Oxford English Dictionary
The facts below are what the maker publishes about Oxford English Dictionary, checked and dated. Our editors have not written about it yet.
Plans and prices
From Oxford English Dictionary's own pricing page, checked 11 Oct 2026.
| Plan | Price | What it gives you |
|---|---|---|
| Oxford English Dictionary subscription | Priced on request | Institutional subscription; individuals typically access through their institutional library; request a quote |
The facts
Each one read from Oxford English Dictionary's own pages, with the date it was checked.
What it does
- Access model
- OUP offers the OED by subscription and directs prospective institutional customers to request a quote.checked 11 Oct 2026
- Historical coverage
- The dictionary covers 1,000 years of English and traces the history of individual words through millions of quotations.checked 11 Oct 2026
- Historical Thesaurus
- Its Historical Thesaurus shows different words for a concept over time.checked 11 Oct 2026
- Institutional access
- OUP’s access-control information lists IP authentication, library-card access, and username-and-password access for the OED.checked 11 Oct 2026
- Intended audience
- The OED is positioned for academic research, and individuals typically access it through an institutional library.checked 11 Oct 2026
- Purpose
- The OED is a guide to the meaning, history, and pronunciation of more than 500,000 English words and phrases.checked 11 Oct 2026
- Research tools
- The OED offers interactive resources, teaching tools, and virtual events.checked 11 Oct 2026
- Research use
- OUP says OED language data can be accessed, filtered, and exported for researchers.checked 11 Oct 2026
- Support
- OUP provides institutional help materials covering subscriptions, access settings, usage statistics, MARC records, promotional materials, and training.checked 11 Oct 2026
- Word origins
- The OED shows word origins and development rather than only modern usage.checked 11 Oct 2026
The company
- Founded
- 1884checked 28 Sep 2026
- Maker
- Oxford University Press publishes the OED and is a department of the University of Oxford.checked 11 Oct 2026
Where it runs
- Platform
- OUP says the OED remains on its current platform, which was built especially for dictionary content.checked 11 Oct 2026
Money
- Reduced-cost access
- Qualifying nonprofit institutions in low- and middle-income countries can request free or low-cost access to the OED through OUP’s initiative.checked 11 Oct 2026
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