Documentation / Full Reference

Dictionary API Documentation

Comprehensive guide to integrating Dictionary's language intelligence into your applications. Access definitions, translations, pronunciation, and contextual insights via RESTful endpoints.

Introduction

Dictionary provides a robust, scalable API designed for developers building language tools, educational platforms, content management systems, and AI applications. Our endpoints return structured JSON responses optimized for performance and ease of parsing.

ℹ️ Base URL

All API requests should be made to https://api.dictionary.com/v1/. Responses are returned in JSON format with UTF-8 encoding.

Quick Start

Get up and running in three steps:

Sign up for a free account at dashboard.dictionary.com
Generate an API key from your project settings
Make your first request:

Bash

curl -X GET "https://api.dictionary.com/v1/word/ephemeral" \n  -H "Authorization: Bearer YOUR_API_KEY" \n  -H "Accept: application/json"

Authentication

Dictionary uses Bearer token authentication. Include your API key in the Authorization header of every request. Keys can be managed in the dashboard under Project Settings > API Keys.

⚠️ Security Notice

Never expose your API key in client-side code or public repositories. Use environment variables or a backend proxy for server-side requests.

Core Endpoints

The Dictionary API exposes four primary resource types. All endpoints support optional query parameters for filtering and pagination.

Endpoint	Method	Description
`/v1/word/{term}`	GET	Retrieve definitions, etymology, and usage examples
`/v1/translate`	POST	Context-aware translation across 100+ languages
`/v1/pronounce`	POST	Generate audio pronunciation (MP3/WAV)
`/v1/synonyms`	GET	Fetch semantic relationships and antonyms

Dictionary Search

Get comprehensive lexical data for any term. Supports parts of speech, regional variants, and frequency metrics.

JavaScript

const response = await fetch('https://api.dictionary.com/v1/word/ephemeral', {
  headers: { Authorization: `Bearer ${API_KEY}` }
});
const data = await response.json();
console.log(data.meanings[0].definitions[0].definition);

Translation

Requires a JSON body with source_text, source_lang, and target_lang. Returns translated text with confidence scores and alternative phrasings.

Rate Limiting

API requests are throttled based on your subscription tier. Limits reset every 60 seconds.

Plan	Requests / Minute	Concurrent Connections
Free	60	2
Pro	1,200	10
Enterprise	Custom	Custom

Exceeding limits returns 429 Too Many Requests. Include Retry-After header in your logic.

Error Handling

Dictionary uses standard HTTP status codes. Error responses include a code and message field.

🚫 Common Errors

401 Unauthorized: Invalid or expired API key
404 Not Found: Term not in corpus
422 Validation Error: Missing required parameters

JSON

{
  "error": {
    "code": "TERM_NOT_FOUND",
    "message": "No definitions available for 'qwertz' in the selected corpus.",
    "request_id": "req_8f9a2b1c"
  }
}

SDKs & Integrations

Official client libraries are available for:

Python: pip install dictionary-sdk
Node.js: npm install @dictionary/sdk
Ruby: gem install dictionary-rb
Go: go get github.com/dictionary/go

💡 Pro Tip

Use the Dictionary::cache() method in supported SDKs to reduce API calls and improve response times for frequently searched terms.

Changelog

v2.4.1 (2025-03-15): Fixed pronunciation audio encoding for iOS Safari
v2.4.0 (2025-02-28): Added support for Low-Resource Languages corpus
v2.3.2 (2025-02-10): Improved synonym graph accuracy by 18%