Oxford Dictionaries Premium - Revision history

RLSJ1997 at 15:57, 8 February 2026

2026-02-08T15:57:04Z

RLSJ1997: Changed to reflect Catsdown Usage

2026-02-08T15:56:30Z

Changed to reflect Catsdown Usage

Mclarenguy22 at 18:11, 22 November 2025

2025-11-22T18:11:31Z

DaaniyalAli at 14:46, 22 October 2025

2025-10-22T14:46:31Z

TobyMcDonald: Updated with current dictionary

2024-09-16T02:29:17Z

Updated with current dictionary

Show changes

Mclarenguy22 at 12:36, 14 March 2023

2023-03-14T12:36:27Z

Mclarenguy22: /* Missing subentries */

2023-03-02T11:20:56Z

‎Missing subentries

Mclarenguy22: /* Adjectives */

2023-01-13T14:46:36Z

‎Adjectives

The Doctor: de-orphan hard to find words

2023-01-05T04:55:09Z

de-orphan hard to find words

TobyMcDonald at 21:18, 28 December 2022

2022-12-28T21:18:50Z

@@ Line 2: / Line 2: @@
 '''''Oxford Dictionaries Premium'' (''ODP'')''', formerly referred to as '''''Oxford Dictionaries Online'' (''ODO'')''', is the source website dictionary currently used for adjudication of words offered by the [[contestant]]s in the [[letters game]]s on ''[[Countdown]]'' (and [[Apterous]]). Supplied by the {{w|Oxford University Press}}, ''ODP'' can only by accessed via an annual subscription or a library card. A free but less voluminous version of ODP, branded as Lexico, was available until 26 August 2022.
-[[Dictionary Corner]] uses the [https://premium.oxforddictionaries.com/ premium.oxforddictionaries.com] website on a laptop, which replaced the use of a print dictionary and [[pencam]] at the beginning of [[Series 71]] on [[Episode 5947|30 June 2014]]. The third and last edition of the print dictionary, [[Oxford Dictionary of English|''Oxford Dictionary of English'' (''ODE'')]], was used in preference to ''ODP'' on ''[[8 Out of 10 Cats Does Countdown]]'' until [[8 Out of 10 Cats Does Countdown Series 29]] on [[Episode Cats173|24 December 2025]].
+[[Dictionary Corner]] uses the [https://premium.oxforddictionaries.com/ premium.oxforddictionaries.com] website on a laptop, which replaced the use of a print dictionary and [[pencam]] at the beginning of [[Series 71]] on [[Episode 5947|30 June 2014]]. The third and last edition of the print dictionary, [[Oxford Dictionary of English|''Oxford Dictionary of English'' (''ODE'')]], was used in preference to ''ODP'' on ''[[8 Out of 10 Cats Does Countdown]]'' until the beginning of [[8 Out of 10 Cats Does Countdown Series 29]] on [[Episode Cats173|24 December 2025]].
 ''ODP'' is an ever-expanding and updating source, adding thousands of new entries each year. It contains a plethora of words, including inflections, variant spellings and loanwords borrowed from international English, not just in the United Kingdom. This means it also includes words from the United States, Canada, India, South Africa, Australia and New Zealand, as well as France, Spain, Italy and Africa.

@@ Line 2: / Line 2: @@
 '''''Oxford Dictionaries Premium'' (''ODP'')''', formerly referred to as '''''Oxford Dictionaries Online'' (''ODO'')''', is the source website dictionary currently used for adjudication of words offered by the [[contestant]]s in the [[letters game]]s on ''[[Countdown]]'' (and [[Apterous]]). Supplied by the {{w|Oxford University Press}}, ''ODP'' can only by accessed via an annual subscription or a library card. A free but less voluminous version of ODP, branded as Lexico, was available until 26 August 2022.
-[[Dictionary Corner]] uses the [https://premium.oxforddictionaries.com/ premium.oxforddictionaries.com] website on a laptop, which replaced the use of a print dictionary and [[pencam]] at the beginning of [[Series 71]] on [[Episode 5947|30 June 2014]]. The third and last edition of the print dictionary, [[Oxford Dictionary of English|''Oxford Dictionary of English'' (''ODE'')]], is still used in preference to ''ODP'' on ''[[8 Out of 10 Cats Does Countdown]]''.
+[[Dictionary Corner]] uses the [https://premium.oxforddictionaries.com/ premium.oxforddictionaries.com] website on a laptop, which replaced the use of a print dictionary and [[pencam]] at the beginning of [[Series 71]] on [[Episode 5947|30 June 2014]]. The third and last edition of the print dictionary, [[Oxford Dictionary of English|''Oxford Dictionary of English'' (''ODE'')]], was used in preference to ''ODP'' on ''[[8 Out of 10 Cats Does Countdown]]'' until [[8 Out of 10 Cats Does Countdown Series 29]] on [[Episode Cats173|24 December 2025]].
 ''ODP'' is an ever-expanding and updating source, adding thousands of new entries each year. It contains a plethora of words, including inflections, variant spellings and loanwords borrowed from international English, not just in the United Kingdom. This means it also includes words from the United States, Canada, India, South Africa, Australia and New Zealand, as well as France, Spain, Italy and Africa.

@@ Line 4: / Line 4: @@
 [[Dictionary Corner]] uses the [https://premium.oxforddictionaries.com/ premium.oxforddictionaries.com] website on a laptop, which replaced the use of a print dictionary and [[pencam]] at the beginning of [[Series 71]] on [[Episode 5947|30 June 2014]]. The third and last edition of the print dictionary, [[Oxford Dictionary of English|''Oxford Dictionary of English'' (''ODE'')]], is still used in preference to ''ODP'' on ''[[8 Out of 10 Cats Does Countdown]]''.
-Unlike the ''[[Oxford English Dictionary]]'', which is a historical dictionary based on past usage, ''ODP'' is a 'living' dictionary based upon current English – hence why words such as 'soysage', 'sermuncle' and 'taverver' appear in the ''OED'' but not in the ''ODP'', and are therefore not allowed on ''Countdown''. However, some words are [[hard-to-find words|hard to find]].
+''ODP'' is an ever-expanding and updating source, adding thousands of new entries each year. It contains a plethora of words, including inflections, variant spellings and loanwords borrowed from international English, not just in the United Kingdom. This means it also includes words from the United States, Canada, India, South Africa, Australia and New Zealand, as well as France, Spain, Italy and Africa.
-The [[lexicographer]] (currently [[Susie Dent]]) searches for a contestant's word under the 'British English' section of ''ODP'' to judge validity. Any independent word which appears in the dictionary without a capital letter, apostrophe or hyphen is valid, as well as standard inflections of nouns, verbs and adjectives. Abbreviations are not allowed, nor are American spellings – however, American words are allowed (e.g. {{word|SNEAKER}} and {{word|FAUCET}}).
+The only form of English not accepted on Countdown is American spellings, such as {{word|flavor {{x}}}} and {{word|signaled}}. However, American words are allowed, such as {{word|FAUCET}} and {{word|DIAPER}}.
 Although the 'US English' section is not used on ''Countdown'', the 'British English' section does contain some entries from the 'US English' section, which are indicated by "Entry from US English Dictionary" underneath the phonetic spelling – an example of this is {{word|COQUI}}. These words are still allowed.
 Unspecified redirections from searching words that link to other entries in the dictionary are not used for adjudication – when searches do redirect, only words specified on the page (and any standard inflections) will be accepted (e.g. {{word|gammier {{x}}}} and {{word|raviolo {{x}}}} are invalid despite redirecting to {{word|GAMMY}} and {{word|RAVIOLI}} respectively).
 The [[Apterous]] website contains a dictionary of all possible words and is updated approximately quarterly, by including and excluding words which would or would not be considered allowable on ''[[Countdown]]'' based on the latest version of ''ODP''.

@@ Line 2: / Line 2: @@
 '''''Oxford Dictionaries Premium'' (''ODP'')''', formerly referred to as '''''Oxford Dictionaries Online'' (''ODO'')''', is the source website dictionary currently used for adjudication of words offered by the [[contestant]]s in the [[letters game]]s on ''[[Countdown]]'' (and [[Apterous]]). Supplied by the {{w|Oxford University Press}}, ''ODP'' can only by accessed via an annual subscription or a library card. A free but less voluminous version of ODP, branded as Lexico, was available until 26 August 2022.
-[[Dictionary Corner]] uses the [https://premium.oxforddictionaries.com/ premium.oxforddictionaries.com] website on a laptop, which replaced the use of a print dictionary and [[pencam]] at the beginning of [[Series 70]] in June 2014. The third and last edition of the print dictionary, [[Oxford Dictionary of English|''Oxford Dictionary of English'' (''ODE'')]], is still used in preference to ''ODP'' on ''[[8 Out of 10 Cats Does Countdown]]''.
+[[Dictionary Corner]] uses the [https://premium.oxforddictionaries.com/ premium.oxforddictionaries.com] website on a laptop, which replaced the use of a print dictionary and [[pencam]] at the beginning of [[Series 71]] on [[Episode 5947|30 June 2014]]. The third and last edition of the print dictionary, [[Oxford Dictionary of English|''Oxford Dictionary of English'' (''ODE'')]], is still used in preference to ''ODP'' on ''[[8 Out of 10 Cats Does Countdown]]''.
 Unlike the ''[[Oxford English Dictionary]]'', which is a historical dictionary based on past usage, ''ODP'' is a 'living' dictionary based upon current English – hence why words such as 'soysage', 'sermuncle' and 'taverver' appear in the ''OED'' but not in the ''ODP'', and are therefore not allowed on ''Countdown''. However, some words are [[hard-to-find words|hard to find]].

← Older revision		Revision as of 12:36, 14 March 2023
Line 78:		Line 78:

	Note: this rule does not apply vice versa; if the headword ends in {{word\|-ISE}}, the {{word\|-IZE}} spelling is invalid (e.g. {{word\|advize {{x}}}}, {{word\|advertize {{x}}}} and {{word\|surprize {{x}}}} are not valid).		Note: this rule does not apply vice versa; if the headword ends in {{word\|-ISE}}, the {{word\|-IZE}} spelling is invalid (e.g. {{word\|advize {{x}}}}, {{word\|advertize {{x}}}} and {{word\|surprize {{x}}}} are not valid).
		+
		+	Additionally, Oxford Spelling uses {{word\|-YSE}} in favour of the American spelling {{word\|-yze {{x}}}}, so {{word\|ANALYSE}} would be given valid instead of {{word\|analyze {{x}}}}.

	==External Links==		==External Links==

@@ Line 43: / Line 43: @@
 ===Missing subentries===
-Not all headwords in ODP specify subentries, but any sensible and correctly-spelled inflections of headwords (see [[Countdown#Letters round|letters round rules]]) would be accepted (e.g. {{word|ESCAPES}}, {{word|ESCAPED}} and {{word|ESCAPING}}; {{word|GREATER}} and {{word|GREATEST}}). These would be judged based on commin usage in British English.
+Not all headwords in ODP specify subentries, but any sensible and correctly-spelled inflections of headwords (see [[Countdown#Letters round|letters round rules]]) would be accepted (e.g. {{word|ESCAPES}}, {{word|ESCAPED}} and {{word|ESCAPING}}; {{word|GREATER}} and {{word|GREATEST}}). Not all valid inflections may direct to the relevant root word in the dictionary, but these are usually judged based on common usage in British English.
 ====Nouns====
@@ Line 54: / Line 54: @@
 For mass nouns: many of these may not take a plural (e.g. [[Episode 7575|{{word|sedations {{x}}}}]]). If a word labelled as a [MASS NOUN] also has a [COUNT NOUN] label, which implies the noun has a countable sense, the plural would be accepted (e.g. {{word|EXERTIONS}} is valid as the singular has a count noun sense in ODP).
-Not all mass nouns have specified count noun senses, but leeway may be given to accept plurals, based on their definitions. Since 2019, the following plurals have been accepted:
+Not all mass nouns have specified count noun senses, but leeway may be given to accept plurals, based on their definitions and usage. Since 2019, the following plurals have been accepted:
 * [[Episode 6991|{{word|TIRAMISUS}}]] (a portion of tiramisu)
 * [[Episode 7020|{{word|DRAINAGES}}]] (a system of drains)
@@ Line 67: / Line 67: @@
 If a comparable adjective has one syllable, inflected comparative and superlative forms which are standard and sensible need not be specified to be allowed (e.g. {{word|LOUCHE}} has no subentries, but one can be the {{word|LOUCHER}} than the next person, or the [[Episode 7544|{{word|LOUCHEST}}]] person). Other examples are {{word|COLDER}}, {{word|COLDEST}}, {{word|DARKER}} and {{word|DARKEST}}.
-Note: the comparative and superlative of {{word|GOOD}} are {{word|BETTER}} and {{word|BEST}}, rather than {{word|gooder {{x}}}} and {{word|goodest {{x}}}}. Adjectives ending with {{word|-ED}}, with no specified {{word|-EDER}} and {{word|-EDEST}} inflections, are also assumed exempt from this rule; hence why {{word|paineder {{x}}}} and {{word|painedest {{x}}}} are not allowed (the standard inflections are 'more pained' and 'most pained').
+Note: the standard comparative and superlative of {{word|GOOD}} are {{word|BETTER}} and {{word|BEST}}, rather than {{word|gooder {{x}}}} and {{word|goodest {{x}}}}. Adjectives ending with {{word|-ED}}, with no specified {{word|-EDER}} and {{word|-EDEST}} inflections, are also assumed exempt from this rule; hence why {{word|paineder {{x}}}} and {{word|painedest {{x}}}} are not allowed (the standard inflections are 'more pained' and 'most pained').
 ====Verbs====

@@ Line 63: / Line 63: @@
 ====Adjectives====
-If an adjective has two syllables or more, the inflected comparative and superlative forms '''must''' be specified to be allowed (e.g. the existence of {{word|SHOUTY}}, which has two syllables, does not mean {{word|shoutier {{x}}}} nor {{word|shoutiest {{x}}}} are valid as these are not specified).
+If an adjective has two syllables or more, the inflected comparative and superlative forms '''must''' be specified – either underneath the headword or in a separate page – to be allowed (e.g. the existence of {{word|SHOUTY}}, which has two syllables, does not mean {{word|shoutier {{x}}}} nor {{word|shoutiest {{x}}}} are valid as these are not specified).
 If a comparable adjective has one syllable, inflected comparative and superlative forms which are standard and sensible need not be specified to be allowed (e.g. {{word|LOUCHE}} has no subentries, but one can be the {{word|LOUCHER}} than the next person, or the [[Episode 7544|{{word|LOUCHEST}}]] person). Other examples are {{word|COLDER}}, {{word|COLDEST}}, {{word|DARKER}} and {{word|DARKEST}}.

@@ Line 4: / Line 4: @@
 [[Dictionary Corner]] uses the [https://premium.oxforddictionaries.com/ premium.oxforddictionaries.com] website on a laptop, which replaced the use of a print dictionary and [[pencam]] at the beginning of [[Series 70]] in June 2014. The third and last edition of the print dictionary, [[Oxford Dictionary of English|''Oxford Dictionary of English'' (''ODE'')]], is still used in preference to ODP on ''[[8 Out of 10 Cats Does Countdown]]''.
-Unlike the ''[[Oxford English Dictionary]]'', which is a historical dictionary based on past usage, ODP is a 'living' dictionary based upon current English; hence why words such as 'soysage', 'sermuncle' and 'taverver' appear in the ''OED'' but not in the ODP, and are therefore not allowed on ''Countdown''.
+Unlike the ''[[Oxford English Dictionary]]'', which is a historical dictionary based on past usage, ODP is a 'living' dictionary based upon current English; hence why words such as 'soysage', 'sermuncle' and 'taverver' appear in the ''OED'' but not in the ODP, and are therefore not allowed on ''Countdown''. However, some words are [[hard-to-find words|hard to find]].
 The [[lexicographer]] (currently [[Susie Dent]]) searches for a contestant's word under the 'British English' section of ODP to judge validity. Any independent word which appears in the dictionary without a capital letter, apostrophe or hyphen is valid, as well as standard inflections of nouns, verbs and adjectives. Abbreviations are not allowed, nor are American spellings; however, American words are allowed (e.g. {{word|DRAPER}} and {{word|FAUCET}}).

@@ Line 1: / Line 1: @@
-:''Oxford Dictionaries Premium (ODP) differs to [[Oxford Dictionary of English|Oxford Dictionary of English (ODE)]] and [[Oxford English Dictionary|Oxford English Dictionary (OED)'']].
+:''Oxford Dictionaries Premium (ODP) differs to [[Concise Oxford Dictionary|Concise Oxford Dictionary (COD)]], [[Oxford Dictionary of English|Oxford Dictionary of English (ODE)]] and [[Oxford English Dictionary|Oxford English Dictionary (OED)'']].
-'''Oxford Dictionaries Premium (ODP)''', formerly referred to as '''Oxford Dictionaries Online (ODO)''', is the source website dictionary currently used for adjudication of words offered by the [[contestant|contestants]] in the [[letters game|letters games]] on ''[[Countdown]]'' (and [[Apterous]]). Supplied by the Oxford University Press, ODP can only by accessed via an annual subscription or a library card. A free but less voluminous version of ODP, branded as Lexico, was available until 26 August 2022.
+'''Oxford Dictionaries Premium (ODP)''', formerly referred to as '''Oxford Dictionaries Online (ODO)''', is the source website dictionary currently used for adjudication of words offered by the [[contestant]]s in the [[letters game]]s on ''[[Countdown]]'' (and [[Apterous]]). Supplied by the {{w|Oxford University Press}}, ODP can only by accessed via an annual subscription or a library card. A free but less voluminous version of ODP, branded as Lexico, was available until 26 August 2022.
-[[Dictionary Corner]] uses the [https://premium.oxforddictionaries.com/ premium.oxforddictionaries.com] website on a laptop, which replaced the use of a print dictionary and [[pencam]] at the beginning of [[Series 70]] in June 2014. The 3rd and last edition of the print dictionary, [[Oxford Dictionary of English|Oxford Dictionary of English (ODE)]], is still used in preference to ODP on [[8 Out of 10 Cats Does Countdown]].
+[[Dictionary Corner]] uses the [https://premium.oxforddictionaries.com/ premium.oxforddictionaries.com] website on a laptop, which replaced the use of a print dictionary and [[pencam]] at the beginning of [[Series 70]] in June 2014. The third and last edition of the print dictionary, [[Oxford Dictionary of English|''Oxford Dictionary of English'' (''ODE'')]], is still used in preference to ODP on ''[[8 Out of 10 Cats Does Countdown]]''.
-Unlike the [[Oxford English Dictionary]], which is a historical dictionary based on past usage, ODP is a 'living' dictionary based upon current English; hence why words such as 'soysage', 'sermuncle' and 'taverver' appear in the OED but not in the ODP, and are therefore not allowed on ''Countdown''.
+Unlike the ''[[Oxford English Dictionary]]'', which is a historical dictionary based on past usage, ODP is a 'living' dictionary based upon current English; hence why words such as 'soysage', 'sermuncle' and 'taverver' appear in the ''OED'' but not in the ODP, and are therefore not allowed on ''Countdown''.
 The [[lexicographer]] (currently [[Susie Dent]]) searches for a contestant's word under the 'British English' section of ODP to judge validity. Any independent word which appears in the dictionary without a capital letter, apostrophe or hyphen is valid, as well as standard inflections of nouns, verbs and adjectives. Abbreviations are not allowed, nor are American spellings; however, American words are allowed (e.g. {{word|DRAPER}} and {{word|FAUCET}}).
-Although the 'US English' section is not used on ''Countdown'', the British English section does contain some entries from the US English section, which are indicated by "Entry from US English Dictionary" underneath the phonetic spelling; an example of this is {{word|COQUI}}. These words are still allowed.
+Although the 'US English' section is not used on ''Countdown'', the 'British English' section does contain some entries from the 'US English' section, which are indicated by "Entry from US English Dictionary" underneath the phonetic spelling; an example of this is {{word|COQUI}}. These words are still allowed.
 Unspecified redirections from searching words that link to other entries in the dictionary are not used for adjudication; when searches do redirect, only words specified on the page (and any standard inflections) will be accepted (e.g. {{word|gammier {{x}}}} and {{word|raviolo {{x}}}} are invalid despite redirecting to {{word|GAMMY}} and {{word|RAVIOLI}} respectively).
@@ Line 14: / Line 14: @@
 ODP is an ever-expanding and updating source, adding thousands of new entries each year. It contains a plethora of words, including inflections, variant spellings and loanwords borrowed from international English, including the United States, Canada, India, South Africa, Australia, New Zealand, France and Italy. Minor adjustments to the dictionary, such as inclusions and removals of alternate spellings and definitions, may also be made in minor updates.
-The [[Apterous]] website contains a dictionary of all possible words and is updated approximately quarterly, by including and excluding words which would or would not be considered allowable on ''Countdown'' based on the latest version of ODP.
+The [[Apterous]] website contains a dictionary of all possible words and is updated approximately quarterly, by including and excluding words which would or would not be considered allowable on ''[[Countdown]]'' based on the latest version of ODP.
-[[Dan McColm]], the first [[series winners|series champion]] to be crowned in the online dictionary era, came up with very modern words included in the dictionary such as {{word|WHATEV}}, and in his last game of his [[octochamp]] run spotted that the conundrum {{word|BOBHOPTOM}} became {{word|PHOTOBOMB}}, a word that trended highly in 2014. [[Elliott Mellor]], [[Luke Johnson-Davies]] and [[Sam Cappleman-Lynes]] have also been noted for finding obscure ODP words which could otherwise not be found in the ODE paper dictionary, nor in other dictionaries (both print and online).
+[[Dan McColm]], the first [[Series Winners|series champion]] to be crowned in the online dictionary era, came up with very modern words included in the dictionary such as {{word|WHATEV}}, and in his last game of his [[octochamp]] run, spotted that the [[conundrum]] {{word|BOBHOPTOM}} became {{word|PHOTOBOMB}}, a word that trended highly in 2014. [[Elliott Mellor]], [[Luke Johnson-Davies]] and [[Sam Cappleman-Lynes]] have also been noted for finding obscure ODP words which could otherwise not be found in the ''[[Oxford Dictionary of English|ODE]]'' paper dictionary, nor in other dictionaries (both print and online).
 ==A rough guide to word validity==
@@ Line 40: / Line 40: @@
 Abbreviations defined as "nouns" are omitted (e.g. {{word|psia {{x}}}} is given as a noun, but is defined as 'Pounds per square inch absolute').
-Italicised text underneath the definitions and sentences (e.g. ''Lewisia rediviva'') is ignored. Example sentences are also ignored for adjudication, although sentences with [COUNT NOUN] senses are considered reliable
+Italicised text underneath the definitions and sentences (e.g. ''Lewisia rediviva'') is ignored. Example sentences are also ignored for adjudication, although sentences with [COUNT NOUN] senses are considered reliable.
 ===Missing subentries===
@@ Line 50: / Line 50: @@
 NOTE: {{word|SANDMAN}} has no plural, because it's '''the sandman''', so {{word|sandmans {{x}}}} and {{word|sandmen {{x}}}} are invalid.
-For loanwords in English which are borrowed from a foreign language, [[Countdown]] (and [[Apterous]]) tries its best to accept any correct plurals where possible (there may be more than one plural). Hence, e.g., {{word|GENESES}} is assumed the plural of {{word|GENESIS}}, rather than {{word|genesises {{x}}}}, and {{word|HEDERS}} and [[Episode 6994|{{word|HEDARIM}}]] are assumed the plurals of {{word|HEDER}} (a variant spelling of {{word|CHEDER}}).
+For loanwords in English which are borrowed from a foreign language, ''[[Countdown]]'' (and [[Apterous]]) tries its best to accept any correct plurals where possible (there may be more than one plural). Hence, e.g., {{word|GENESES}} is assumed the plural of {{word|GENESIS}}, rather than {{word|genesises {{x}}}}, and {{word|HEDERS}} and [[Episode 6994|{{word|HEDARIM}}]] are assumed the plurals of {{word|HEDER}} (a variant spelling of {{word|CHEDER}}).
 For mass nouns: many of these may not take a plural (e.g. [[Episode 7575|{{word|sedations {{x}}}}]]). If a word labelled as a [MASS NOUN] also has a [COUNT NOUN] label, which implies the noun has a countable sense, the plural would be accepted (e.g. {{word|EXERTIONS}} is valid as the singular has a count noun sense in ODP).
@@ Line 80: / Line 80: @@
 ==External Links==
-*Oxford Dictionaries website [https://languages.oup.com/dictionaries/#premium]
+*[https://languages.oup.com/dictionaries/#premium Oxford Dictionaries website]
-*Lexico Wikipedia page [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lexico]
+{{WP|Lexico|Lexico}}
 [[Category:Countdown]]