I am proud to present the Fifth Edition of the Cobuild Advanced Learner?s English Dictionary, which continues the distinctive Cobuild tradition established nineteen years ago. This new edition updates the "snapshot" of current English, and contains some attractive features to make the book even easier to use. The fifth edition of the dictionary is also available on CD-ROM, with a new interface to make access easy. I would urge you to try out the electronic Cobuild, because when you become familiar with its structure and what it can do, you will find it very easy to consult, and you will be able to flick from place to place and reorganize the information in all sorts of ways. It is difficult to say whether the electronic dictionary will ever replace our familiar paper dictionaries; for a quick check on a meaning or usage a paper dictionary on your desk is simple and final, while the electronic version has a flexibility that the paper one cannot compete with. The basis for the authority of Cobuild is the Bank of English, part of Collins Word Web, still the largest collection of data of its kind in any language, and now containing 645,000,000 words. Decisions about which words to include as headwords in the dictionary, which meanings to draw attention to, which phrases to recognize as settled expressions in the language, and many other issues, are directly informed by the Bank of English. The regular updating of this corpus ensures that this edition is up-to-date; new words and phrases constantly creep into the language, and sometimes establish themselves quickly, so the lexicographers keep a careful watch for them.
