Frequency Dictionary of Multi-Word Expressions in British English - Core Phrases and Exercises for Learners

A Frequency Dictionary of Multi-Word Expressions in British English presents 5,000 of the most common multi-word expressions (MWEs) in contemporary British English, based on data from the British National Corpus 2014.
Organized into ten functional categories-including idioms, phrasal verbs, collocations, and academic or speech formulas-the dictionary provides detailed frequency, dispersion, and association metrics for each entry. Visual aids such as collocation graphs, sparklines and thematic boxes support comprehension and practical use. It is a comprehensive, research-based resource for understanding and using natural, high-frequency expressions in spoken and written English.
Additional support materials for this book are available at https://lancslex.lancaster.ac.uk .
Designed for learners, educators, and researchers, the dictionary highlights real-world phraseology across genres and registers.

List of contents

Chapter 1: Introduction
Chapter 2: Frequency list
Chapter 3: Alphabetical list
Chapter 4: Tag combinations
Chapter 5: Vocabulary exercises

About the author

Vaclav Brezina is Professor of Corpus Linguistics, Lancaster University, UK.
Dana Gablasova is Senior Lecturer, Lancaster University, UK.

Product details

• Authors: Vaclav Gablasova Brezina, Brezina Vaclav, Dana Gablasova
• Publisher: Taylor & Francis Ltd.
• Languages: English
• Product format: Hardback
• Release: 12.03.2026
• EAN: 9781032844398
• ISBN: 978-1-0-3284439-8
• No. of pages: 410
• Series: Routledge Frequency Dictionaries
• Subjects: Humanities, art, music > Linguistics and literary studies > General and comparative linguistics; Non-fiction book > Dictionaries, reference works > Foreign-language dictionaries; English, REFERENCE / Dictionaries, LANGUAGE ARTS & DISCIPLINES / Lexicography, Language: history & general works, Grammar, syntax & morphology, Grammar, syntax and morphology, Language teaching and learning, Dictionaries, Language teaching & learning (other than ELT), Language: history and general works, Reference, information & interdisciplinary subjects, Reference, Information and Interdisciplinary subjects, LANGUAGE STUDY / English as a Second Language