The author considers dictionary entries as a type of text, examining in particular the impact that social values have on both the form and the content of these entries. The article looks at monolingual English and French dictionaries and explores how social values have affected the form of dictionary entries by examining the phrasing and diction used in definitions as well as the sources used for examples. First the macrostructure of certain lexicographic works is studied, describing how social values can lead to a type of censorship that determines which words get left out of dictionaries. Then the microstructure is explored and it is examined how both definitions and examples can be ideologically coloured.