Write the citation in your text. There are two ways to do this, one of which is to use the name of the dictionary in the sentence containing the definition. Example: According to the Oxford English Dictionary, "noon" means "midday; specifically: 12 o'clock at midday." Or, add the title of the dictionary after the definition in a parenthetical citation. Repeat the word in the citation. Notice that the period is moved to a position after the citation. Example: "Noon" means "midday; specifically: 12 o'clock at midday" ("Noon," Oxford English Dictionary).
Prepare the works cited entry. The first word of the entry is the word you cited in your text. The rest of the entry gives full publication information about the dictionary. The information is always presented in a specific order as required by your style manual.
For a print publication: "Word." Dictionary Title. edition. Place of publication: Publisher, year of publication. Medium of publication.
Example: "Noon." Oxford English Dictionary. 2nd. ed. Oxford: Oxford UP, 1989. Print.
For an online publication:
"Word." Website Title. Publisher, date of publication (if known-- not, use n.d.). Medium. Date of access.
Example: "Noon." Merriam-Webster Online. Merriam-Webster, n.d. Web. 12 Oct. 2008.
Check the format and punctuation. Information should always be presented in the order specified by your style manual, as shown in Step 2. Format and punctuation are different for each element of the citation.
In your text:
The word you cited and the exact definition taken from the dictionary are always enclosed in quotation marks. If the quotation is at the end of a sentence, the period is also within the quotation marks.
When you use a parenthetical citation after the quotation, the word is repeated within the citation, enclosed in quotation marks and followed by a comma that is also within the quotation marks. If the citation is at the end of a sentence, the period is moved to a position after the parentheses.
In the Works Cited page:
"Word." The word you cited is enclosed in quotation marks. It is followed by a period, also within the quotation marks. It is followed by one space.
Dictionary Title or Website Title. The title is always italicized. Normal title capitalization is used. The item is ended with a period, followed by one space.
Edition. Numerals and abbreviations can be used for the edition. The period used for the abbreviation also indicates the end of the item. It is followed by one space.
Place of publication. The name of the city is capitalized. The item is followed by a colon and one space.
Publisher. The name of the publisher is capitalized. A standard abbreviation, like UP for University Press, can be used. It is followed by a comma and one space.
Publication date. Give the year of publication. The item is completed with a period and one space.
Medium. The publication medium is capitalized. It is followed by a period and one space.
Date of access. The date is written out in day-month-year form. No commas are used. You may abbreviate the month. The item is ended with a period.
Place the works cited page in your research paper.
The works cited page is always a separate page. Place it at the end of the paper, after your text.