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APA 7th ed. - Referencing Tool

Referencing - Dictionaries & Encyclopedias

Dictionary (print)

Guidelines

- Often dictionaries do not list individual authors. If there is no author for the entry, put the title in place of the author.

- Include the edition number after the title of the reference work.

-If the author and publisher are the same, omit the publisher section of the reference.

 

In-text Citation

(Author, Year, page range)

 

Reference list (with author)

Author. (Year). Title of entry. In Dictionary title (edition., page range). Publisher.

 

Reference List (no author)

Dictionary title. (Year). Title of entry. In Dictionary title (edition., page range). Publisher.

In text example

 Reference list examples

 In-text citation

(Oxford Dictionaries, 2014, p. 153)

 

 
 
 

Print example

Oxford Dictionaries. (2014). Condensation. In Oxford Dictionary of Academic English. (1st ed., p. 153).

 

 

 

For further information see:

Online Dictionary

Guidelines

- If there is no author for the entry, put the title in place of the author.

- When DOIs (digital object identifiers) are available, use them instead of web addresses.

- As many online dictionaries are updated over time and are not archived, always include the retrieval date.

 

In-text Citation

(Author, Year)

Reference List

Author. (Year). Title of entry. In Dictionary title. Retrieved Month, Day, Year, from URL or DOI

Reference List (No author)
Dictionary Title. (Year). Title of entry. In Dictionary title. Retrieved Month, Day, Year, from URL or DOI

In text example

 Reference list examples

 In-text citation: 

(Cambridge Dictionary, n.d.)

 

 

 

In-text citation:
(Merriam-Webster, n.d.)

Online dictionary example

Cambridge Dictionary (n.d.). Cyber. In Cambridge Dictionary. Retrieved February 10, 2022, from https://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/english/cyber

 

Specific entry example 

Merriam-Webster. (n.d.). Heuristic. In Merriam-Webster’s dictionary. Retrieved December 13, 2024, from http://www.m-w.com/dictionary/heuristic

 

 

Encyclopedia

Guidelines

-If there is no author for the entry, put the title in place of the author.

 

In-text Citation

(Author, Year, Page range)

 

Reference List (Print)

Author. (Year). Title of entry. In Encyclopedia Title (xxth ed.). Publisher.
 

Reference List (Print with editors)

Author. (Year). Title of entry. In Editor (Ed.), Encyclopedia Title (xxth ed.). Publisher.
 

Reference List (Print with no author / editor / date)

Title of entry. (n.d.). Encyclopedia Title (xxth ed.). Publisher.
 

Reference List (Online, with editors)

Author. (Year). Title of entry. In Editor (Ed.), Encyclopedia Title. (xxth ed.). Publisher. URL or https://doi.org/xx.xxxx

In text example

 Reference list examples

 In-text citation

(Murray & Pizzorno, 2012, pp. 131-135)

 

 In-text citation

(Atzeni, 2023, p. 74)

 
 
 

 Example with author in a  print encyclopedia

Murray, M.T., & Pizzorno, J.E. (2012). Digestion and Elimination. In The Encyclopedia of Natural Medicine (3rd ed.). Atria Books.

 

Example with author in an online edited encyclopedia

Atzeni, M. (2023). Deskilling. In S. Johnstone, J. Rodriguez & A. Wilkinson (Eds.), Encyclopedia of human resource management. Edward Elgar Publishing Ltd. https://ebookcentral.proquest.com/lib/think/detail.action?docID=7205781