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Dictionary.com

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Dictionary.com
Type of site
Dictionary
Available inEnglish
OwnerRock Holdings
Created byBrian Kariger
Daniel Fierro
URLwww.dictionary.com
CommercialYes
LaunchedMay 14, 1995; 29 years ago (1995-05-14)

Dictionary.com is an online dictionary whose domain was first registered on May 14, 1995.[1] The primary content on Dictionary.com is a proprietary dictionary based on Random House Unabridged Dictionary, with editors for the site providing new and updated definitions.[2][3] Supplementary content comes from the Collins English Dictionary, American Heritage Dictionary and others.[4]

History

Dictionary.com was founded by Brian Kariger and Daniel Fierro as part of Lexico Publishing, which also started Thesaurus.com and Reference.com.[5] At the time of its launch, it was one of the web's first in-depth reference sites.[6] In July 2008, Lexico Publishing Group, LLC, was acquired by Ask.com, an IAC company,[7] and renamed Dictionary.com, LLC.[8] In 2018, IAC sold Dictionary.com and Thesaurus.com to Rock Holdings.[9] At the time of the sale, Dictionary.com was the 447th most trafficked website in the United States, according to the website tracking service SimilarWeb.[9] In 2015, they estimated that there are 5.5 billion word searches a year on its site.[10]

Features and services

Among its features, Dictionary.com offers a Word of the Day,[11] a crossword solver,[12] and a pop culture dictionary[13] that includes emoji and slang sections.

In 2010, Dictionary.com began a Word of the Year feature with the word 'change'.[14] The selection is based on search trends on the site throughout the year and the news events that drive them.[15] Dictionary.com's words of the year have been:[14]

In April 2009, they launched an app on the App Store allowing users to find definitions and synonyms. It also included audio pronunciations, alphabetical indexing, and synonym example sentences.[17] Since then, Dictionary.com released a standalone thesaurus app called Thesaurus Rex along with education apps, Dictionary.com Flashcards, Word Dynamo, and Learning to Read with Zoo Animals.

In early 2020, in response to COVID-19 quarantine home-schooling needs, Dictionary.com launched an interactive platform for learning at home, and an online tutoring service.[18] Later that year Dictionary.com’s sister site, Thesaurus.com, launched a writing assistant and grammar checker called Grammar Coach.[19] The coronavirus outbreak led to the addition of novel words to the main dictionary (e.g., fomites) and the slang dictionary (e.g., ‘rona’).[20]

See also

References

  1. ^ "Dictionary.com WHOIS, DNS, & Domain Info - DomainTools". whois.domaintools.com. Retrieved 16 June 2016.
  2. ^ Herman, Barbara (May 12, 2015). "Deep Web, Revenge Porn And Microaggression Are Just Some of Dictionary.com's Latest Additions". International Business Times. Retrieved February 24, 2021.
  3. ^ Treisman, Rachel (2020-09-03). "Dictionary.com's Largest Update (Re)defines Thousands Of Words, Focusing On Identity". NPR. Retrieved 2021-04-16.
  4. ^ Perlman, Merrill (April 29, 2019). "Dictionaries recently added more than 1,500 words. Here are some new entries". Columbia Journalism Review. Retrieved February 25, 2020.
  5. ^ "Lexico, Dictionary.com Being Acquired By Ask.com; Price In $100 Million Range". Gigacom. Retrieved 2014-01-24.
  6. ^ Alpert, Lukas (March 26, 2018). "Defining Moment for Dictionary.com - It's For Sale". Wall Street Journal. Retrieved March 17, 2020.
  7. ^ Auchard, Eric (July 4, 2008). "Ask.com closes acquisition of Dictionary.com". Reuters. Retrieved October 14, 2019.
  8. ^ "Amended and Restated Operating Agreement of Dictionary.com, LLC". U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. July 17, 2008. Retrieved October 14, 2019.
  9. ^ a b Reindl, JC (November 15, 2018). "Cleveland Cavaliers owner Dan Gilbert just dipped into the online dictionary, thesaurus business". WKYC Studios.
  10. ^ Stevens, Heidi (November 11, 2015). "'Mx.' instead of 'Mr.' or 'Mrs.?' It's in the dictionary now". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved February 25, 2020.
  11. ^ "Definition of emolument | Dictionary.com". www.dictionary.com.
  12. ^ "15 crossword solvers for Android, iOS, and the web that actually work!". Android Authority. 2020-03-05. Retrieved 2020-05-08.
  13. ^ "Terms Like 'OK Boomer' Are Hard to Define. This Dictionary Is Trying Anyway". Time. Retrieved 2020-05-08.
  14. ^ a b "What Dictionary.com's words of the year say about us". CNN. December 15, 2018. Retrieved December 19, 2019.
  15. ^ a b ""Existential' crowned word of the year by Dictionary.com". Click on Detroit. Retrieved December 19, 2019.
  16. ^ "The Dictionary.com Word Of The Year For 2020 Is ..." Dictionary.com. 2020-11-30. Retrieved 2021-01-24.
  17. ^ Rao, Leena (April 8, 2009). "Dictionary.com Launches Free iPhone App". Tech Crunch.
  18. ^ Lane, Ana (March 18, 2020). "41 totally free educational resources for kids stuck at home". USA TODAY. Retrieved May 8, 2020.
  19. ^ Magid, Anigah (2020-10-28). "Dictionary.com Launches Tutoring and Learning Features to Combat Language Ambiguity and Learning Burnout in 2020". eLearningInside News. Archived from the original on 2020-11-01. Retrieved 2021-06-13.
  20. ^ Camero, Katie (April 23, 2020). "Dictionary has been updated to cover COVID-19. These are the new words". Miami Herald. Retrieved May 1, 2020.
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