What do guide words help with in a dictionary?

Guide words are positioned at the top of each page in a dictionary and indicate the first and last words found on that page. Their primary purpose is to assist users in quickly locating the specific page where a word is defined. When flipping through the pages of a dictionary, readers can glance at the guide words to determine whether the word they are searching for falls between those two words, thereby facilitating the search process. This makes navigating the dictionary much more efficient, especially considering the large number of entries present.

While definitions of complex words, synonyms and antonyms, and sorting by usage frequency are all relevant features of a dictionary, guide words are specifically designed to simplify and expedite the locating process for users seeking a particular entry.