Dictionary.com

History

Dictionary.com was founded by Brian Kariger and Daniel Fierro as part of Lexico Publishing, which also started Thesaurus.com and Reference.com. At the time of its launch, it was one of the web's first in-depth reference sites. In July 2008, Lexico Publishing Group, LLC, was acquired by Ask.com, an IAC company, and renamed Dictionary.com, LLC. In 2018, IAC sold Dictionary.com and Thesaurus.com to Rock Holdings. In 2015, they estimated that there are 5.5 billion word searches a year on its site. In 2024, Rock Holdings sold Dictionary.com and Thesaurus.com to IXL Learning.

In July 2025, the site deleted all user accounts and removed its ad-free Pro app.

Features

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

In 2010, Dictionary.com began a Word of the Year feature with the word change.{{cite web |first=Brandon |last=Griggs | access-date =December 19, 2019 | archive-date =April 8, 2022 | archive-url =https://web.archive.org/web/20220408014355/https://www.cnn.com/2018/12/15/world/words-year-dictionary-com-trnd/index.html | url-status =live | access-date =December 19, 2019 | archive-date =April 25, 2022 | archive-url =https://web.archive.org/web/20220425080716/https://www.clickondetroit.com/news/2019/12/02/existential-crowned-word-of-the-year-by-dictionarycom/ | url-status =live

• 2010: change
• 2011: tergiversate
• 2012: bluster
• 2013: privacy
• 2014: exposure
• 2015: identity
• 2016: xenophobia
• 2017: complicit
• 2018: misinformation
• 2019: existential
• 2020: pandemic
• 2021: allyship
• 2022: woman
• 2023: hallucinate
• 2024: demure
• 2025: 67

In April 2009, they launched an app on the Apple App Store allowing users to find definitions and synonyms. It also included audio pronunciations, alphabetical indexing, and synonym example sentences. 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. Later that year Dictionary.com's sister site, Thesaurus.com, launched a writing assistant and grammar checker called Grammar Coach. The coronavirus outbreak led to the addition of novel words to the main dictionary (e.g., fomite) and the slang dictionary (e.g., rona).

References

References

1. Herman, Barbara. (May 12, 2015). "Deep Web, Revenge Porn And Microaggression Are Just Some of Dictionary.com's Latest Additions".
2. Treisman, Rachel. (2020-09-03). "Dictionary.com's Largest Update (Re)defines Thousands Of Words, Focusing On Identity".
3. Perlman, Merrill. (April 29, 2019). "Dictionaries recently added more than 1,500 words. Here are some new entries".
4. "Latham & Watkins Advises IXL Learning in Acquisition of Dictionary.com and Thesaurus.com".
5. Caffrey, Michelle. (2024-04-02). "K-12 Dealmaking: IXL Acquires Dictionary.com and Thesaurus.com; EdLight Raises $4M Round".
6. (May 15, 2008). "Lexico, Dictionary.com Being Acquired By Ask.com; Price In $100 Million Range". Gigacom.
7. Alpert, Lukas. (March 26, 2018). "Defining Moment for Dictionary.com - It's For Sale".
8. Auchard, Eric. (July 4, 2008). "Ask.com closes acquisition of Dictionary.com". Reuters.
9. Ovide, Shira. (2008-05-15). "IAC to Buy Lexico to Boost Its Ask.com". Wall Street Journal.
10. (July 17, 2008). "Amended and Restated Operating Agreement of Dictionary.com, LLC". U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.
11. Reindl, JC. (November 15, 2018). "Cleveland Cavaliers owner Dan Gilbert just dipped into the online dictionary, thesaurus business".
12. Stevens, Heidi. (November 11, 2015). "'Mx.' instead of 'Mr.' or 'Mrs.?' It's in the dictionary now".
13. Harding, Scharon. (2025-07-17). "Dictionary.com "devastated" paid users by abruptly deleting saved words lists".
14. "Definition of emolument".
15. (2020-03-05). "15 crossword solvers for Android, iOS, and the web that actually work!".
16. Steinmetz, Katy. (12 February 2020). "Terms Like 'OK Boomer' Are Hard to Define. This Dictionary Is Trying Anyway".
17. (2020-11-30). "The Dictionary.com Word Of The Year For 2020 Is ...".
18. (2023-12-12). "The Dictionary.com Word of the Year is ''hallucinate''.".
19. (2025-10-29). "Dictionary.com picks "67," a "nonsensical and playfully absurd" slang term, as the 2025 word of the year - CBS News".
20. Rao, Leena. (April 8, 2009). "Dictionary.com Launches Free iPhone App".
21. Lane, Ana. (March 18, 2020). "41 totally free educational resources for kids stuck at home".
22. Magid, Anigah. (2020-10-28). "Dictionary.com Launches Tutoring and Learning Features to Combat Language Ambiguity and Learning Burnout in 2020".
23. Camero, Katie. (April 23, 2020). "Dictionary has been updated to cover COVID-19. These are the new words".