Parents' Guide to

Vocabulary.com

By Stacy Zeiger, Common Sense Media Reviewer

age 13+

Intense, game-style vocab practice challenges teens.

App iPhone , iPod Touch , iPad Paid Education
Vocabulary.com Poster Image

A Lot or a Little?

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

  • Vocabulary.com App: Screenshot #1
  • Vocabulary.com App: Screenshot #2
  • Vocabulary.com App: Screenshot #3
  • Vocabulary.com App: Screenshot #4

Community Reviews

See all
age 14+

Based on 1 parent review

JamesWood
JamesWood Adult
March 31, 2020
age 14+

Excellent way to learn

I have used vocabulary.com in a number of my classrooms. I simply access the site through my computer or phone as I don’t have the app. Students have a love/hate relationship with the site because they realize they are learning words with “real life” texts and there is no way to cheat.

This title has:

Easy to play/use
See all 1 parent review

Privacy Rating Warning

  • Personal information is not 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.
  • Unclear whether this product uses a user's information to track and target advertisements on other third-party websites or services.
  • Unclear whether this product creates and uses data profiles for personalised advertisements.
Learn more about our privacy ratings

What’s It About?

VOCABULARY.COM encourages teens to build their vocabulary skills by introducing them to high-level words in a variety of contexts. The adaptive format helps gauge teens' vocab skills and presents words designed to challenge them. They also have the opportunity to study words from subject-specific or literature-specific word lists. However, rather than simply having users study word lists, the app engages players in a game wherein they must guess the meanings of unfamiliar words, insert words into sentences, and identify words to fit given definitions. As they answer questions correctly, the questions increase in difficulty, with the game throwing in a few words for review every so often. When teens have trouble coming up with an answer, they have the opportunity to eliminate half the answers, see a definition, or see the word used in context. All passages contained in hints and contained within the game's questions come from high-quality publications, including Scientific American and The New York Times. The more teens answer questions correctly, the more points they score. They also get the opportunity to track their progress after each round and see how they stack up against the day's top scorers, encouraging them to keep playing and score even higher.

Is It Any Good?

Our review:
Parents say (1 ):
Kids say (7 ):

Although learning new vocabulary words may not appeal to teens, playing a game will. Vocabulary.com turns learning vocabulary into a game for teens by providing them with opportunities to earn points and unlock achievements as they improve their skills. The game lacks some of the animations and sound effects that will reel most teens in, but, if they give it a shot, they may find it to be surprisingly addicting. Instead of answering the same type of question about the same words over and over again, teens will discover different question types and words appearing in a variety of contexts. Specialized word lists also allow teens to practice words they'll find in specific books, historical documents, and academic subjects or on SAT preps. As they play, they'll see which words they master and which need more work, providing some focus for their practice.

Talk to Your Kids About ...

  • Pull out a dictionary and find a random word. Read a fake definition along with the real definition and see if other family members can determine which is real.

  • Choose a new word each day and try to use that word in conversation as much as possible throughout the day.

  • Make up new words and definitions and incorporate them into conversations.

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.

See all recommended app lists

Common Sense Media's unbiased ratings are created by expert reviewers and aren't influenced by the product's creators or by any of our funders, affiliates, or partners.

See how we rate