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Parents' Guide to

Dictionary.com

By Leslie Crenna, Common Sense Media Reviewer

age 9+

Comprehensive tool with voice search, fun daily features.

App Android , Windows app Paid, Free Reference
Dictionary.com Poster Image

A Lot or a Little?

What you will—and won't—find in this app.

  • Dictionary.com App: Screenshot #1
  • Dictionary.com App: Screenshot #2
  • Dictionary.com App: Screenshot #3

Community Reviews

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age 8+

Based on 2 parent reviews

AndyBoBandy
AndyBoBandy Adult
August 7, 2020
age 10+

Not the place for politics

Dictionary.com posted an offensive tweet today encouraging hatred of women. I don't think a dictionary should take political positions at all, and I found this one especially offensive.
Mimi L.
Mimi L. Adult
March 8, 2018
age 6+

Useful

See all 2 parent reviews

Privacy Rating Warning

  • Personal information is sold or rented to third parties.
  • Personal information is shared for third-party marketing.
  • Personalised advertising is displayed.
  • Data are collected by third-parties for their own purposes.
  • User's information is used to track and target advertisements on other third-party websites or services.
  • Data profiles are created and used for personalised advertisements.
Learn more about our privacy ratings

What’s It About?

Dictionary.com has two easily interchangeable modes: dictionary and thesaurus. The search box with voice recognition button (microphone) is present at the top of all pages. The main page lets users choose and read daily (and previous) updates, view recent searches, and access saved words. Links to referenced entries are an obvious but lacking feature, and illustrations are mentioned but do not seem to be present.

Is It Any Good?

Our review:
Parents say: (2 ):
Kids say: Not yet rated

Dictionary.com is a pretty darn convenient way to improve spelling, vocabulary, and knowledge with modern bells and whistles not possible in a traditional book format -- voice recognition, daily updates, favorites, and search history. "Hot" words ("How the prefix 'Franken-' took on a life of its own"), Question of the Day ("What is the plural of virus?), and Spanish Word of the Day might hook older kids. Quite good but not perfect voice recognition ("babble" gave "Babel") solves the age-old problem of not knowing how to spell the word you want to look up. Dictionary.com destroys similar apps like Merriam-Webster (Android version) in downloads, ease of use, and overall functionality. Unfortunately, there are no built-in games and no interactivity outside of basic social sharing and relatively engaging and well-done daily updates.

Talk to Your Kids About ...

  • Prepare a list of favorite words, then read definitions and see who can blurt the corresponding word fastest.

  • Play dictionary games. Choose a difficult word and send one player out. Have other players make up definitions and write them down, along with the correct definition. Have the player come back and guess the correct definition.

App Details

Did we miss something on diversity?

Research shows a connection between kids' healthy self-esteem and positive portrayals in media. That's why we've added a new "Diverse Representations" section to our reviews that will be rolling out on an ongoing basis. You can help us help kids by suggesting a diversity update.

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