This page will send a query to the WWWebster Dictionary®, an online English dictionary based on Merriam-Webster's Collegiate® Dictionary, Tenth Edition. To look up a word definition, enter the word in the field and select "Search." To clear the field, erase it manually or select the "Clear" button.
If more than one word matches your search criteria, a list will be presented that you can scroll through. You can select a word and then Go To the definition. You can also use the View Source Code or Save feature of your browser to capture a long list of results as a text file.
You can use the ? wildcard to represent a single unknown character in a search string. The ? wildcard is great for crossword puzzle constructors or solvers. For example, try p?lo? or c?????nna?.
You can use the * wildcard to represent any number of consecutive unknown characters in a search string. The * wildcard helps you do something that is virtually impossible with printed dictionaries: look for all the words that end in a certain way or that contain a certain string of letters. For example, try *itor or *ii*.
Bracketed ranges or collections of letters also work: [b-d]oo[r-t] yields boor, boos, boot, coos, coot, and door while tr[aeiou]p yields trap, trip, and trop.
Use the ^ symbol to disallow a certain letter or combination of letters. For example, the search string
[aeiouAEIOU][^aeiouAEIOU][aeiouAEIOU][^aeiouAEIOU][aeiouAEIOU]
finds five-letter words that alternate vowels and non-vowels in the pattern OXOXO. Results include: abode, image, Ibiza, and so forth.
The & character acts as "AND" in a Boolean search. Only entries that contain what is on both sides of this connector will be presented. For example, try *oo*&*ee* to find words that contain both 'oo' and 'ee' somewhere, not necessarily in that order.
The | character acts as "OR" in a Boolean search. Entries that contain what is on either side (or both sides) of this connector will be presented. This may yield large numbers of results. For example, try heaven | hell. Notice that you can use wordspaces around these operators.
Parentheses can be used to group more complex Boolean searches, but I have found that no results appear if you begin a search string with parentheses. By the way, according to the rules of logic,
blue & (red | sky) = blue AND (red OR sky) = (blue AND red) OR (blue and sky)
blue | (red & sea) = blue OR (red AND sea)
The former returns "sky blue" and nothing else. The latter returns all the entries that contain "blue" as well as the entry "Red Sea".
The ! symbol may be used as a kind of negation when part of an AND NOT construction. For example: red & !sea.
The WWWebster Dictionary® is based on Merriam-Webster's Collegiate® Dictionary, Tenth Edition. You can buy the print edition by visiting the Merriam-Webster® online bookstore. The above search capabilities and other advanced search features are available in the CD-ROM edition of the dictionary.
WWWEBSTER DICTIONARY, MERRIAM-WEBSTER, COLLEGIATE, and MERRIAM-WEBSTER'S COLLEGIATE DICTIONARY are trademarks of Merriam-Webster, Incorporated.