Merriam-Webster's Dictionary and Thesaurus - Merriam-Webster [6]
Words current in all regions of the U.S. have no label.
A word or sense limited in use to one of the other countries of the English-speaking world has an appropriate regional label:
chem·ist … noun … 2 British
loch … noun, Scottish
2wireless noun … 2 chiefly British
The label dialect indicates that the pattern of use of a word or sense is too complex for summary labeling: it usually includes several regional varieties of American English or of American and British English:
2mind verb 1 chiefly dialect
The stylistic label slang is used with words or senses that are especially appropriate in contexts of extreme informality:
3can … verb … 2 slang
2grand noun . . . slang
There is no satisfactory objective test for slang, especially with reference to a word out of context. No word, in fact, is invariably slang, and many standard words can be given slang applications.
The stylistic labels offensive and disparaging are used for those words or senses that in common use are intended to hurt or that are likely to give offense even when they are used without such an intent:
dumb . . . adjective 1 often offensive
half–breed . . . noun, often disparaging
Definitions are sometimes followed by verbal illustrations that show a typical use of the word in context. These illustrations are enclosed in angle brackets, and the word being illustrated is usually replaced by a lightface swung dash. The swung dash stands for the boldface entry word, and it may be followed by an italicized suffix:
1jump … verb … 5 … ⟨~ the gun⟩
all–around … adjective 1 … ⟨best ~ performance⟩
1can·on … noun … 3 … ⟨the ~s of good taste⟩
en·joy … verb … 2 … ⟨~ed the concert⟩
The swung dash is not used when the form of the boldface entry word is changed in suffixation, and it is not used for compounds:
Definitions are sometimes followed by usage notes that give supplementary information about such matters as idiom, syntax, and semantic relationship. A usage note is introduced by a lightface dash:
2cry noun … 5 … —usu. used in the phrase a far cry
1jaw … noun … 2 … — usu. used in pl.
1ada·gio … adverb or adj … — used as a direction in music
hajji … noun … — often used as a title
Sometimes a usage note is used in place of a definition. Some function words (as conjunctions and prepositions) have chiefly grammatical meaning and little or no lexical meaning; most interjections express feelings but are otherwise untranslatable into lexical meaning; and some other words (as honorific titles) are more amenable to comment than to definition:
or … conjunction — used as a function word to indicate an alternative
1at … preposition 1 — used to indicate a point in time or space
auf Wie·der·seh·en … interjection … — used to express farewell
sir … noun … 2 — used as a usu. respectful form of address
SENSE DIVISION
A boldface colon is used in this dictionary to introduce a definition:
1equine … adjective …
: of or relating to the horse
It is also used to separate two or more definitions of a single sense:
no·ti·fy … verb …
1 : to give notice of : report the occurrence of
Boldface Arabic numerals separate the senses of a word that has more than one sense:
ad·judge … verb …
1 : to decide or rule upon as a judge : JUDGE, ADJUDICATE
2 : to hold or pronounce to be : DEEM 3 : …
A particular semantic relationship between senses is sometimes suggested by the use of one of the two italic sense dividers especially or also.
The sense divider especially is used to introduce the most common meaning included in the more general preceding definition:
crys·tal … noun …
2 : something resembling crystal (as in transparency); especially : a clear glass used for table articles
The sense divider also is used to introduce a meaning related to the preceding sense by an easily understood extension of that sense:
chi·na … noun
: porcelain ware; also : domestic pottery in general
The order of senses is historical: the sense known to have been first used in English is entered first. This is not to be taken to mean, however, that