Home › API Reference › Words API

Words API

Access comprehensive definitions, etymologies, usage examples, and linguistic data for over 15 million words across 100+ languages.

Overview

The Words API is the core endpoint for retrieving lexical data. It supports rich queries including part-of-speech filtering, language specifications, and AI-powered contextual analysis.

ℹ️

Note: All API requests must be authenticated using an API key passed in the Authorization header.

Authentication

Dictionary uses Bearer tokens for authentication. Include your API key in every request header.

HTTP Header

Authorization: Bearer sk_live_your_api_key_here

Endpoints

GET /v2/words/{word}

Retrieves detailed information for a specific word, including definitions, phonetics, part of speech, and usage examples.

Request Example

curl

curl -X GET "https://api.dictionary.com/v2/words/ephemeral?lang=en" \\
  -H "Authorization: Bearer sk_live_your_key"

Response Example

JSON

{
  "word": "ephemeral",
  "phonetic": "/əˈfem.ər.əl/",
  "language": "en",
  "pos": "adjective",
  "definitions": [
    {
      "definition": "Lasting for a very short time; transitory.",
      "example": "The ephemeral nature of spring blooms.",
      "synonyms": ["fleeting", "transient", "momentary"]
    }
  ],
  "etymology": "From Greek ephēmeros, meaning 'lasting only a day'."
}

Path Parameters

Parameter	Type	Required	Description
`word`	string	Yes	The word to look up (URL-encoded)

Query Parameters

Parameter	Type	Default	Description
`lang`	string	en	ISO 639-1 language code
`pos`	string	-	Filter by part of speech (noun, verb, adj, adv)
`include`	string	all	Comma-separated list: definitions, synonyms, etymology, pronunciation

Error Handling

The API uses standard HTTP status codes. Error responses return a JSON object with details.

JSON

{
  "error": {
    "code": "WORD_NOT_FOUND",
    "message": "No definitions found for the provided word.",
    "status": 404
  }
}

⚠️

Rate Limiting: Free tier is limited to 60 requests/minute. Pro tier allows 1000 requests/minute.

Official SDKs

Dictionary provides officially maintained SDKs for popular languages:

JavaScript/Node.js: @dictionary/sdk-js
Python: dictionary-python
Go: github.com/dictionary/sdk-go
Ruby: dictionary-rb

Install via npm, pip, go get, or gem respectively. Full SDK documentation is available in the SDK Reference section.