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Dictionary or encyclopaedia entry

General format

Entry in an online dictionary

Group author

Group Author. (Year or n.d.). Entry Title. In Dictionary/Encyclopedia title. Retrieved Month Day, Year, from URL

Individual author/s within an edited dictionary

Author, A. A., Author, B. B., & Author, C. C. (Year or n.d.). Entry Title. In A. A. Author, B. B. Author & C. C. Author (Eds.). Dictionary/Encyclopedia title (ed.). Retrieved Month Day, Year, from URL

Entry in a print dictionary

Group author

Group Author. (Year). Entry Title. In Dictionary/Encyclopedia title (ed., p. ). Publisher. 

Individual author/s

Author, A. A., Author, B. B., & Author, C. C. (Year). Entry Title. In Dictionary/Encyclopedia title (ed., p. ). Publisher.

Examples

Entry in an online dictionary or encyclopedia

Group author

Merriam-Webster. (n.d.). Wellness. In Merriam-Webster.com dictionary. Retrieved January 16, 2020, from https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/wellness

Individual author

Dellios, R. (2019). Security landscape. In S. Romaniuk, M. Thapa, & P. Marton (Eds.). The Palgrave encyclopedia of global security studies. Palgrave Macmillan. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-74336-3_282-1

Wikipedia entry

Boonah Butter Factory. (2020, January 7). In Wikipedia. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boonah_Butter_Factory

Entry in a print dictionary or encyclopedia

Group author

Encyclopedia Brittanica. (2006). Buddhism. In Britannica encyclopedia of world religions (p. 147). Encyclopedia Brittanica Inc. 

Individual author

Cambell, R. J. (2004). Habituation. In Cambell's psychiatric dictionary (8th ed., p. 291). Oxford University Press. 

Style notes

  • For a regularly updated online dictionary, use n.d. as the date of publication, and include the retrieval date.
  • For a dictionary/encyclopedia which is static (never updated), include the date of publication and not the retrieval date.
  • If the publisher and author share the same name, omit the publisher.
  • For print dictionaries and encyclopedias, include the edition number (if available) and page numbers inside a single set of brackets, after the title.