Dictionary Articles on TUAW - The Unofficial Apple Weblog

No Comment: Windows Phone Dictionary app icon seems eerily familiar

by Michael Rose (Jun 20th, 2011)

Who really thinks about designing a dictionary icon? They all look alike, after all, so what would be the point of creating a brand new one for your Windows Phone third-party app? Better just to pick up the one everyone likes so well and use that. Yes, as Craig Hockenberry pointed out this ...

Merriam-Webster Dictionary now available on iPad for free

by Mike Schramm (May 26th, 2011)

You could argue that there's not much need for a separate dictionary app any more. With dictionary services built into nearly every interface and Google and Wikipedia searches just a tap away, it's not hard to find out what a word means or how it's spelled any more. But sometimes you may just ...

Visual Thesaurus is a great tool for writers

by Michael Grothaus (Apr 14th, 2011)

After I wrote a post about the changes in Lion's Dictionary app and made suggestions about how Apple could still improve it, I got a nice email from a reader asking if I would write an article about some other writing tools I use. One of my favorites is Visual Thesaurus by Thinkmap. Visual ...

Apple updates Dictionary app in Lion, still has a way to go

by Michael Grothaus (Apr 13th, 2011)

AppleInsider has spotlighted some improvements Apple has made to the built-in Dictionary app in Mac OS X 10.7 Lion. Among the new features, the actual dictionary files used in the app have been updated from the second edition (2005) of the New Oxford American English Dictionary to the third ...

Twelve iPhone apps for students

by Rosemary Kitchen (Mar 26th, 2010)

It's been a while since we were in school, but with spring break almost done with, it's time to settle back into that last long stretch of school before it warms up and summer starts. You've got your handy iPod touch or iPhone with you on campus, and of course, you'll download some games, music, ...

TUAW Tip: Get an instant definition of any word in a pop up window

by Mel Martin (Jan 15th, 2010)

Gee, I love stuff like this, and I wish I would have known about it a long time ago. The tip comes from OSXhelp.com and it's a great one. Need a quick definition of a word in Safari or an email? Yes, you probably already knew you could right-click on a highlighted word and bring up the OS X ...

Force Snow Leopard's Dictionary.app to reuse definition window

by TJ Luoma (Sep 30th, 2009)

The Dictionary.app in Snow Leopard has been driving me nuts. If you use LaunchBar or Spotlight (or probably any other method of sending a word to Dictionary.app), it opens a new window. And then another. And then another. This might be handy if the window bar was updated to show the word that you ...

Oxford English Dictionary is the very definition of an ugly Mac port

by TJ Luoma (Sep 25th, 2009)

Upon learning that the Oxford English Dictionary was going to be released on CD-ROM for the Mac, I pre-ordered it from Amazon.com for $244 back in December (list price $295, currently $212). Due to Amazon's "pre-order price guarantee" the final price was just under $200. This should be considered ...

Ask TUAW: More migration, expanding Apple's Dictionary, syncing iPhone notes, and more

by Mat Lu (Aug 19th, 2009)

Welcome back to Ask TUAW, our weekly Mac troubleshooting Q&A column! This time we've got more questions on migrating user data when upgrading to Snow Leopard, expanding Apple's built-in Dictionary application, accessing iPhone notes without Mail.app, and more. As always, your suggestions and ...

Mac 101: Getting the most out of Dictionary.app

by Dave Caolo (Jun 25th, 2009)

Welcome back to Mac 101, our series of posts aimed at novice Mac users and veterans who like the occasional refresher. Mac OS X is equipped with a dictionary application that does pretty much what you'd expect, and a few things you might not. Here's how you can get the most out of Dictionary. Most ...

Dictionary.com for iPhone. Everyone should have it

by Mel Martin (Apr 9th, 2009)

Every so often a free app comes along for the iPhone/ iPod touch that I think everyone should have. That certainly applies to Dictionary.com [App Store link]. It's an iPhone version of the Dictionary.com web site which gives you definitions, a thesaurus, audio pronunciations, and my favorite, word ...

Teach your iPhone to swear, take two

by Aron Trimble (Jan 21st, 2009)

Erica Sadun has written an article over at Ars all about teaching your touchable pocket pal some nasty habits. If your language is generally more "explicit," or you just have a need for the iPhone (or iPod Touch) to learn someone's last name, then take heart, ye weary iPhone typists! We previously ...

Your iPhone and salty language

by Dave Caolo (Dec 7th, 2008)

Some of you may have noticed that your iPhone or iPod touch is a bit prudish. Type a salty word and you'll likely be presented with a benign and completely inappropriate alternative (see screenshot at right). The problem (if you want to call it that) isn't that one can't swear, but that ...

How knswledgable are you about cartgriqdges?

by Robert Palmer (Nov 5th, 2008)

Newer updates to Mac OS X Leopard seem to have an interesting problem with their spelling databases: they include words that are most certainly wrong. The problem first appeared in 10.5.2 (U.S. English), and has not yet been corrected. Canspice.org points to an Ars Technica discussion from March ...

Noah Webster's ghost happily haunting your iPhone

by Steven Sande (Oct 22nd, 2008)

With the availability of Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary, Eleventh Edition, for the iPhone and iPod touch, Noah Webster must be a happy ghost. His namesake dictionary, converted to Apple's handheld platforms by Paragon Technologie GmbH, now gives teachers, writers, and students a fully ...