Countdown's Dictionary Corner to use Oxford Dictionaries Online

Channel 4’s Daytime favourite, Countdown, is changing with the times.

Over thirty years since the launch of the long running series, Countdown is replacing the traditional print version of the Oxford Dictionary of English with Oxford Dictionaries Online.

The change will mean that the programme’s ‘Dictionary Corner’, fronted by Susie Dent, will now be using oxforddictionaries.com to search for words as the contestants try to beat the famous Countdown clock.

Viewers will see the transition to the Oxford Dictionaries Online on air for the first time on Monday 30 June 2014.

Countdown, which is Channel 4’s longest running series, is currently presented by Nick Hewer along with Rachel Riley and Susie Dent.

Susie Dent comments: “While I’ll miss riffling through the printed dictionary and using Countdown’s famous pencam, I’m excited that we will now be able to reflect the very latest changes to English by using an online dictionary that's updated every three months. The principles of Dictionary Corner will remain exactly the same - it’s simply the technology that is changing.”

Angus Stevenson, Head of Content Development at Oxford Dictionaries, explains the transition: “By using Oxford Dictionaries Online, Countdown’s contestants will have access to the most up-to-date vocabulary lists. The oxforddictionaries.com site is free to access and is updated quarterly, with each update bringing a wide range of words, definitions, and senses to the dictionary. Additions in the last year have included snacky, srsly, and selfie, so these words could be making an appearance in a Countdown letters round soon!”

Channel 4’s Head of Daytime, David Sayer said, “We are really excited for the upcoming changes to the Countdown’s Dictionary Corner. Moving to Oxford Dictionaries Online shows how Countdown really is changing with the times and we are looking forward to the many word searches and conundrums to be solved using the online version”.

Countdown is broadcast by Channel 4 on weekday afternoons at 2.40pm.

ENDS

What is Oxford Dictionaries Online?
The English language dictionary content in Oxford Dictionaries Online, found at oxforddictionaries.com, focuses on current English and includes modern meanings and uses of words. It is updated four times a year, and forms the basis for print editions of the Oxford Dictionary of English. This dictionary is distinct from the Oxford English Dictionary (OED), which is a historical dictionary and it forms a record of all the core words and meanings in English over more than 1,000 years, from Old English to the present day, and including many obsolete and historical terms.