Friday, May 28, 2010

One Site/One Thousand Dictionaries


My favorite dictionary search site is OneLook®. In fact, it's the only place I go. For lots of reasons.

As of this moment they've indexed 18,373,069 words in 1052 dictionaries.

That's a lot of words. That's a lot of dictionaries. The number might include other references, too.

I think those numbers must change frequently. Like increase.

At the home page, you can type a word (or phrase) you want defined in the search box. For instance, I typed in cream.

The search takes me to a quick definition list plus a list of all the indexed dictionaries where the word is found--33 general dictionaries, 5 art dictionaries, 2 business dictionaries, 1 computing dictionary, 6 miscellaneous dictionaries, 2 slang dictionaries, 1 sports dictionary (although that takes me to a list of cat terms), and 2 tech dictionaries.

I can find a bazillion phrases that include the word cream (like astronaut ice cream, barrier cream, cream-banded swallowtail, you're the cream in my coffee) that also have links.

I can also find a list of words similar to cream (like churn, whop, whip, lambaste), each with a quick definition and matching dictionary links.

That's the basic stuff. But you can get fancy and go on all kinds of advanced searches using wild cards, reverse dictionaries, translations, and stuff I haven't figured out yet.

Some say it's a great way to cheat at crossword puzzles.

I've found it to be a great writing prompt site.

I go there several times a day.

Go explore. Set a timer or you'll hang out there way too long.

Enjoy!
What's your favorite dictionary site?

Copyright © 2010 by Sandra Heska King

5 comments:

  1. Thank you! This site looks great. Have a blessed weekend:)

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  2. This looks like something I would use. Thanks for the tip. It's always nice to have another reference tool.

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  3. This is great. I've been using the standard dictionary.com But OneLook is soooo much better :)

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  4. Hi Sandra -

    Thanks for the link. I'll have to check it out. I tend to reach for my trust Webster's.

    Blessings,
    Susan :)

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  5. Hope ya'll find it helpful and fun. But not too much fun.

    Susan, you can get to Webster's from there, too. :)

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