HOW TO USE THE DICTIONARY

To look up an entry in The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language, use the search window above. For best results, after typing in the word, click on the “Search” button instead of using the “enter” key.

Some compound words (like bus rapid transit, dog whistle, or identity theft) don’t appear on the drop-down list when you type them in the search bar. For best results with compound words, place a quotation mark before the compound word in the search window.

guide to the dictionary

wright

(rīt)

One that constructs or repairs something. Often used in combination: a playwright; a shipwright.

[Middle English, from Old English wryhta; see werg- in the Appendix of Indo-European roots.]

Wright, Mary Kathryn Known as "Mickey." Born 1935.

American golfer who had 82 career wins, including four US Women's Open titles (1958, 1959, 1961, and 1964) and four Ladies Professional Golf Association Championship titles (1958, 1960, 1961, and 1963).

Wright, Richard Nathaniel 1908-1960.

American author whose writing explores the oppression suffered by African Americans. His works include the novel Native Son (1940) and the autobiography Black Boy (1945).

(click for a larger image)

Richard Wright

Wright, Joseph 1855-1930.

British lexicographer and philologist who is best known for the six-volume The English Dialect Dictionary (1898-1905).

Wright, Orville1871–1948.

American aviation pioneer who with his brother Wilbur (1867–1912) invented the airplane. On December 17, 1903, near Kitty Hawk, North Carolina, they made the first controlled, sustained flights in a powered heavier-than-air vehicle.

(click for a larger image)

Wilbur and Orville Wright

Wright, James Arlington 1927-1980.

American poet who won a Pulitzer Prize for his Collected Poems (1971).

Wright, Frank Lloyd 1867-1959.

American architect whose distinctive style, based on natural forms, had a great influence on the modern movement in architecture. His designs include private homes, the Johnson Wax Company Building in Racine, Wisconsin (1939), and the Guggenheim Museum in New York City (1959).

Wright, Frances Known as "Fanny." 1795-1852.

Scottish-born American reformer who lectured nationwide on women's rights, birth control, and public education and wrote Views of Society and Manners in America (1821).

(click for a larger image)

Fanny Wright

19th-century engraving

Wright

(rīt), Benjamin 1770-1842.

American civil engineer who directed construction of the Erie Canal.

Wright, Sewall Green 1889-1988.

American biologist whose work in mathematical population genetics, especially the concept of genetic drift, was influential in the development of modern evolutionary biology.

Indo-European & Semitic Roots Appendices

Thousands of entries in the dictionary include etymologies that trace their origins back to reconstructed proto-languages. You can obtain more information about these forms in our online appendices:

Indo-European Roots

Semitic Roots

The Indo-European appendix covers nearly half of the Indo-European roots that have left their mark on English words. A more complete treatment of Indo-European roots and the English words derived from them is available in our Dictionary of Indo-European Roots.

American Heritage Dictionary Products

HOW TO USE THE DICTIONARY

THE USAGE PANEL

AMERICAN HERITAGE DICTIONARY APP

THE AMERICAN HERITAGE DICTIONARY BLOG

INTERESTED IN DICTIONARIES?

Indo-European & Semitic Roots Appendices

American Heritage Dictionary Products