As we have seen above, the nine dictionaries included in this study differ from each other – in some cases significantly so. Based on the above study of their descriptions of the verb live, we can make some remarks and evaluations of the dictionaries:
Bloomsbury gives ten numbered meanings for the verb live. As examples are sparse, and only include phrases instead of full sentences, sometimes the meanings remain unclear. All ten meanings are
discernible, but in some cases a meaning is only represented by a phrasal verb, and this status is not mentioned. Idioms are indicated clearly, but they are few.
Cambridge gives each major meaning of a word its own unnumbered entry, though lumps some
meanings together that could be seen to have their own individual meanings24. The verb live is entered five times. The order of the entries is very confusing: run in after entries for the verb live there are adjectives live and living; furthermore, the main entry for the adjective live appears among the entries for the verb. There is no clear explanation or indication of differences between idioms, phrasal verbs and other constructions mentioned. Only two phrasal verbs – live down and live up to – are given separate main entries; other phrasal verbs are placed under meaning categories for the verb live.
Cambridge provides the user with many collocations indeed, but most phrasal structures also appear as
“collocations” since there is no clear indication of their status. Out of the nine dictionaries in this study, the presentation of information in Cambridge, despite probably aiming for an innovative approach, seems the most cumbersome for the user.
As was mentioned above, the presentation and definitions given by Chambers provide the dictionary user with little useful information. Many meanings are given for the verb live, but without a clear distinction between them, it is difficult to say which meanings listed in this study are mentioned and which ones are not – the descriptions are too broad. Phrasal constructions are separated from the meanings for the verb live with a symbol, but the section contains both phrasal verbs and idioms.
Collins gives the verb live twelve numbered meanings. However, some of them are clearly
phrasal verb uses. This is not mentioned in the dictionary; in fact, mentions like “usually foll by in or at” appear in several meaning categories, whether or not the meanings can be seen to be those of the
24 Landau (101) observes that “some ESL dictionaries, such as the Cambridge International Dictionary of English (CIDE) and the Cambridge Dictionary of American English (CDAE), accord separate headword status to different meaning clusters. This treatment obscures rather than emphasizes homonymic status, but it was seen as a way to help foreign learners find particular meanings, since learners lack the knowledge and intuitive sense of native speakers that make them 'unable to conceive different senses as connected'”.
verb live or of phrasal verbs. Indeed, because of this phrasal verbs are difficult to locate in the dictionary: some of them appear as headwords, some under the meanings of the headword live.
Furthermore, the strict alphabetisation of entries means that phrasal verbs appear among other entries, not directly after the entry for the verb live – but idioms appear at the end of the entry for the verb live.
There are no clear labels for indicating phrasal verbs or idioms. When a verb is intransitive or transitive, this is mentioned, but in cases where it can be both, this is not mentioned; the indication
“mainly tr/intr” means “unless otherwise stated”.
Cobuild lists six meanings for the verb live, though some of them are clearly mentions of
phrasal verbs. Some phrasal verbs are also listed after the main entry in a separate section for phrasal verbs. In the case of long entries, the entry word is followed by a menu to help in navigation – though in the case of live, the menu only differentiates verbal uses from adjectival ones, instead of different verbal uses from each other. The feature of Cobuild that is intended to make it easy to use, namely definitions that are constructed with complete sentences, appear to make the definitions for verbs only more complicated (consider this definition for live7 'spend your life in a particular way': “If you say that someone lives in particular circumstances or that they live a particular kind of life, you mean that they are in those circumstances or that they have that kind of life”.) Idioms are only mentioned in cross-references to the entries for the nouns they contain.
The typography on Longman resembles older dictionaries and is very traditional-looking – perhaps even unattractive for the contemporary dictionary user. For example, in example phrases the entry word is not repeated, but a tilde (~) appears instead. There are short example phrases or
sentences, which appear authentic but sometimes rather peculiar. Some phrasal verbs are listed as meaning categories for the verb live, which makes their presentation unclear. The category division and examples seem rather confused. Some of the 13 numbered meaning categories seem outright irrelevant.
LoCo's use of bright colours makes its definitions appear very accessible. The use of quick
definitions is not very consistent (1 INAPLACE/HOME, 2 PLANT/ANIMAL, 4 BE/STAYALIVE etc.), but they seem to serve their purpose. Often common collocations and prepositions appear within example sentences in bold type. As phrasal verbs, idioms and other phrases are given their own numbered meanings, the list is long, and idioms are not formally separated from other phrases. These also include compounds where the adjective living is used, which seems peculiar. However, phrasal verbs are clearly separated from the above, each having its own subentry, and numbered submeanings where necessary.
Macmillan's quick definition index that appears after the headword and before any definitions
may make it faster to find a meaning and get an overview of the different meanings – but in some cases, the wordings are different in the index and the definition (such as the pair 3 keep alive certain way – 3 to keep yourself alive in a particular way). The seven numbered meanings include common collocations, some of which are phrasal verbs without indication of this status. The fourth meaning category for the verb live has a definition, and another one underneath numbered 4a, but there is no 4b.
“Phrases” and phrasal verbs are listed in separate lists, both of which are extensive.
Like in LoCo, the quick definitions in Oxford are not uniform: 1 INAPLACE 2 BEALIVE 4 TYPEOF LIFE etc. Otherwise, the descriptions seem accurate, and the six meanings listed for the verb live cover all central meanings. They seem to give the user enough information without making too elaborate and cumbersome distinctions in meaning – many of which the user will be able to deduce on their own. It should be noted that the symbols and other typographically marked features in the sample entry are easily found in the front matter, though the dictionary does not specify what the “+” symbol means:
whether the following prepositions are compulsory or not. Also, the exact meanings of some entry features in Oxford, such as “prepositions, adverbs and structures that can be used with this word”, remain vague even with the guide to using the dictionary.