The Chambers Dictionary

If you're about to buy this for crossword purposes, be aware that a new edition comes out on 22 August 2008. New editions of Chambers have appeared every 5 years since 1983 - the 2006 edition was an extra one to get the dictionary into the new 'corporate livery'. ISBN-10 for the new one is 0550103961. Puzzles like the Observer's Azed (most of which still use the 2003 edition as their reference as I write this) normally start to use the new edition around the beginning of the next calendar year, so you probably have time to ask for this as a Christmas present.

Had a Chambers dictionary for years and just bought another. Still the same quality - all entries in alphabetical order so they're easy to find and all the words you could possibly think of - and more. To top it all, it even explains what each word means. Keep finding I skip around a lot and don't think I'll ever finish it. Seriously though I have found it to be the best brand of dictionary in terms of quantity, layout and ease of use.

This is the best single-volume dictionary of the English Language. If you know Chambers, then you need no persuading. If you don't, then it's time to get one.
It's the recommended reference for most of the best crosswords.

But look on Amazon at the thumb-index version of this dictionary, which should be more expensive, but for some reason is actually a few pounds cheaper. That's the one I've bought, and it's superb.

This is one great dictionary. Although not perfect (especially in persistant use of semicolons for sense differentation - here Oxford Dictionary of English is definitely more user-friendly) the Chambers Dictionary 10 ed. is definitely worth buying for its unbelievable richness of words. There are no encyclopedic entries but that only makes more room for new and specialized vocabulary. Still, I'd advise getting one more dictionary of this size like ODE, for comparison and as mentioned above for more user-friendly layout of the entry. I own both of these and I can say they complement each other perfectly

This is an excellent dictionary and certainly the most useful for crosswords and Scrabble. My only complaint is not with the book itself but the Amazon description. This is Not a Thumb Indexed version but merely has a ribbon marker to keep your place with. If you are not concerned with the ribbon marker, I'd recommend you buy the cheaper version, save a fiver or so and use your own book mark as I would have done had I not been mislead by this description.