Community reviews for Dictionary.com

The app is helpful as a support to instruction. I don't think I could base a lesson around the app necessarily but if it is there to supplement students can benefit from it. What this app has going for it is that it is quick and easy to use. The students can find a definition in less than a minute. I will use it a lot more if it can thread seamlessly into my lessons.

I like the app and the challenging range of words, but the ads that fill the site are another reason that this is not a great classroom tool. Vocabulary.com still reigns supreme for me.

My overall opinion of dictionary.com is favorable. I appreciate its many features such as being able to hear the word and seeing it used in context. This application is very user friendly and beneficial to students who struggle with word pronunciation. My ELL students love to,use dictionary.com because they can listen to words being pronounced without fear of embarrassment. They can have it repeated as many times as it takes for them to understand the word and pronounce it correctly. It gives them a sense of independence as they do not need to ask a friend or the teacher how to pronounce a word. Or worse yet, just gloss over it.

Use to define words or to find parts of speech. This all is also great for finding synonmyns and pronunciations of words.

Useful and effective. No real bells and whistles here, though the voice recognition works well. My students actually still use print dictionaries when compiling vocabulary assignments, though I suppose there's not much harm in utilizing this app. If my school supplied tablets for each student it'd be pretty difficult to argue against using this. The built-in thesaurus can also help with writing assignments/vocabulary development.

This is the best source to find information about words.

This tool is great for quick, easy access to definitions of words. There is an app available on all platforms for ease of use. Its companion site thesaurus.com is great for students to use too.

"""Many people turn to Dictionary.com to simply search definitions of words, and while it is a great source for that purpose, it offers much more. Dictionary.com does provide comprehensive definitions for any word one might need to know, but on top of a basic definition, it provides audio, so users can hear the word pronounced, which is helpful for students with weak phonemic awareness. Each definition also includes origins of the word, which could be helpful for foreign language connections. In addition to the basic definition function, though, Dictionary.com offers features such as """"hot words,"""" a thesaurus, writing tips, word dynamo, and word games. The daily """"hot word"""" when I searched the site was """"awkward."""" Information was provided about the origins of this highly (and often inappropriately) used word. Writing tips on the site included formatting a cover letter and writing a thesis, while the """"Writing Dynamo"""" is a more extensive paid add-on that the site offers for comprehensive online proofreading. The word games looked promising for students of a variety of ages, but I was unable to access them because they required Adobe Flash Player 10, and apparently would not function with my more updated version. This was the only glitch I encountered with the site. I was able to play the daily crossword, which appears to be one of the major draws of the site. This was pretty challenging and would probably be most appropriate for students of high school age or older. The "Word Dynamo" function of the site was the most classroom-appropriate function that would work for all age groups; users access the version of Word Dynamo most appropriate for their education level and get quizzed on various vocabulary terms."

Dictionary.com is a great tool for engaging students in the wonderful world of words. Features like the "word of the day," a myriad of word games, including crossword puzzles, slide shows, as well as a thesaurus and a reference guide are only just a few of the ways students can use this site, individually and in groups, to increase their word power.