyclopædia Britannica.

Note: This example had no editor's name, edition, volume or page numbers, so these elements were left out of the citation.

("Shortened Title of Entry")

Example: ("Racism")

 Note : This entry has no page numbers, so this information is left out of the citation.

 Note: If a dictionary or encyclopedia entry has no author, the in-text citation should include the first one, two or three words from title of the entry. The words from the title of the entry should be in quotation marks, with each word starting with a capital letter.

 Note : While MLA 8th edition recommends including URLs, we recommend that URLs be left out when citing a work found in a library database. Because library databases require a login most URLs will stop working after the session ends.

If you do not have information such as an editor's name, a volume or page numbers leave those sections out of your citation.

Encyclopedia or Dictionary From a Website - Known Author

Author's Last Name, First Name. "Title of Entry." Title of Encyclopedia or Dictionary , Publication or Update Date, URL. Accessed Day Month Year site was visited.

McLean, Steve. "The Tragically Hip." The Canadian Encyclopedia , 26 Mar. 2015, www.thecanadianencyclopedia.com/en/article/the-tragically-hip-emc. Accessed 27 Jun. 2016.

Note : In this example the date of last edit is listed as publication or update date. List the full date if given in Day, Month, Year format, abbreviating the month. Date of access is the day you visited the website.

Example: (McLean)

Note : This entry has no page numbers so that detail is left out of the citation.

Encyclopedia or Dictionary From a Website - Unknown Author

"Title of Entry." Title of Encyclopedia or Dictionary , Publisher if known, Copyright Date or Date Updated, URL. Accessed Day Month Year site was visited.

"Filibuster." Oxford English Dictionary , Oxford University Press, 2019, oed.com/view/Entry/70179?redirectedFrom=fillibuster#eid. Accessed 27 July 2019.

Example: ("Filibuster")

Note : This entry has no page numbers so this is left out of the citation.

Note : If a dictionary or encyclopedia entry has no author, the in-text citation should include the first one, two or three words from title of the entry. The title of the entry should be in quotation marks, with each word starting with a capital letter.

Encyclopedia or Dictionary Entry In Print - Known Author

Author's Last Name, First Name. "Title of Entry." Title of Encyclopedia or Dictionary , edited by Editor's First Name Last Name, Edition if given and not first edition, vol. Volume Number, Publisher Name, Year of Publication, pp. First Page-Last Page.

Barber, Russell J. "Anthropological Ethics." Ethics , edited by John K. Roth, Rev. ed., vol. 1, Salem Press, 2005, pp. 67-69.

(Last Name Page Number)

Example: (Barber 67)

Encyclopedia or Dictionary In Print - Unknown Author

"Title of Entry." Title of Encyclopedia or Dictionary , edited by Editor's First Name Last Name, Edition if given and not first edition, vol. Volume Number, Publisher Name, Year of Publication, pp. First Page-Last Page.

"Guyana." Oxford Encyclopedia of World History , compiled by Market House Books, Oxford UP, 1998, p. 283.

Note: This encyclopedia has a compiler listed instead of an editor, and the compiler is a company instead of a individual (UP is an abbreviation for University Press). As no edition or volume were available, this information was omitted. If there is only one page use p. instead of pp. before the page number.

("Shortened Title of Entry" Page Number)

Example: ("Guyana" 283)

Note: If a dictionary or encyclopedia entry has no author, the in-text citation should include the first one, two or three words of the title of the entry. The title of the entry should be in quotation marks, with each word starting with a capital letter.

"Title of Entry." Wikipedia: The Free Encyclopedia, Wikimedia Foundation, Day Month Year entry was last modified, Time entry was last modified, URL of entry. Accessed Day Month Year Wikipedia entry was last viewed.

Note : The date and time the article was last modified appears at the bottom of each Wikipedia article.

Keep in mind that Wikipedia may not be considered an acceptable source for a college or university assignment. Be sure to evaluate the content carefully and check with your instructor if you can use it as a source in your assignment.

"Body Image." Wikipedia: The Free Encyclopedia, Wikimedia Foundation, 16 June 2016, 7:41 pm, en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Body_image. Accessed 28 June 2016.

("Title of Entry")

("Body Image")

If there are two authors, cite the the authors as follows (list authors in the order they are given on the page, not alphabetically):

Last Name, First Name of First Author, and First Name Last Name of Second Author.

Example: Smith, James, and Sarah Johnston.

If there are three or more authors, cite only the name of the first author listed with their Last Name, First Name followed by a comma et al.

Example: Smith, James, et al.

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Abbreviating Months

In your works cited list, abbreviate months as follows: 

January = Jan. February = Feb. March = Mar. April = Apr. May = May June = June July = July August = Aug. September = Sept. October = Oct. November = Nov. December = Dec.

Spell out months fully in the body of your paper. 

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Don't let plagiarism errors spoil your paper

Consider your source's credibility. ask these questions:, contributor/author.

  • Has the author written several articles on the topic, and do they have the credentials to be an expert in their field?
  • Can you contact them? Do they have social media profiles?
  • Have other credible individuals referenced this source or author?
  • Book: What have reviews said about it?
  • What do you know about the publisher/sponsor? Are they well-respected?
  • Do they take responsibility for the content? Are they selective about what they publish?
  • Take a look at their other content. Do these other articles generally appear credible?
  • Does the author or the organization have a bias? Does bias make sense in relation to your argument?
  • Is the purpose of the content to inform, entertain, or to spread an agenda? Is there commercial intent?
  • Are there ads?
  • When was the source published or updated? Is there a date shown?
  • Does the publication date make sense in relation to the information presented to your argument?
  • Does the source even have a date?
  • Was it reproduced? If so, from where?
  • If it was reproduced, was it done so with permission? Copyright/disclaimer included?

What You Need to Know About MLA Formatting

Writing a paper soon? If your assignment requires the use of Modern Language Association (MLA) style, then you're in luck! EasyBib® has tools to help you create citations for over 50 source types in this style, as well as a guide to show you how an MLA paper should be formatted. Review the guide to learn how to format a paper's title page, paragraphs, margins, quotations, abbreviations, numbers, tables, and more! There are even tips on editing, as well as on the type of paper you choose to print your paper on—yes, it's that comprehensive!

A Handy Guide for Using APA Format

Ever wonder how to cite a book with no author in APA style? Do you know how graphics should be formatted in a paper? Thanks to our EasyBib® guide on citing and formatting in American Psychological Association (APA) style, you don't have to guess anymore! We break down the guidelines for you into separate, digestible chunks of information that range from the ways to present headers, to use of abbreviations, to how to format titles for citations. There are also several helpful citation examples for you to review. Read up and start learning today!

Chicago Style Simplified

Jump start your knowledge of the Chicago Manual of Style (or Turabian style) with our structured EasyBib® guides. Each one will teach you the structure of a Chicago-style citation, followed by a real-life citation example for you to examine. Begin with our "“"Quick Guide" on citing common source types (books, magazines, newspapers, and websites). Then, discover why we have footnotes and how they work, or choose a "How to Cite" guide based on the source type you're using (e.g. photo, film, tweet, journal, blog, video on YouTube, conference paper, etc.). You're in charge of your own learning path!

Student & Teacher Blog for Better Papers

Keep your citing skills current and your writing skills fresh by reading our weekly EasyBib® Blog. You'll find articles about citing interesting source types (know how to cite a meme?), the latest updates to our tools and services, writing tips and tricks, and more! Aside from content that students (or any writer) could benefit from, we also feature posts written by educators, for educators! They discuss writing and information literacy pedagogy, present resource recommendation lists, and generally share their experience and knowledge.

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In-text citation

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The MLA 9th style uses author-date in-text citations, used when quoting or paraphrasing people’s work. 

Two types of in-text citations

1. author prominent format .

Use this format if you want to emphasise the author. Their name becomes part of your sentence.

"It was the best of times, it was the worst of times," wrote Charles Dickens of the eighteenth century (5).

2. Information prominent format

Use this format if you want to emphasise the information. It cites the author’s name, typically at the end of a sentence.

as demonstrated in the opening line, "it was the best of times, it was the worst of times" (Dickens 5).

Examples of in-text citations

Less than three lines of text.

If a prose quotation is no more than four lines and does not require special emphasis, put it in quotation marks and incorporate it into the text. Include the page number(s) in brackets.

"It was the best of times it was the worst of times" wrote Charles Dickens of the eighteenth century (5).

  • See Plays and Poetry sections below for how to cite these in-text.

More than three lines of text

If a quotation is longer than three lines, set it off from your text by beginning a new line, indenting half an inch from the left margin. Quotation marks around the text are not required. Introduce the quotation with a colon. Place the parenthetical reference after the last line. For example, the above discusses John Corner in his book, The Art of Record: A Critical Introduction to Documentary , which refers to Brian Winston's revaluation of the documentary tradition in the writings of John Grierson.

Winston's reassessment of Grierson finds the play-off between creativity and realness unconvincing: Grierson's taxonomic triumph was to make his particular species of non-fiction film, the non-fiction genre while at the same time allowing the films to use the significant fictionalising technique of dramatisation. (Winston 103)

This is a usefully provocative point, though agreement with it will largely rest on certain, contestable ideas about 'fictionalisation' and 'dramatisation'. The issue is dealt with directly in Chapter Two, as part of considering the debate around drama-documentary forms, and it occurs in relation to specific works throughout this book.

Two authors

In prose, the first time the two authors are mentioned, use both first and second names. In a parenthetical citation use 'and', not '&' to connect the two surnames.

Others, like Cheryl Brown and Laura Czerniewicz argue that the idea of a generation of ‘digital natives’ is flawed (359). The Brown and Czerniewicz article focuses on…

(Brown and Czerniewicz 359)

Three or more authors

When citing a source with three or more authors in prose you only refer to the first coauthor and can follow the additional authors by “and others“ or “and colleagues.” A parenthetical citation requires the first author's surname, followed by et al.

Laura Czerniewicz and colleagues argue…

(Czerniewicz et al. 53)

Different authors, same surname

If you use works from more than one author with the same last name, eliminate any ambiguity by including the author's first initial as well (or if the initial is also the same, the full first name).

(N. Palmer 45)

(N. Palmer 45; M. Palmer 102)

Citing more than one author

If you are citing more than one source at the same point, place them in the same parentheses, separated by a semi-colon.

(Jackson 41; Smith 150)

Same author, two or more works

If you cite multiple works by the same author, include a shortened title in each in-text citation to establish which work you are referring to. To avoid overly lengthy in-text citations, shorten the title to a simple noun phrase, or a few words.

The first example references Said's book, so the title is italicised. The second example references Said's journal article, so it is in quotation marks.

For more tips on how to abbreviate titles of sources, see 6.10 of the MLA Handbook .

..."the Orient was a scholar's word, signifying what modern Europe had recently made of the still peculiar East" (Said, Orientalism 92).

..."there is something basically unworkable or at least drastically changed about the traditional frameworks in which we study literature" (Said, "Globalizing Literary Study" 64).

Anonymous or no author

For works that are anonymously authored, or have no author, include a shortened version of the title in the in-text citation (do not list the author as "anonymous", nor as "anon.").

It has been argued that the hat symbolised freedom (Wandering Merchant 157).

Corporate author

Abbreviate terms that are commonly abbreviated (e.g. Department becomes Dept.), so as to not disrupt the flow of your text with overly long in-text citations.

If the corporate author is identified in the works-cited list by the names of administrative units separated by commas, give all the names in the parenthetical citation.

The Australian Research Council found that there are limited policies and procedures in place to manage foreign interference (4).

(Monash University 176)

Citing an author within another source

An indirect source is a source that is cited in another source. To quote this second-hand source, use “qtd. in” (quoted in), and then include the information of the source you actually consulted. Similarly, for the reference list use the source that you actually consulted (i.e. the indirect source). Keep in mind that it is good academic practice to seek out and use the original source, rather than the second-hand one, however this is not always possible.

For the below example, the student is using Petrarch's quote which is found in Hui. The page number refers to the source actually consulted (Hui), and the reference list would only list Hui, as shown below:

Hui, Andrew. The Poetics of Ruins in Renaissance Literature. Fordham UP, 2016.

For more information, see section 6.77 of the MLA Handbook .

Petrarch laments that Cicero’s manuscripts are “in such fragmentary and mutilated condition that it would perhaps have been better for them to have perished” (qtd. in Hui 4).

Author in a translation

If you think your audience would require a translation for your quoted material, then provide one. Give the source of the translation, as well as the source of the quote.

If you did the translation yourself, then insert my trans. where you would usually put the translation source, as shown in the example above.

If you're quoting in a language that does not use the Latin alphabet (Arabic, Chinese, Japanese, etc.), then consistently use the original writing system for your quotes or romanisation. Note that proper nouns are usually romanised.

For more information, see 6.75 Translations of Quotations in the MLA Style Guide .

Mme d'Aulnoy's heroine is "la chatte blanche" ("the white cat"; my trans.; 56)

Poetry - Short quotations

Quotations from poetry from part of a line up to three lines in length, which do not need particular emphasis, may be added, placed in quotation marks, within your text as part of a sentence. Use a slash with a space on either side ( / ) to indicate a new line of poetry.

If the poem you are referencing has line numbers, then omit page numbers all-together and cite by line number instead. Do not use the abbreviation l. or ll. , but instead in your first citation, use the word line, or lines as shown in the example below. After the first citation, it can be assumed that the numbers refer to lines, so you can include the numbers alone.

More's distress that she had not written about the problems of the slave trade earlier are expressed in the poem: "Whene'er to Afric's shores I turn my eyes, / Horrors of deepest, deadliest guilt arise" (line 5).

Poetry - Block quotations

When quoting a block of poetry, introduce it in the same manner as a prose block quotation, i.e. begin the quote on a new line and indent each line as below. There is no need to add quotation marks. A reference to the page or line number should be included in parenthesis at the end of the last line. If the original text is creatively spaced or indented, then try to replicate the original as best you can.

Judith Wright 's poetry explores the Australian environment:

And have we eaten in the heart of the yellow wheat the sullen unforgetting seed of fire? And now, set free by the climate of man's hate, that seed sets time ablaze (14)

If you quote the lines of more than one actor or if the piece you are quoting is long, the quotation should not be integrated into your text. The rules in MLA for presenting this text are:

  • Leave a line between your text and the quotation
  • Begin each part of the dialogue with the character's name, indented half an inch from the margin, in upper case and with a full-stop, e.g. BODYGUARDS.
  • Start dialogue after full-stop or match spacing shown in original source
  • Indent all dialogue an additional amount, as shown below
  • End each piece of dialogue with a full-stop
  • End the last line of the quotation with a full-stop and then add the section and line numbers in parentheses.

For more information, see section 6.40 of the MLA 9th Handbook .

TARTUFFE. Yes, my brother, I am a sinner, a guilty man. An unhappy sinner full of iniquity. (III. vi.)

In-text citation general checklist

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  1. Cómo citar un significado de diccionario en formato MLA

    mla cite dictionary

  2. Citing a Dictionary Entry in MLA Style

    mla cite dictionary

  3. MLA Citations for Dictionaries

    mla cite dictionary

  4. How to Cite a Dictionary or an Encyclopedia in MLA

    mla cite dictionary

  5. 🎉 Citing a dictionary mla. Everything About How to Cite a Dictionary in

    mla cite dictionary

  6. MLA Citation & Format: Guide for Researchers

    mla cite dictionary

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  1. How to Cite MLA Style

  2. Diwali celebration and Bandi chhod at MLA Alberta

  3. Creating a Works Cited

  4. Works Cited

  5. What info do I need to make an MLA Works Cited entry?

  6. 7 Essential Qualities Of Highly Cited Research

COMMENTS

  1. Citing a Dictionary Entry in MLA Style

    You can easily cite a dictionary entry with the help of our free MLA Citation Generator. Generate accurate MLA citations with Scribbr Instantly correct all language mistakes in your text Be assured that you'll submit flawless writing. Upload your document to correct all your mistakes. Table of contents Parts of speech and definition numbers

  2. How to Cite a Dictionary in MLA

    How to Cite a Dictionary in MLA 2.9 ( 75) Citation Generator Source Type Search Dictionary - Definitions in print, on a website, or on an online database. Citing a dictionary entry from a website or print book Dictionary Citation Structure: "Title of Entry."

  3. Citing the Dictionary and Other Online Sources

    There is no universally accepted standard for citing online sources, but it is generally adequate to indicate the document's Web address, or URL (uniform resource locator), somewhere in the citation, usually following the date on which the electronic document was published, posted, or last revised (if known).

  4. MLA Citation Guide (9th Edition): Encyclopedias & Dictionaries

    In-Text Citation Example ("Shortened Title of Entry" Page Number) Example: ("Guyana" 283) Note: If a dictionary or encyclopedia entry has no author, the in-text citation should include the first one, two or three words of the title of the entry. The title of the entry should be in quotation marks, with each word starting with a capital letter.

  5. Dictionaries and Manuals

    Cite your source automatically in MLA or APA format Cite Using citation machines responsibly Powered by iTools has links to a number of dictionaries, thesauruses, and other language tools, including online translators. The Merriam Webster Dictionary allows you to search this dictionary site from your computer.

  6. Encyclopedias and Dictionaries

    MLA Citation Guide (MLA 9th Edition): Encyclopedias and Dictionaries Academic Honesty and Citation In-Text Citation How Do I Cite? Citation Software Wikipedia Format "Title of Entry." Wikipedia: The Free Encyclopedia, Wikimedia Foundation, Day Month Year entry was last modified, Time entry was last modified, URL of entry.

  7. Citing encyclopedias & dictionaries: MLA (9th) citation guide

    Citing an encyclopedia article or dictionary entry is similar to citing a chapter in a book or anthology : include the author's name (if available), the entry title, and the title of the entire reference work. If there is no author, begin the citation with the title (and italicize or use quotation marks as necessary).

  8. Citing a Dictionary in MLA

    MLA Citation Generator >. Cite a Dictionary. Citation Machine® helps students and professionals properly credit the information that they use. Cite sources in APA, MLA, Chicago, Turabian, and Harvard for free.

  9. MLA Citation Style, 9th Edition: Dictionary or Encyclopedia

    MLA Citation Style, 9th Edition: Dictionary or Encyclopedia Example 1 - Well-known General Dictionary Works Cited: "Saturnalia." Oxford English Dictionary. 2nd ed., 1989. Example 2 - Well-known General Encyclopedia Works Cited: "Eugenics." Encyclopaedia Britannica. 15th ed., 2007. Example 3 - Specialized Dictionary or Encyclopedia In-Text:

  10. MLA Formatting and Style Guide

    MLA is a style of documentation that may be applied to many different types of writing. Since texts have become increasingly digital, and the same document may often be found in several different sources, following a set of rigid rules no longer suffices.

  11. 3 Ways to Cite a Dictionary Meaning in MLA

    How to Cite a Dictionary Meaning in MLA Download Article methods 1 Making a Parenthetical Citation 2 Citing a Print Dictionary 3 Citing an Online Dictionary Other Sections Tips and Warnings Related Articles References Co-authored by Christopher Taylor, PhD Last Updated: September 15, 2021 Fact Checked

  12. MLA Dictionary Citation Generator

    Cite a Dictionary in MLA - powered by Chegg Source type Dictionary

  13. Cite a Dictionary in MLA

    MLA Citation Generator >. Cite a Dictionary. BibMe Free Bibliography & Citation Maker - MLA, APA, Chicago, Harvard.

  14. Dictionary or encyclopaedia

    Reference Example; Note: To cite a specific definition in a dictionary entry, give the relevant designation (e.g. number, letter). In-text: Milton's description of the moon at "her highest noon" signifies the "place of the moon at midnight" ("Noon" def. 4b).

  15. MLA 8th Edition

    Note: While MLA 8th edition recommends including URLs, citing a work found in a library database uses a link that requires a login, and most URLs will stop working after the session ends.Leaving the URL out if other information (database, title, etc.) is supplied is usually acceptable. If you do not have information such as an editor's name, a volume or page numbers leave those sections out of ...

  16. MLA In-Text Citations: The Basics

    Basic in-text citation rules In MLA Style, referring to the works of others in your text is done using parenthetical citations. This method involves providing relevant source information in parentheses whenever a sentence uses a quotation or paraphrase.

  17. How To Cite The Oxford English Dictionary: Using MLA And APA

    How To Cite The Oxford English Dictionary: Using MLA And APA - Immerse Education Discover Home » Study Tips How To Cite The Oxford English Dictionary: Using MLA And APA Back Table of Contents 1 MLA or APA? 2 How To Cite The Oxford English Dictionary Using MLA 9th Edition 2.1 Library Database 2.1.1 Known Author 2.1.1.1 In-Text Citation:

  18. Free MLA Citation Generator

    How to cite in MLA format. MLA is one of the most common citation styles used by students and academics. This quick guide explains how to cite sources according to the 9th edition (the most recent) of the MLA Handbook.You can also use Scribbr's free citation generator to automatically generate references and in-text citations.. An MLA citation has two components:

  19. Cite a dictionary entry in MLA style

    Cite a dictionary entry in MLA style. Use the following template or our MLA Citation Generator to cite a dictionary entry. For help with other source types, like books, PDFs, or websites, check out our other guides. To have your reference list or bibliography automatically made for you, try our free citation generator.

  20. How do I cite the dictionary feature of

    If you want to cite a dictionary, you should navigate to the website of the dictionary itself or use a print edition. Filed Under: dictionaries, using sources. Published 9 March 2021. MLA Style Center, the only authorized Web site on MLA style, provides free resources on research, writing, and documentation.

  21. MLA Citation Guide (9th Edition): Encyclopedias and Dictionaries

    Note: This entry has no page numbers, so this information is left out of the citation. Note: If a dictionary or encyclopedia entry has no author, the in-text citation should include the first one, two or three words from title of the entry. The words from the title of the entry should be in quotation marks, with each word starting with a ...

  22. EasyBib®: Free MLA Citation & Bibliography Generator

    EasyBib® has tools to help you create citations for over 50 source types in this style, as well as a guide to show you how an MLA paper should be formatted. Review the guide to learn how to format a paper's title page, paragraphs, margins, quotations, abbreviations, numbers, tables, and more! There are even tips on editing, as well as on the ...

  23. In-text citation

    The rules in MLA for presenting this text are: Leave a line between your text and the quotation; Begin each part of the dialogue with the character's name, indented half an inch from the margin, in upper case and with a full-stop, e.g. BODYGUARDS. ... Citing more than one author: If you are citing more than one author at the same point in a ...

  24. Pocket ophthalmic dictionary, including pronunciation, derivation and

    Also available in digital form. MLA citation style: Lewis, James John. Pocket Ophthalmic Dictionary, Including Pronunciation, Derivation and Definition of the Words Used in Optometry and Ophthalmology.