online dictionary

American  

[on-lahyn dik-shuh-ner-ee, awn-lahyn] / ˈɒnˌlaɪn ˈdɪk ʃəˌnɛr i, ˈɔnˌlaɪn /

noun

plural

online dictionaries

1. a dictionary that is available on the internet. Online dictionaries like Dictionary.com offer immediate, direct access through large databases to a word's spelling and meanings, plus a host of ancillary information, including its variant spellings, pronunciation, inflected forms, origin, and derived forms, as well as supplementary notes about how the word is used.

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Etymology

Origin of online dictionary

First recorded in 1975–80

Example Sentences

The word “Babbitt” came to signify a “materialistic, complacent, and conformist businessman,” as one online dictionary defines it.

From Los Angeles Times • Dec. 5, 2023

The online dictionary WordNet defines it as “basically shredded cabbage.”

From Seattle Times • Aug. 19, 2023

When I started reading Chuck Culpepper’s April 9 Sports column, “Top-ranked Scheffler masters wind and seizes five-shot lead,” I realized I would need to access my online dictionary to understand parts of the article.

From Washington Post • Apr. 22, 2022

In the era of COVID-19, interest in the word increased by 600% as people scrambled to look up its meaning through the publisher’s online dictionary.

From Washington Times • Nov. 29, 2021

Since then, the website has offered a quarterly update of the online dictionary, with around 1,000 new or revised entries each time.

From Booknology: The eBook (1971-2010) by Lebert, Marie