For each entry, the dictionary gives the atua category, parts of speech, definitions, examples of the word used in context, and an etymology of the word, drawing on a wide corpus of written material in te reo."--publisher information.

"Kua eke tenei ki te wa e riro ai ma te reo Maori tonu e whakaahua tona ao, me tana titiro ki tona ao. Koia tenei, ko He Pataka Kupu, te papakupu Maori tuatahi ma te hunga kua maro haere te takahi I te huarahi whai I te reo, ko ona korero katoa kei to tatou reo rangatira. E tata ana ki te 24,000 nga kupu, na aronga kupu raneo o te ao tawhito, o te ao hou, o te ao Maori, o te ao nui tonu, e whakamaramatia ana I te papakupu nei. Kua takoto ano he tauira ki te nuinga, e kitea ai te noho mai o te kupu ki te korero."--back cover.