A dictionary uses some symbols, clues and abbreviations to explain the meaning of a word. Once you know the explanations of them, it will be easier for you to use a dictionary. Look at the above page. See the first word, ‘plumber’ on the left column. First of all, the word is followed by its transcript to show how it should be pronounced. The letter ‘n’ is an abbreviation for the word ‘noun’, and ‘C’ is for the word, ‘Count’. They tell you the parts of speech of ‘plumber’. So ‘plumber’ is a count noun. Then comes the meaning or definition of the word. In most cases you will find some examples showing how and where you can use the word. In the second word, ‘plumber’, the numbers 1 and 2 tell you that it has two meanings. There are other short forms like ‘infml’ and ‘abbr’ which tell you which of the words are informal and which of them are abbreviations. Other short forms such as ‘sb’ and ‘sth’ mean ‘somebody’ and ‘something’. In the entry for the word ‘plump’, you will see an informal form like ‘plump for sb/sth’. Similarly, the word ‘p.m.’ is an abbreviation of ‘post meridiem’. The symbol of key before an entry tells you that it is a keyword.