Dictionary API

GET

Give your users instant definitions for any word they look up.

Dictionary looks up word definitions for any given term. It returns every recorded meaning as a text list with a total definition count for e-readers, vocabulary builders, and writing assistants.

Try it — live request, no key required

Request
GETapi.apiverve.com/v1/dictionary?word=apple
Query parameters
Verification
Format

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Example
{
  "status": "ok",
  "error": null,
  "data": {
    "word": "apple",
    "definitionCount": 5,
    "definitions": [
      "The fleshy pome or fruit of a rosaceous tree (Pyrus malus) cultivated in numberless varieties in the temperate zones. Note: The European crab apple is supposed to be the original kind, from which all others have sprung.",
      "(bot.)  Any tree genus Pyrus which has the stalk sunken into the base of the fruit; an apple tree.",
      "Any fruit or other vegetable production resembling, or supposed to resemble, the apple; as, apple of love, or love apple (a tomato), balsam apple, egg apple, oak apple.",
      "Anything round like an apple; as, an apple of gold. Note: Apple is used either adjectively or in combination; as, apple paper or apple-paper, apple-shaped, apple blossom, apple dumpling, apple pudding. Apple blight, an aphid which injures apple trees. See Blight, n. -- Apple borer (Zoöl.), a coleopterous insect (Saperda candida or bivittata), the larva of which bores into the trunk of the apple tree and pear tree. -- Apple brandy, brandy made from apples. -- Apple butter, a sauce made of apples stewed down in cider. Bartlett. -- Apple corer, an instrument for removing the cores from apples. -- Apple fly (Zoöl.), any dipterous insect, the larva of which burrows in apples. Apple flies belong to the genera Drosophila and Trypeta. -- Apple midge (Zoöl.) a small dipterous insect (Sciara mali), the larva of which bores in apples. -- Apple of the eye, the pupil. -- Apple of discord, a subject of contention and envy, so called from the mythological golden apple, inscribed \"For the fairest,\" which was thrown into an assembly of the gods by Eris, the goddess of discord. It was contended for by Juno, Minerva, and Venus, and was adjudged to the latter. -- Apple of love, or Love apple, the tomato (Lycopersicum esculentum). -- Apple of Peru, a large coarse herb (Nicandra physaloides) bearing pale blue flowers, and a bladderlike fruit inclosing a dry berry. -- Apples of Sodom, a fruit described by ancient writers as externally of air appearance but dissolving into smoke and ashes plucked; Dead Sea apples. The name is often given to the fruit of Solanum Sodomæum, a prickly shrub with fruit not unlike a small yellow tomato. -- Apple sauce, stewed apples. [U. S.] -- Apple snail or Apple shell (Zoöl.), a fresh-water, operculated, spiral shell of the genus Ampullaria. -- Apple tart, a tart containing apples. -- Apple tree, a tree naturally bears apples. See Apple,",
      "-- Apple wine, cider. -- Apple worm (Zoöl.), the larva of a small moth (Carpocapsa pomonella) which burrows in the interior of apples. See Codling moth. -- Dead Sea Apple. (a) pl. Apples of Sodom. Also Fig. \"To seek the Dead Sea apples of politics.\" S. B. Griffin. (b) A kind of gallnut coming from Arabia. See Gallnut.  To grow like an apple; to bear apples. Holland."
    ]
  }
}

About the Dictionary API

Dictionary works by querying a large dictionary database to retrieve the definition a word. It returns the word data in a structured format.

What people use it for

In-App Reading Lookups
When readers double-tap an unfamiliar word, e-book software fetches the matching definitions and displays the top meaning in a tooltip.
Vocabulary Flashcard Generators
Study apps supply terms from study lists to pull all definitions and populate review cards for language students.
Writing Editor Clarifications
Drafting tools inspect flagged complex words and present alternate meanings so authors can pick the exact definition they intended.
Word Game Verification
To score puzzle submissions, crossword platforms query entered words and confirm they exist by checking if definition counts exceed zero.

Ways to call it

One endpoint, many ways in — REST with JSON, XML, YAML and CSV, plus GraphQL and an MCP interface for AI agents.

JSON
Default REST response
XML
Markup format
YAML
Human-readable
CSV
Tabular export
Beta
GraphQL
Query language
New
MCP
For AI agents

Other ways to use Dictionary

Same data, same APIVerve account, same credit balance — one key works on all of them.

Questions.

Common questions about the Dictionary API.

Read the docs
Does the API return multiple definitions for words with more than one meaning?
Yes. The response includes an array of definitions alongside a total definition count. When a word carries multiple definitions in the database, all of them are returned in the list.
What data points are included in each lookup?
Each query returns the requested word, the total count of definitions found, and an array containing the definition strings. The Dictionary API focuses on providing clear textual meanings rather than audio pronunciations or etymology.
Can I look up multiple words in a single request?
No, each query takes a single word parameter and retrieves its specific definitions. To look up a vocabulary list, send individual requests for each word.
How far does the Starter plan go for word lookups?
Starter covers 100,000 word lookups per month, with each lookup consuming 2 credits. That works out to about $0.30 per 1,000 lookups, or $0.0003 per call. If you are just testing, the Free plan provides 100 lookups each month.
Can I show dictionary definitions in a commercial learning product?
Yes, commercial use is permitted on all paid plans. You can integrate definitions into your language platform, reading app, or text editor. You may not resell or redistribute the raw definition dataset as a competing data service.

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