* Dictionary entries: The Oxford English Dictionary (OED), considered the most comprehensive, lists over 170,000 words, but that only includes words considered "current" and "formal".
* Technical terms and jargon: Many specialized fields have their own terms, not found in general dictionaries. This significantly increases the number.
* Proper nouns: Names of people, places, and organizations are technically words, but they're countless and constantly changing.
* Slang and informal terms: These change rapidly and are often regional or subcultural.
Estimates range from 250,000 to 1 million or more.
Here's why it's difficult to say:
* New words are constantly being created: Technology, cultural changes, and the internet spawn new words.
* Words fall out of use: Old words become obsolete and are lost.
* Dialects and regional variations: Different regions have their own unique words and pronunciations.
So, there's no single, universally agreed-upon number of English words.