English and ICT: Dictionaries

I'm going to do a comparison of some English dictionaries as a useful source of information for the students that are in a CLIL subject. In this comparison I have chosen the word "atom" due to it's importance in Physics and Chemistry.

The results of the entries on the dictionaries are:

Oxford Dictionary: It includes a short principal definition of atom followed by a large explanation and other uses of the word even minority uses in some regions or countries. It includes also a large amount of sentences with the term, a list of synonyms, the origin of the word and it's pronunciation.

Webster Dictionary: I think this website it's a more complete option than Oxford dictionary for CLIL students. In addition to the included in the oxford dictionary for the word atom, if you scroll the page it also has a section called "Did you know?" that gives a short encyclopedic information, a section with links to websites that have used this term recently, a list of related phrases, a list of other physics terms related to it, a definition for kids and a definition for English language learners that corresponds with the given in Learners Dictionary.

WordReference: This website contains a large amount of dictionaries in several languages and it gives you the option of use it as a bilingual or monolingual dictionary. The definition in the monolingual dictionary is given from the WordReference Random House Learner's Dictionary of American English, the WordReference Random House Unabridged Dictionary of American English and the Collins Dictionary. I like that WordReference gives you the link to Webster Dictionary entry, an image search of the term and that if you have more doubts about the term or its use in a sentence you can clarify them in their forums with native speakers. As a negative aspect I have to mention that there is a very few example's sentences for the terms.

Learners dictionary: This dictionary gives you a short and precise definition of the term (included also in the Webster Dictionary), very similar to the other dictionaries in the case of "atom". It includes a link to an audio clip with its pronunciation and also there is the possibility of leave a comment and start a discussion about the term.

In my opinion, Oxford and Webster dictionaries are a good option if you need a monolingual dictionary of English and you are a A2 or more advanced user. Learners dictionary it's suitable for beginners or a quick consult and WordReference it's perfect for consult the use of words and expressions with their forum's community.