The 10 Best Dictionary Apps to Help You Learn English Faster
If you’re an English learner or an English speaker looking to widen your vocabulary, a good dictionary app is a must.
With a dictionary app on your phone, you’ll always have definitions when you need them.
Fortunately, there’s a huge collection of convenient options available for iOS and Android devices.
In this post, you’ll learn about 10 of the best English dictionary apps you can download today. Most of them are free and have extra features that go well beyond definitions!
Contents
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Best Dictionary Apps
1. Dictionary.com
Price: Free with in-app purchases
Available for: iPhone, iPad, Android
If you’re looking for a reliable and user-friendly dictionary app, Dictionary.com has one for you. It provides instant access to a vast collection of definitions, synonyms and antonyms and even works offline.
The app offers audio pronunciations, word origins and grammar tips to enhance language learning. It also lets you save words so you can make a vocabulary list.
Additionally, it provides daily word quizzes, articles and trending word lists to keep users engaged and expand their vocabulary. There’s a lot to learn from this app!
2. Merriam-Webster
Price: Free with in-app purchases
Available for: iOS, Android
Merriam-Webster is a well-known and highly trusted dictionary. Their app provides quality definitions, audio pronunciations and usage examples in an on-the-go format available offline. It lets you save favorites, has a word of the day and keeps track of your recent searches.
The app also provides access to a thesaurus, word games and quizzes to enhance your vocabulary skills. With a user-friendly interface and regular updates, the Merriam-Webster app ensures that you have a reliable language reference at your fingertips.
The app even lets you search for words by speaking them! This feature is perfect for when you hear a word you don’t understand but aren’t sure how it’s written.
3. Oxford Dictionary of English
Price: Free with in-app purchases
Available for: iOS, Android
The Oxford Dictionary of English app is a comprehensive and reliable resource for English language reference. With over 350,000 words, phrases and meanings, it offers extensive coverage of the language.
The app provides clear and concise definitions, along with audio pronunciations and example sentences, to aid in understanding and usage. You can also access synonyms, antonyms and word origins.
Additionally, the app offers offline functionality, allowing you to access the dictionary even without an internet connection.
4. The Free Dictionary by Farlex
Price: Free with in-app purchases
Available for: iOS, Android, Windows
The Free Dictionary app is a versatile and comprehensive language resource. It offers a wide range of features, including a dictionary, thesaurus and encyclopedia, all in one app.
With millions of definitions, synonyms and translations, you can easily find the information you need. The app also provides audio pronunciations, example sentences and word origins to enhance understanding.
Additionally, it offers daily articles, word of the day and other language-related content to expand vocabulary and knowledge.
5. FluentU
Price: See current rates on the pricing page
Available for: Browser, iOS, Android
It uses a natural approach that helps you ease into the English language and culture over time. You’ll learn English as it’s spoken in real life.
FluentU has a variety of engaging content from popular talk shows, nature documentaries and funny commercials, as you can see here:
FluentU makes it really easy to watch English videos. There are captions that are interactive. That means you can tap on any word to see an image, definition and useful examples.
For example, when you tap on the word "searching," you'll see this:
Learn all the vocabulary in any video with quizzes. Swipe left or right to see more examples for the word you’re learning.
The best part is that FluentU keeps track of the vocabulary that you’re learning and gives you extra practice with difficult words. It even reminds you when it’s time to review! Every learner has a truly personalized experience, even if they’re learning with the same video.
You can start using the FluentU website on your computer or better yet, or download the iOS app or Android app.
6. Vocabulary.com
Price: Free
Available for: iOS, Android
The Vocabulary.com dictionary app is excellent for English learners because it has very easy-to-understand definitions. The site says it’s “as if your favorite teacher were explaining it to you.”
Each definition has explanations of what the word means and also when and how you would use it. And the app can be customized (made to fit) for the way you learn.
Vocabulary.com isn’t just a dictionary—it’s also a vocabulary-building app. It gives you questions for vocabulary words based on how you and millions of other users answered past questions. It even turns learning into a game by letting you earn points!
7. English Dictionary – Offline
Price: Free
Available for: iOS, Android
This dictionary app isn’t as modern-looking as the rest, but it’s a very useful tool for language learners.
Of course, it has definitions—and as the name suggests, they are all available offline. But there are a few other options that make this a great app for an English learner.
You can create flashcards in this dictionary, and study them whenever you need to. You can look through a list of grammar lessons and listen to sample sentences. You can also play “Hang On, Man,” a Hangman-like game that tests your knowledge of vocabulary.
This app has American and British spellings. So if you’re looking for a British dictionary or need to know both forms, this is a good one.
For more flashcard apps, take a look at this list as well:
The 10 Best English Flashcard Apps in 2023 | FluentU English Blog
English flashcard apps are excellent tools for learning new vocabulary. But with so many available, how do you choose? Check out our list of the 10 best flashcard apps…
8. Dict Box: Universal Dictionary
Price: Free with in-app purchases
Available for: iOS, Android
Dict Box is a comprehensive offline dictionary and translator app for over 50 languages, all in one place. Each word comes with a detailed definition, synonyms and example sentences.
The app allows you to search for words even when you’re offline, making it convenient for language learners or travelers. In addition to the dictionary functionality, it also includes a translator, flashcards and the ability to save favorite words.
With a Premium account, you get access to their urban dictionary for slang words, a picture dictionary for visual learners, the ability to back up and sync word lists across devices and an ad-free experience in the app.
9. Urban Dictionary
Price: Free
Available for: iOS
Urban Dictionary is a unique dictionary app that focuses on slang words and unconventional meanings. Slang means informal language that’s commonly used in casual and social settings, such as with friends.
This app is a great addition to your language tools if you want to explore English-language humor and culture. While it includes definitions for regular words, they’re presented in a humorous way. You’ll probably want to have a regular dictionary app and use this one for slang.
Keep in mind that Urban Dictionary is created by users, so it may contain vulgar (rude or inappropriate) language. Use caution and avoid the offensive language it includes, and you’ll find it to be a fantastic resource for understanding words in casual contexts.
10. Concise English Dictionary and Thesaurus
Price: $0.99
Available for: iOS
This dictionary has short and easy-to-understand definitions. If you find most definitions are too difficult for you to read, this might be the app for you.
It includes a thesaurus so you can find words that are similar or opposite to the one you looked up. There are also references to learn more. So you can look up the word “diesel,” and also see who “Rudolf Diesel” was.
A great resource to use together with the thesaurus on this app is Visual Thesaurus. Visual Thesaurus is an interactive tool that lets you type in and click on words to see other, related words. This can help you understand the exact meaning of a word and choose the right word to use in a sentence.
How to Choose the Right Dictionary App for You
Which English dictionary app you choose depends on what you need it to do. Answering the following questions can help you decide:
- Do you need your dictionary to be available without a connection?
- Does it matter if the app takes up a lot of space on your phone?
- Do you need the dictionary to have studying help, or just simple definitions?
- Is the app’s appearance important, or do you only care about the definitions?
- Do you want to be able to hear the words spoken?
Let’s say you spend a lot of time reading on the subway, and you don’t have a lot of space left on your phone. In this case, you should get a dictionary app that’s small and has an offline option.
Besides being convenient for looking up words, dictionary apps can be a great way to add to your vocabulary. As you can see with the apps above, many of them even have special features that help you learn.
So, have you found your new favorite dictionary app? Download one of these awesome apps and try it out.
From now on, you’ll always have the meaning of a new word—right in your pocket!
Download: This blog post is available as a convenient and portable PDF that you can take anywhere. Click here to get a copy. (Download)