Dictionaries usually list the most commonly used compound words. Compound words might be “open” (that is, treated as more than one word: out loud), “closed” (treated as one word: outpost), or hyphenated ( out-box). Spelling checkers won’t help you when it comes to compound words, or words formed by more than one word or part of a word-an especially thorny issue for writers. Although it might seem confusing that there isn’t always a right and a wrong spelling choice, making an informed decision is simple: familiarize yourself with the kinds of words you should routinely look up, and know where to turn for guidance.īelow, we provide examples for using the online Merriam Webster’s Collegiate Dictionary in your writing. You don’t need to follow the same procedures a publisher like the MLA does, but you will want to spell a given word consistently throughout your paper and know when different spellings signal different meanings. For example, we use the word acknowledgment, not acknowledgement. This means that we follow the first-listed spelling when there are variants-that is, when a word can be spelled more than one way. MLA publications generally follow the spelling preferences listed in Merriam Webster’s Collegiate Dictionary, available online, and Merriam Webster’s Unabridged, available by subscription. (For example, they do not distinguish between homophones, or words that sound alike but have different meanings and sometimes different spellings, like there and their.) That’s one reason why it’s important to consult a dictionary as you write. But spelling checkers don’t always tell you when you’ve used the right word in the right form.
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