# Why Are Words Like "The" And "It" In The Dictionary? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [March 22, 2002, 10:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-words-like-the-and-it-in-the-dictionary/99632 "2002-03-22T22:31:42Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Palve](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/a698b9/32.png) [@Palve](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Palve)\ **Post date:** [March 22, 2002, 10:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-words-like-the-and-it-in-the-dictionary/99632/1 "2002-03-22T22:31:42Z")
I think it’s pretty obvious that anybody who’s going to use an English dictionary are well aware of what little words like “the” and “it” mean, so why waste the ink and paper to print them in the dictionary? ---
**Author:** ![KneadToKnow](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kneadtoknow/32/3999_2.png) [@KneadToKnow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KneadToKnow)\ **Post date:** [March 22, 2002, 10:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-words-like-the-and-it-in-the-dictionary/99632/2 "2002-03-22T22:36:59Z")
I’ve never heard a dictionary referred to as a book for people who already know what words mean. Obviously, the lexicographers responsible for words like _the_ and _it_ feel they are meeting the needs of people who don’t know what they mean. Perhaps misguidedly, but perhaps out of a scientific interest in being complete, or meeting needs they can’t predict. ---
**Author:** ![zut](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zut/32/2875_2.png) [@zut](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/zut)\ **Post date:** [March 22, 2002, 10:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-words-like-the-and-it-in-the-dictionary/99632/3 "2002-03-22T22:52:06Z")
Well, **Palve** , quickly: Suppose I not native speaker of English. Explain, please, to me, difference between “a” and “the”? And in what circumstances is “the” appropriate, please? Definitioin, please, to include all usages of “the”? I note in passing that [dictionary.com](http://dictionary.com) lists eight entries for “the”, each with a slightly different shade of meaning. ---
**Author:** ![Polycarp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/82dd89/32.png) [@Polycarp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Polycarp)\ **Post date:** [March 22, 2002, 10:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-words-like-the-and-it-in-the-dictionary/99632/4 "2002-03-22T22:56:44Z")
Note that the use of articles (a/an/the) in French is to a great extent contrary to their use in English – when one is used and when one is not, for example. Also, the _variety_ of potential meanings of a “simple” word can lead to some interesting consequences: > [@](#): > > It all depends on what you mean by “is” --WJClinton ---
**Author:** ![SpoilerVirgin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/4491bb/32.png) [@SpoilerVirgin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SpoilerVirgin)\ **Post date:** [March 23, 2002, 1:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-words-like-the-and-it-in-the-dictionary/99632/5 "2002-03-23T01:07:26Z")
So exactly what _does_ “it” mean? Suppose I yell out “You’re it!”? How about if I tell you that you’re “with it”? What if I read your answer to a post and declare “That’s it!”? What if I’ve read twelve of your posts, and I tell you “That’s it!”? I’d come up with a few more examples, but it’s getting late. ---
**Author:** ![erislover](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/71e660/32.png) [@erislover](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/erislover)\ **Post date:** [March 23, 2002, 1:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-words-like-the-and-it-in-the-dictionary/99632/6 "2002-03-23T01:23:15Z")
Myself, I’ve always wondered why ‘dictionary’ is in the dictionary. That one seems to defy even the stoutest of “is” logic. However, many moons ago I thought I would be witty and send this in as a question to Cecil. The response from, I think, Manny (though I really don’t remember, maybe it was Dex), was something along the lines of, “I’m not sure why you think that ‘dictionary’, _a word_, shouldn’t be in the dictionary.” I admit, that was a hard one to topple. But I am still working on it as one of the Erisian Mysterees. Hail Eris, etc. ---
**Author:** ![RealityChuck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/realitychuck/32/195_2.png) [@RealityChuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RealityChuck)\ **Post date:** [March 23, 2002, 3:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-words-like-the-and-it-in-the-dictionary/99632/7 "2002-03-23T03:09:20Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by erislover \* > \*\*Myself, I’ve always wondered why ‘dictionary’ is in the dictionary. That one seems to defy even the stoutest of “is” logic. > \*\* Same logic – you see a book named “The Devil’s Dictionary.” Or there’s the computer term “Dictionary attack.” ---
**Author:** ![Weeks](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/bbce88/32.png) [@Weeks](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Weeks)\ **Post date:** [March 23, 2002, 4:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-words-like-the-and-it-in-the-dictionary/99632/8 "2002-03-23T04:09:39Z")
What if Clinton needs to look up “is”?😃 ---
**Author:** ![kniz](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/c37758/32.png) [@kniz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kniz)\ **Post date:** [March 23, 2002, 4:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-words-like-the-and-it-in-the-dictionary/99632/9 "2002-03-23T04:33:32Z")
And if they weren’t in the dictionary, you would have started a thread **WTF? “The” and “it” aren’t in the dictionary**. ---
**Author:** ![dwc1970](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/a183cd/32.png) [@dwc1970](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dwc1970)\ **Post date:** [March 23, 2002, 7:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-words-like-the-and-it-in-the-dictionary/99632/10 "2002-03-23T07:27:28Z")
Often times it is the simple, everyday words that we don’t even think about their actual meaning that are perhaps the most difficult to define. Sometimes when I am bored (I mean _really_ bored) I will see how the lexicographers came up with a complete and meaningful definition or series of definitions for a word we use all the time, such as, well “as”, for example. The challenge here is to define the word without using the word itself in the definition. ---
**Author:** ![Achernar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e274bd/32.png) [@Achernar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Achernar)\ **Post date:** [March 23, 2002, 12:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-words-like-the-and-it-in-the-dictionary/99632/11 "2002-03-23T12:03:47Z")
I think that there are plenty of good reasons for these words’ definitions to appear, but even if everyone knew the definition, don’t you think they should still include it? I mean, wouldn’t it be odd to see a book with every page numbered except for page 104? Sure, everyone _knows_ what page it is, because it’s opposite 105, but doesn’t it seem a little silly to leave that one out? ---
**Author:** ![sailor](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a587f6/32.png) [@sailor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sailor)\ **Post date:** [March 23, 2002, 2:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-words-like-the-and-it-in-the-dictionary/99632/12 "2002-03-23T14:57:53Z")
So Palve, what is your list of words so obvious they should net be in the dictionary? How about yes, no, I, you, they, me, more, less, big, small, car, … I mean _everybody_ knows what they mean, don’t they? Well, if you read this board it seems some people do not know when to use less or fewer, your or you’re… etc. Is “it” a noun, an adjective, a verb or the cat’s mother? You really think everybody can answer that? ---
**Author:** ![Frylock](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/ce7236/32.png) [@Frylock](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Frylock)\ **Post date:** [March 23, 2002, 2:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-words-like-the-and-it-in-the-dictionary/99632/13 "2002-03-23T14:58:15Z")
It seems to me that a lot of those little words don’t really _mean_ anything at all. They have a usage, but I don’t know if that’s the same as a meaning. But I think it would be valid for a dictionary to describe the usage of “the” or other words like that. -Kris ---
**Author:** ![Lost\_In\_Reality](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/5f8ce5/32.png) [@Lost\_In\_Reality](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lost_In_Reality)\ **Post date:** [March 23, 2002, 7:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-words-like-the-and-it-in-the-dictionary/99632/14 "2002-03-23T19:29:57Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by erislover \* > \*\*Myself, I’ve always wondered why ‘dictionary’ is in the dictionary. That one seems to defy even the stoutest of “is” logic. > \*\* A dictionary’s only use is not to define words. It also gives pronunciation, and usually roots. So maybe someone wants to know the correct way to pronounce dictionary and now its root. ---
**Author:** ![manhattan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/manhattan/32/7_2.png) [@manhattan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/manhattan)\ **Post date:** [March 23, 2002, 11:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-words-like-the-and-it-in-the-dictionary/99632/15 "2002-03-23T23:46:53Z")
Does there remain a General Question here? ---
**Author:** ![kniz](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/c37758/32.png) [@kniz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kniz)\ **Post date:** [March 24, 2002, 5:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-words-like-the-and-it-in-the-dictionary/99632/16 "2002-03-24T17:32:03Z")
**No** , not by my definition. ---
**Author:** ![galt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/35a633/32.png) [@galt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/galt)\ **Post date:** [March 25, 2002, 1:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-words-like-the-and-it-in-the-dictionary/99632/17 "2002-03-25T01:17:02Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by manhattan \* > \*\*Does there remain a General Question here? \*\* That depends on what you mean by “a”. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Kwyjibo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/59ef9b/32.png) [@Kwyjibo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kwyjibo)\ **Post date:** [March 25, 2002, 1:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-words-like-the-and-it-in-the-dictionary/99632/18 "2002-03-25T01:20:47Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Weeks \* > \*\*What if Clinton needs to look up “is”?😃 \*\* Danny-boy should have used one for “Potatoe” er…I mean…“Potato”. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![kanicbird](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/5f8ce5/32.png) [@kanicbird](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kanicbird)\ **Post date:** [March 25, 2002, 2:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-words-like-the-and-it-in-the-dictionary/99632/19 "2002-03-25T02:05:19Z")
Before Manhattan gets trigger happy with the close thread button, I would like to add that the dictionary defined the valid words in the language. Every year new words are added - some are taken away - by being in the dictionary you can use that word in an English class and in scrabble ---
**Author:** ![Muffin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/muffin/32/4341_2.png) [@Muffin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Muffin)\ **Post date:** [March 25, 2002, 3:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-words-like-the-and-it-in-the-dictionary/99632/20 "2002-03-25T03:35:19Z")
Although sales to folks wanting definitions and spellings pays the freight, a top dictinonary (e.g. O.E.D.) is really a work of many generations with a far greater purpose. It works toward understanding how words and language change over time. The most commonly used words (often also the oldest words) form the backbone of our language, and so must be included. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-words-like-the-and-it-in-the-dictionary/99632.md?page=2)