Professional translators have always found dictionaries insufficient sources for answering all questions arising from translation from one language into another. Lexicography in the United States as well as worldwide continues to be a problem area. Today we face an additional question of dictionaries on disk and online replacing the traditional printed ones. Using examples such as the forthcoming Dictionary of Medicine (French/English), and the recent Multicultural Spanish Dictionary, the question of the limitations of dictionaries in general is discussed, while pointing out the practical aspects of dictionaries designed specifically for translators.