Hashimzade, N.Myles, G.Myles, G.2019-04-032019-04-032017Hermes (Denmark), 2017; 27(52):11-240904-16991903-1785http://hdl.handle.net/2440/118456Economics has developed into a quantitative discipline that makes extensive use of mathematical and statistical concepts. When writing a dictionary for economics undergraduates it has to be recognised that many users will not have suffi cient training in mathematics to benefi t from formal defi nitions of mathematical and statistical concepts. In fact, it is more than likely that the user will want the dictionary to provide an accessible version of a defi nition that avoids mathematical notation. Providing a verbal description of a mathematical concept has the risk that the outcome is both verbose (compared to a defi nition using appropriate mathematical symbols) and imprecise. For the author of a dictionary this raises the question of how to resolve this confl ict between accessibility and formal correctness. We use a range of examples from the Oxford Dictionary of Economics to illustrate this confl ict and to assess the extent to which a non-formal defi nition can be viewed as authoritative.enThis journal provides immediate open access to its content on the principle that making research freely available to the public supports a greater global exchange of knowledge. Authors retain copyright and grant the journal right of first publication with the work simultaneously licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution License that allows others to share the work with an acknowledgement of the work's authorship and initial publication in this journal.Journal article003006542310.7146/hjlcb.v27i52.251322-s2.0-84969816391290700