Drawing its data from a broad range of enquiry through teacher workshops in 22 territories in 18 states, from speech-recordings and over 1,000 written sources of Caribbean literature, reference works, magazines, pamphlets, and newspapers, the Dictionary surveys a range of over 20,000 words and phrases taken from a region extending from Guyana in South America through the Anglophone Caribbean Islands to the Bahamas and further round to Belize in Central America.

There are hundreds of illustrative citations from all sources, notably including internationally known Caribbean authors - Walcott, McKay, Brathwaite, Rhys, Mittelholzer, Lovelace, Seymour, DeLisser, James, Lamming, Mais, Selvon, Naipaul, etc.

With a specially designed system of labelling, the Dictionary offers maximum levels of clarity and accessibility. Providing four levels of identification from Creole to Formal, and with labels to denote social or grammatical register, it also gives particular focus to Indic and French Creole loan-words. Etymological and Usage Notes are included, as well as a short Supplement listing Caribbean French and Spanish equivalents to Caribbean English items selected from the main work.