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Lexicographer
Writes and edits dictionaries — defining words and tracking how language evolves.
Did you know?
The Oxford English Dictionary took 70 years to complete its first edition — and it's never truly finished because language keeps changing
How subjects help
- Linguistics: Write precise definitions and note how a word is pronounced and used in sentences.
- History: Trace where a word came from and how its meaning has changed over time.
- Research Methods: Collect real examples of a word from books, news and speech before defining it.
- Computer Science: Use software to search vast collections of text and spot which new words are catching on.
A famous name
Samuel Johnson: Wrote A Dictionary of the English Language (1755), with over 42,000 entries.
Try it yourself: Write a dictionary entry
- Pick an everyday word, like "light", that means more than one thing.
- Write a short definition for each meaning, without using the word itself.
- Write one example sentence for each meaning.
- Compare with a real dictionary. What did they include that you missed?
Lexicographers study how words are really used and write clear definitions and examples that help everyone understand them.
Also try: Pass on a message without changing it.
Known for it in
UK, USA, France, Germany, Japan