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Humphreysmar, you definitely need a better dictionary.
The Merriam-Webster's Unabridged is quite adequate, despite the fact that it is American. (I prefer the three-volume version---easier to handle) Older versions, which are adequate for almost all needs (especially the Third International), can be had in used book stores and book sales for ridiculously low prices.
Of course, the gold standard of English dictionaries is the Oxford English Dictionary (OED) in umpteen volumes---but it is a serious investment both in money and shelf space!
If you are an etymology fiend (as I am), then the American Heritage Dictionary (with its addendum of Indo-European roots) is very useful.
Apart from specialised etymological dictionaries, the best I've found is Klein's Comprehensive Etymological Dictionary of the English Language. Again, there is a two-volume version which is much easier to handle.
Klein was an interesting chap. He was a Jewish survivor of Nazi concentration camps (thank goodness his scholarship was not lost!), and his dictionary has entries of English words with Hebrew and Semitic roots which are not included in most English etymological dictionaries.
By the way, not enough attention is paid to the ease of handling of books. I detest single-volume dictionaries, and who in their right mind would ever buy a single-volume edition of Shakespeare's plays!
