Sometimes you need to look up the meaning of a word in an English dictionary. Use a learner's dictionary such as Longman's Dictionary of Contemporary English because learner dictionaries are generally written clearly and show the words in sentences. To choose the correct definition, follow the steps below:

1. Look at the word in the sentence to get a general idea about the word. What part of speech is it?

   A noun? An adjective? A verb? An adverb?

2. Here are the abbreviations that are used in most dictionaries to show the parts of speech.

   Noun = (n) Adjective = (adj) Verb = (v) Adverb = (adv)

3. Look at the sentence and decide which part of speech the word is.
4. Choose the definition that is the correct part of speech and makes the most sense in the sentence.

Directions: Read the following sentences and choose the dictio nary definitions (adapted from Longman's Dictionary of Contemporary English, 1999) that best fits the meaning of the underlined word in the sentence.

1. That witch put a spell on me.

   spell ¹ /spel/ n a condition caused by magical power. I fell under the spell of his wonderful green eyes.

   spell ² /spel/ v to say or write the letters of a word in order. He spells his name S-M-Y-T-H, not S-M-I-T-H.

   spell ³ /spel/ n a period of time during which a specific activity or type of weather has occurred. We've had a cold spell all month.

   Definition number _____

2. At the close of the meeting, no one was speaking to any one else.

   close ¹ /kloz/ v to shut, make no longer open. Close your mouth when you chew!

   close ² /kloz/ n the end of an activity or period of time. At the close of the day, the crickets start to chirp.

   close ³ /klos/ adj near. Don't stand so close to me!

   Definition number _____