Great idea - I developed an interest in words and word origins from just such gifts when I was a kid. No better source for such info than a dictionary.

Hopefully they'll be motivated to use them, that is the challenge in this internet age. Good luck to you and to them.

I'm outdated on which one to get. When I started college, we were told to but buy the Merrium Webster Collegiate Dictionary for English class. Wow! What a difference between that dictionary and the ones used in junior high and high school. The definitions are so much more thorough. I'm the oldest of six kids. I was still living at home at the time so my younger siblings also used my dictionary for their projects. It really made a difference in their vocabulary projects compared to their classmates. There teachers would sometimes give them extra credit because it looked like they had gone to extra effort. I'd recommend getting a college level dictionary and thesaurus.

The college level dictionary does contain words that might be considered inappropriate for younger kids. That really wasn't a concern at our house. Stephen King always includes a word or two in his novels that I have to look up. I could find them in there. :)

Roget's Thesarus is considered the best. I like the Websters dictionaries too.

I adore books, paper and ink and heft, but I wouldn't buy a paper thesaurus or dictionary for today's students. It's so much easier now to get the pronunciation, definition and synonyms from the internet. And convenience makes a big difference in how often kids look up words.

My son is a broke engineering grad student living on a stipend and he will still spend his precious cash on books. He would say get your grandchildren amazing books they will love reading and use an electronic dictionary and thesaurus.

What a wonderful grandmother you are to help promote good study habits in your grandchildren. I think having an entire family, including extended family, supporting the student and having high but reasonable expectations is so important. Whatever you decide, good luck.

Oops, sorry, just reread and saw that these are your nephews. So very sorry. You are an awesome aunt, not grandma. After rereading your post I would point out that you are buying these books in anticipation of them being used through college. The many college students I know don't spend their dorm space on big dictionaries when they have that information at their fingertips on their laptops, tablets and phones. They might misplace the book form, but they won't be without a computer or phone for long.

But, of course, different strokes for different folks, as they say. They may love the paper and ink format.

You could sign my name to Daisyinga's post. I'm a book lover, and most often choose a hardcover book over the electronic version for my Kindle, but even I like the convenience of looking up words on the computer while my Roget's and various dictionaries languish on the shelf.

Your intention is excellent, but I'm afraid the gifts won't be used.

I agree with daisyinga. Yes, your intentions are great but times have changed. Unless you are very, very sure that they love real books, I wouldn't do it.

Why don't you buy them in app format?

Adding my thought - They won't use them. I'm a senior and can't remember the last time I used my paper Webster. So much easier and quicker to navigate the digital dictionary.

I'm glad you asked. I've been settling for Merriam-Webster's online version. Lately, it's been shutting down when I try to search. Webster's is freakin' awesome! Not only is it a regular dictionary, there are links for both medical and legal terms. Cool. So my vote is for the Webster version. I too loved to sit and thumb through the pages. Hardcopy dictionaries are a special gift. I use both online and hardcopy.

Whatever happened to the word origin on entries, though? Didn't they used to say greek, latin, french, etc. and then give the word from which they came?

I too can't imagine that a young person these days would favor a hard copy dictionary or thesaurus over an electronic version. Even I no longer use the books because you can find the info online in seconds. And you can do it anywhere, anytime with just a smartphone. However worst case you get them what you want and it becomes a dust collector on the shelf. Best case they are intrigued and use them.

A student asked me on Wednesday to use a dictionary for one of our activities. I know the history teacher and Spanish teacher use them also. I have a Webster, but have always been interested in Oxford English. I'm not sure what my thesaurus or grammar books are without looking. I use them, occasionally. However, most of the time, I use the internet.