How to Cite a Dictionary With an In-Text Citation in APA
The American Psychological Association (APA) Style Guide is a way of formatting your paper so that it follows the same general layout as others within the social sciences. This offers consistency across the field, and makes your paper an easier read when the references are familiar and easy to decipher.
Other People Are Reading
Instructions
-
-
1
Begin by filling in the reference for your dictionary in your bibliography. For any book the bibliography entry should be in this format: "Author, A. A. (Year of publication). Title of work: Capital letter also for subtitle. Location: Publisher". In the case of a dictionary, there is no author. So we substitute the author's name with that of the dictionary. For example, if you are using the Merriam-Webster Dictionary, the entry in your bibliography would read: "Merriam-Webster's collegiate dictionary (10th ed.).(1993). Springfield, MA: Merriam-Webster."
-
2
To cite this dictionary within your text, you would use a parenthetical citation. Usually this would be (Name of author, year of publication), but again there is no author. Instead, you should use a shortened version of the book's title. In the case of Mirriam-Webster's dictionary, this is : (Merriam-Webster's, 1993).
-
-
3
Alternatively, you can mention the name of your source within your text. This would be in the format: "According to Mirriam-Webster's dictionary (1993), the definition of..." Note that although you do not need to name the work in parenthesis, you do still need to enter the date. This avoids confusion over multiple editions, and also relates it to your bibliographic reference.
-
1
Tips & Warnings
It is not necessary to provide a page number when citing a dictionary or any other source that is organized alphabetically.
References
- Photo Credit Hemera Technologies/AbleStock.com/Getty Images
