as in title
either one of the words that are at the top of a page in a dictionary or similar book and that show the first and last words on the page
It is easiest to use the guide words to find the page for the word you are looking up.
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Recent Examples of guide word
The Standing Rock movement’s guiding words, Mni Wiconi (water is life) meant more than clean water advocacy.
—
Natasha Lennard, Esquire, 19 Sep. 2017
Natasha Lennard, Esquire, 19 Sep. 2017
Recent Examples of Synonyms for guide word
Noun
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Bromley, a club from the edge of south-east London who have been in the English Football League (EFL) for just two seasons, were promoted last weekend and know that four points from their last two league games will guarantee them the league title.—
Anantaajith Raghuraman,
New York Times,
23 Apr. 2026
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His creative North Star had disappeared, hence the album title of Location Lost.—
Brian Davids,
HollywoodReporter,
22 Apr. 2026
Noun
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It should also be noted that 2026 was a banner year for blue dials.—
Justin Fenner,
Robb Report,
22 Apr. 2026
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The film has been produced by Rodrigo Teixeira under his RT Features banner and frequent collaborator Anthony Katagas under AK Productions alongside Raffaella Leone, Gary Farkas, Marco Perego, Carlo Salem and Andrea Bucko.—
Zac Ntim,
Deadline,
22 Apr. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Guide word.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/guide%20word. Accessed 27 Apr. 2026.
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