Four different kinds of cross-references are used in this dictionary: directional, synonymous, cognate, and inflectional. In each instance the cross-reference is readily recognized by the lightface small capitals in which it is printed.
A cross-reference following a lightface dash and beginning with see or compare is a directional cross-reference. It directs the dictionary user to look elsewhere for further information. A compare cross-reference is regularly appended to a definition; a see cross-reference may stand alone:
Main Entry: wel.ter.weight
Function: noun
. . . -- compare LIGHTWEIGHT, MIDDLEWEIGHTMain Entry: ¹ri.al
Function: noun
-- see MONEY table
A cross-reference immediately following a boldface colon is a synonymous cross-reference. It may stand alone as the only definitional matter for an entry or for a sense or subsense of an entry; it may follow an analytical definition; it may be one of two synonymous cross-references separated by a comma:
Main Entry: gar.ban.zo
Function: noun
: CHICKPEAMain Entry: ¹ne.glect
Function: transitive verb
1 : to give little attention or respect to : DISREGARD . . .Main Entry: ²main
Function: adjective
1 : CHIEF, PRINCIPAL . . .
A synonymous cross-reference indicates that a definition at the entry cross-referred to can be substituted as a definition for the entry or the sense or subsense in which the cross-reference appears.
A cross-reference following an italic variant of is a cognate cross-reference:
Main Entry: kaf.tan
variant of CAFTAN
Sometimes a cognate cross-reference has a limiting label preceding variant of as a specific indication that the variant is not standard English:
Main Entry: haul.ier
British variant of HAULERMain Entry: ²hist
dialect variant of HOISTMain Entry: sher.ris
archaic variant of SHERRY
A cross-reference following an italic label that identifies an entry as an inflected form of a noun, of an adjective or adverb, or of a verb is an inflectional cross-reference. Inflectional cross-references appear only when the inflected form falls at least a column away from the entry cross-referred to in the print edition:
Main Entry: calves
plural of CALFMain Entry: ³wound
past and past participle of WIND
When guidance seems needed as to which one of several homographs or which sense of a multisense word is being referred to, a superscript numeral may precede the cross-reference or a sense number may follow it or both:
Main Entry: ¹toss
Function: transitive verb
3 . . . c : MATCH 5a . . .
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