The Oxford English Dictionary(OED)was originally published between 1884 and 1928,but even today we are only scratching the surface of its full potential as a major searchable online resource.This article looks briefly at how and why the dictionary was originally established in the second half of the nineteenth century,before examining how today’s editors are updating its content in the first comprehensive revision programme the dictionary has ever undergone.The remainder of the article investigates the current online site and looks into the future—to see what strategies the dictionary is employing and imagining as it moves away from being a book on computer to becoming a fully-fledged online language resource. The Oxford English Dictionary (OED) was originally published between 1884 and 1928, but even today we are only scratching the surface of its full potential as a major searchable online resource.This article looks briefly at how and why the dictionary was originally established in the second half of the nineteenth century, before examining how today’s editors are updating its content in the first comprehensive revision program the the dictionary has ever undergone.The remainder of the article investigates the current online site and looks into the future-to see what fore the dictionary is employing and imagining as it moves away from being a book on computer to become a fully-fledged online language resource.