The estimated reading time for this post is 7 minutes
Happy World Dictionary Day!
Actually, the holiday was Friday, but we can keep celebrating, right? There’s never a bad time to learn new words!
Whether you’re learning a new language, studying for the SAT, looking to become a better writer or just want to increase your knowledge, learning new words is important.
Tech makes learning new words easier than ever. Chances are you don’t know every word in your language so you can always learn more words. No need to lug out that large dictionary every time you come across a word you don’t understand.
In just a few seconds you can learn the meaning of a word to increase your vocabulary. Use these tech tools to become smarter every day.
Websites
Dictionary.com
Dictionary.com is a website that does more than define words. You can learn a new word each day, translate words and play games.
You can find out about word facts, word trends and quizzes. Learn the difference between tricky words such as supposedly vs. supposably, and accept vs. except.
The site is celebrating its 20th anniversary by telling us about 20 Words That Mean More Than They Did 20 Years Ago.
Dictionary.com has a free app that lets you learn a new word each day, helps you pronounce words, and lets you look up words, even when you’re not connected to the Internet.
- Dictionary.com for Android
- Dictionary.com for iPhone/iPad/iPod Touch (includes Apple Watch app)
You can also follow Dictionary.com on Twitter to learn their new word of the day.
Happy Dictionary Day! Here are some words we added to http://t.co/OeJELgPEQj this year! http://t.co/JwVECMv3Zt pic.twitter.com/rpq7UxrMRZ
— Dictionary.com (@dictionarycom) October 16, 2015
Vocabulary.com
Vocabulary.com is a website whose goal is to make learning new words fun. You can play games to learn up to 12,000 new words.
Named one of Time’s 50 Best Websites of 2012, Vocabulary.com can help people of all ages learn.
The site learns what words you don’t know as well as how you learn to make the process interesting and engaging. You don’t have to worry about wasting your time with words that are too easy.
Vocabulary.com adjusts the words it teaches you based on words you already know.
We figure out which words you know and which ones you need a little help with. We keep practicing with you until you master the tough ones.” — Vocabulary.com
You get to see words used in sentences and usage tips to help you learn how to use the words as part of your vocabulary. You can compete with others on leader boards to give you further incentive to learn.
The Vocabularly.com website is free to use and paid apps are available for mobile devices.
Learner’s Dictionary
The Learner’s Dictionary website, run by Merriam Webster, is a helpful website to help you learn words. This site specializes in simple definitions so you don’t spend more time trying to understand the definition than the word you’re trying to learn.
Learners Dictionary also features useful tools such as Word of the Day, quizzes and the most popular words looked up on the site.
Google Search
If you want to find the meaning of a word a quick and easy way, use Google (or your preferred default search engine).
Just type “define [word]” in your web address bar and hit Enter. Google search results will open showing you the definition of the word you searched.
Voice of America Learning English
Voice of America Learning English is a website where you can learn the English language as you read stories from around the world. This site helps those who are learning American English understand new words.
You can check out the Word of the Day in the side bar of the site. At the end of each article you can find definitions in the Words in This Article section. You can hear how words are pronounced by listening to the podcasts that accompany the articles.
If you want to read about tech while learning new words in English, check out the Personal Technology section of the site, written by me!
[tip] For a fascinating history of the making of the first Oxford English Dictionary, check out The Professor and the Madman. Learn how an inmate at an asylum for the criminally insane was an integral part of creating the authoritative OED.[/tip]
Mobile Tools
Just Ask Your Personal Assistant
You can use your voice to quickly search for a word. Perhaps you’ve heard a word on TV or from someone in conversation and you want to know what it means. Maybe you know how to pronounce a word but haven’t got the first clue how to spell it.
You can ask voice assistants Siri on your iPhone or Google Now on your Android phone to define words. You can also ask for the definition of a word from Microsoft’s Cortana on your computer running Windows 10 or from Alexa on the Amazon Echo.
Press and Hold
If you see a word you don’t understand on your iPhone, iPad or iPod Touch you can easily look up the meaning of it. Beginning with iOS 7, iDevices have a pop-up dictionary you can use to find the definition of words in Safari, iBooks, Messages and other apps.
Press and hold a word to see a pop-up menu appear above the word.
Tap Define to see a definition of the word. A new page will open showing you the definition of the word. Tap Done to go back to the original web page.
Want a pop-up dictionary for Android? Check out this article from CNET: Add a pop-up dictionary to Android.
Other Tools
Google Dictionary Chrome Extension
If you use Chrome as your Internet browser you can get the free Google Dictionary Chrome extension. With this extension you can look up any word just by double-clicking it.
This extension works to define words in 13 different languages. You can also use it to translate words from other languages into your native language. Click on the More link to do a quick Google search for the definition of the word.
You can have the extension save a history of your words to see the word you’ve looked up in the past.
World Dictionary Day Tweet
New on the blog—as it’s World Dictionary Day, how about a ridiculously tricky spelling bee? http://t.co/ExgGree0Dz pic.twitter.com/aePDNgGUaF — HaggardHawks Words (@HaggardHawks) October 16, 2015
Million Dollar Words
You may not have a million dollars but these words can make you feel as if you do!
Well, almost…
Check out Million Dollar Words by Seth Godin and Margery Mandell to learn over 1000 new words.
Kindle
You can easily learn the meaning of words when reading Kindle books. No need to interrupt what you’re reading to hunt down a dictionary and look up a word.
Amazon says that 85% of readers look up a word while reading.
On a Kindle ereader you can highlight a word to see the definition of it. Some Kindle ereaders have additional tools such as Word Wise and Vocabulary Builder to help you learn new words.
On the Kindle app, you can download free dictionaries in many different languages to get the definition of a word. Just press and hold the word to see a pop-up definition appear on the screen.
Most Looked Up Kindle Words
In honor of World Dictionary Day, Amazon released a list of the words looked up most up when reading Kindle books.
How many of these do you know?
- accipitrine
- fantods
- shufti
- apishamore
- scarfpin
- vulpine
- hifalutin
- susurrus
- caliginous
- bristliness
- chilblained
- crepuscle
- tenebrific
- brumous
- susurration
- crapulent
- frangipanni
- megrims
- gobsmacked
- malacologist
- susurrant
- minacious
- repechage
- shan’t
- ensorcelled
- callipygous
- bloviate
- snogging
- spavined
- subfusc
- discombobulated
- susurrous
- cojones
- priapic
- uxoriously
- uxorious
- concupiscent
- aurochs
- chuffed
- precipitance
- emulously
- winceyette
- cachinnate
- hamartia
- preternaturally
- bacchanalia
- defenestrate
- copacetic
- kerfuffle
- fugly
- tenebrous
- avuncular
- vermiculated
- pickelhaube
- tsuris
- plagiaristic
- addlepated
- pusillanimously
- ursine
- gallimaufry
- japery
- starkers
- towheaded
- insouciant
- epicanthic
- druthers
- plangent
- gelid
- underbred
- pullulation
- rictus
- oleaginous
- treacly
- oubliette
- louche
- fuggy
Your Thoughts
Do you try to learn new words? What are your favorite ways of finding the definition of a word? What was the last word you looked up in the dictionary?
Share your thoughts in the Comments section below!
Hi Carolyn,
Happy Monday and Happy World Dictionary Day, though belated 🙂
But as you mentioned, learning never ends so the use of a Dictionary for bloggers especially is so essential as we have to write and need to know the meaning of the words. As a freelance writer, I do use if all the time!
Yes, I have used Dictionary.com and even Vocabulary.com, and lots more that you can find on Google – besides Google itself. I don’t have much of an idea about the mobile tools so would surely be passing it on to my kids too as they are better versed there, but there is some dictionary enabled on my cell phone (better look it up!) and that does the same.
Thanks for sharing this wonderful information with us. Have a nice week ahead 🙂
Hi Harleena, Yes, tools are available online for computers and on apps for mobile devices. Learning new words takes very little time or effort these days.
I’m glad you found these tools helpful and I hope your daughters do too!
Thanks so much for taking the time to comment, Harleena. Have a wonderful week ahead.
Hi Carolyn,
English is an interesting language. There are many languages in the world, but most of the people speak English due to it’s international spreading.
So, it’s important to learn more words. Increasing vocabulary is the need to communicate with other people in a sophisticated way.
The tools you have listed in the post are great.
Thanks for letting us know.
Enjoy your day.
~Ravi
HI Ravi, You’re right, learning new words is important no matter what language you speak. All of these tools will help you learn words in English and some of them will help you learn words in other languages. Whether you’re trying to increase your vocabulary in your native language or a second (or even third) language you’re learning, these tools will make learning new words easier and faster.
Well great article Carolyn 🙂 Pretty impressive piece of Handy Apps and tools you shared above. Few of them i have used in my starting days and they are quite helping hand for anyone who looking forward to command on language.
Hi Akash, So glad you found this article helpful. Yes, we have access to so many fast and free ways to look up words, we have it a lot easier than previous generations. No more need to hunt down a big dictionary and look up words we don’t know.
Thanks so much for your wonderful comment, Akash!
Hey Carolyn,
I mostly use the site Dictionary but of course when I’m texting I leave it to the autocorrect to help me out. At times I don’t like what they put in there but I don’t text a whole lot either so maybe if I did I would use a few more of these tools you suggested.
Now looking at that long list of words I haven’t ever heard of most of these. My goodness, they’re really words? Sounds like someone isn’t pronouncing something right and just typing them in how they think they could possibly be spelled. LOL!!! I used to have a boss years ago that loved to make up words. He wouldn’t let me change them but of course you couldn’t explain to him that the person receiving his letter had no clue what they heck that even was. He still thought it was cool.
~Adrienne
Hi Adrienne, Yes, I like to make up words too, but I do that with my kids mostly. The only made up word I’ve used on this blog is polygadgetist which is the word I use to define my passion for gadgets.
I think trying to use made up words otherwise could be a bit risky. It’s hard enough to get people to understand me using real words!
Some of the words on that list are commonly used in the UK. I love that Kindle list, it includes some of my favorite words, such as gobsmacked, kerfuffle, copacetic, discombobulated and defenestrated. That list inspired this article!
Hello Carolyn,
I use dictionary.com all the time. It’s so quick and easy. I’ve literally stopped using the book dictionary’s and I love books. I’m an avid reader too. I have never heard of vocabulary.com but I will be checking it out. All of these sites are very helpful especially for us bloggers. Thanks for sharing this with us!
Hello Maketta, Yes, we writers do love our words, don’t we? I think part of the reason we love to learn new words is because we have such an opportunity to use them when we write. One new word can inspire an entire article!
I hope you find many new favorite words using these tools, Maketta!
I am a blogger from THE SPNZ… My english is not good when trying to tell a celebrity story which one is the best that you recomend??
Hi Lamynn, Welcome to The Wonder of Tech! If you only had one to choose, you should try dictionary.com. Between the website app and Chrome extension, dictionary.com can help you both on your computer and your phone.
Good luck with it!
Thanks for this awesome.
This tools really help me to increase my English vocabulary stock.
Thanks for sharing this with us,
Hi Arsalan, Welcome to The Wonder of Tech! I’m so glad these tools will be helpful to you. Thanks for the visit and your wonderful comment.
Hi Carolyn
It is indeed a great post, thanks for giving information about Google crome extension. I was stuck with WordWeb app for days.
Hi Rafe, I’m glad you like this post. Yes, the Chrome extension is very helpful. I hope you enjoy using it!
Hi Carolyn
After reading this complete article, I would must say that you rocked this article. 😀
You had covered all the major things in this article and made it helpful.
From last few days, I had reading some of your articles and I found that you are putting more efforts in your articles and trying your best to serve better content.
That’s really good for your blog. 😀
I would also suggest you to focus on building genuine email subscribers on your blog. Try to add links to subcribe to your newsletter in the middle of your post.
This will boost your email list.
Either way, keep up the awesome work with your blog.
Have a nice weekend. 😀
Hi Chetan, Thanks for your kind words. I’m so glad you enjoy The Wonder of Tech. Yes, I do put a lot of effort into my articles. That’s great to hear it shows!
I appreciate your suggestions about how to get more email subscribers to The Wonder of Tech and your taking the time to comment.