Chicago (author-date) · Dictionary Entry
How to cite a dictionary entry in Chicago (author-date)
A dictionary-entry citation credits one definition in a reference work, print or online. The classic mistakes are opening a thesis chapter with a dictionary definition where a field definition is expected, and citing an aggregator site instead of the dictionary it scraped.
Worked example · Chicago (author-date)
Lovelace, Ada. 2025. “Epistemology.” In Example English Dictionary. Example University Press. https://www.example.org/dictionary/epistemology.
Rendered with the official Chicago (author-date) style file from a placeholder source (reserved example DOI and domain), so the format is exactly what the style produces. In text: Author-date in-text citations, for example (Author 2021), with a reference list.
What to collect before you cite a dictionary entry
- The headword you are citing
- The dictionary title and edition
- The publisher
- Year, or the access date for continuously updated online editions
- The URL for online dictionaries
Have a DOI? Generate the reference instantly
Journal articles, many books and reports carry a DOI. Paste it and get the Chicago (author-date) entry from the same engine that produced the example above.
Citing a whole thesis, not one source?
CiteDash keeps your bibliography in Chicago (author-date) automatically, verifies every citation against a real paper, and compiles to DOCX, PDF or LaTeX.
Citing a dictionary entry in Chicago (author-date): FAQ
Is defining a term with a dictionary good practice in a thesis?
Usually not for your core concepts: examiners expect field definitions from the literature. A dictionary citation fits when ordinary language itself is the point, such as etymology or contested usage.
Online dictionaries change. Which date do I use?
Use the access date for continuously updated editions, and the edition year for fixed ones. The point is that a reader can reconstruct what you saw.
The entry has no author. What goes first?
The headword or the dictionary title, depending on the style. Unsigned reference-work entries never get an invented author.
What does the in-text citation look like in Chicago (author-date)?
Author-date in-text citations, for example (Author 2021), with a reference list.
Is the example on this page hand-written?
No. It is rendered by the same citation engine and official CSL style file CiteDash uses for full thesis bibliographies, from a clearly-marked placeholder source, and a test re-renders it on every release so the page can never drift from the engine.