All words in a dictionary are listed alphabetically. Guide words at the top or bottom of each page tell what words are listed on that page. Example: Word to look up: bramble The guide words are: brace and broth.

The words we call guide words are usually those which act as auxiliaries to verbs, adjectives and adverbs; such as 'only,' 'just,' 'almost' etc., but also those which tell us whether something is to be taken literally or figuratively; such as 'really,' 'nearly' etc. It is confusing, right? Don't worry. Great results take time.