Reference Works - Introductory

You'll be a walking encyclopedia once you learn this list all about reference works. Review almanacs, bibliographies, catalogues, periodicals, and much more.
25 words 218 learners

Learn words with Flashcards and other activities

Definition First
Print Flashcards

Other learning activities

Answer a few questions about each word. Use this to prep for your next quiz! Compete with other teams in real time to see who answers the most questions correctly! Test your spelling acumen. Read the definition, listen to the word and try spelling it!

Teaching tools

Create and assign quizzes to your students to test their vocabulary. Assign learning activities including Practice, Vocabulary Jams and Spelling Bees to your students, and monitor their progress in real-time.

Full list of words from this list:

words only definitions & notes
  1. almanac
    an annual publication arranged according to the calendar
  2. alphabetical
    arranged in order according to the alphabet
  3. appendix
    supplementary material collected at the back of a book
  4. article
    nonfictional prose forming a part of a publication
  5. atlas
    a collection of maps in book form
  6. bibliography
    a list of writings with time and place of publication
  7. catalogue
    a complete list of things, usually arranged systematically
  8. database
    an organized body of related information
  9. definition
    a brief explanation of the meaning of a word or phrase
  10. dictionary
    a reference book containing an alphabetical list of words
  11. directory
    an alphabetical list of names and contact information
  12. encyclopedia
    a reference work containing articles on various topics
  13. entry
    an item inserted in a written record
  14. glossary
    an alphabetical list of technical terms in a field
  15. index
    alphabetical listing of names and topics with page numbers
  16. journal
    a periodical dedicated to a particular subject
  17. library catalogue
    an enumeration of all the resources of a library
  18. periodical
    a publication that appears at fixed intervals
  19. pronunciation
    the way a word or a language is customarily spoken
  20. reference
    a book from which you can seek authoritative facts
  21. search engine
    a computer program that retrieves documents or files or data from a database or from a computer network (especially from the internet)
  22. syllabication
    forming or dividing words into syllables
  23. syllable
    a unit of spoken language larger than a phoneme
  24. table of contents
    a list of what is included and where it can be found
  25. thesaurus
    a book containing a classified list of synonyms
Created on Wed Jan 11 15:44:01 EST 2017 (updated Wed Mar 29 15:37:58 EDT 2017)

Sign up now (it’s free!)

Whether you’re a teacher or a learner, Vocabulary.com can put you or your class on the path to systematic vocabulary improvement.