Dictionary is a simple tool for getting word definitions. It returns the definition a word.
Try it — live request, no key required
No key required to try it. Get a key to use it in your app.
{
"status": "ok",
"error": null,
"data": {
// Dictionary response payload
}
}
About the Dictionary API
Dictionary works by querying a large dictionary database to retrieve the definition a word. It returns the word data in a structured format.
What people use it for
- Language Learning
- Use the Dictionary API to get word definitions for language learning. Use the data to explore word meanings, expand vocabulary, and improve language skills
- Content Creation
- Get word definitions by using the Dictionary API for content creation. Use the data to create meaningful content, enhance readability, and improve writing
- Text Analysis
- Analyze text by using the Dictionary API to get word definitions. Use the data to study language patterns, sentiment analysis, and text classification
- Word Lookup
- Look up words by using the Dictionary API to get word definitions. Use the data to find word meanings, explore synonyms, and expand language knowledge
Ways to call it
One endpoint, many ways in — REST with JSON, XML, YAML and CSV, plus GraphQL and an MCP interface for AI agents.
- JSON
- Default REST response
- XML
- Markup format
- YAML
- Human-readable
- CSV
- Tabular export
- GraphQL
- Query language
- MCP
- For AI agents
Other ways to use Dictionary
Same data, same APIVerve account, same credit balance — one key works on all of them.
What does the Dictionary API do?
How do I authenticate Dictionary API requests?
How much does the Dictionary API cost?
How fast is the Dictionary API?
What response formats does the Dictionary API support?
What HTTP method does the Dictionary API use?
Request parameters — GET /v1/dictionary
Sent in the query string. Premium parameters are accepted on every plan but only take effect on plans that include them. Anything not listed here is dropped rather than passed through.
Required
| Parameter | Type | Example | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
wordRequired | string | apple | The word for which you want to get the definition (e.g., apple) |
curl "https://api.apiverve.com/v1/dictionary?word=apple" \
-H "x-api-key: YOUR_API_KEY"Authentication
Send your key in the x-api-key header. That is the only auth step — no token exchange, and no per-endpoint scope to configure.
| Header | When | Value |
|---|---|---|
x-api-keyRequired | Every request | Your API key. Header names are case-insensitive, so X-API-Key is the same header. |
AuthorizationAlternate | Instead of the above | Bearer <key> — for clients that only expose bearer auth. Resolves to the same account and the same billing. |
A 401 means the key is missing, invalid or expired. A 403 means the key is valid but not permitted here — blocked by a key restriction or an IP allow-list. Running out of credits is a 429.
Response — GET /v1/dictionary
Every APIVerve endpoint returns the same three top-level keys, so one response handler covers your whole integration: status, error and data. Only data changes shape.
{
"status": "ok",
"error": null,
"data": {
"word": "apple",
"definitionCount": 5,
"definitions": [
"The fleshy pome or fruit of a rosaceous tree (Pyrus malus) cultivated in numberless varieties in the temperate zones. Note: The European crab apple is supposed to be the original kind, from which all others have sprung.",
"(bot.) Any tree genus Pyrus which has the stalk sunken into the base of the fruit; an apple tree.",
"Any fruit or other vegetable production resembling, or supposed to resemble, the apple; as, apple of love, or love apple (a tomato), balsam apple, egg apple, oak apple.",
"Anything round like an apple; as, an apple of gold. Note: Apple is used either adjectively or in combination; as, apple paper or apple-paper, apple-shaped, apple blossom, apple dumpling, apple pudding. Apple blight, an aphid which injures apple trees. See Blight, n. -- Apple borer (Zoöl.), a coleopterous insect (Saperda candida or bivittata), the larva of which bores into the trunk of the apple tree and pear tree. -- Apple brandy, brandy made from apples. -- Apple butter, a sauce made of apples stewed down in cider. Bartlett. -- Apple corer, an instrument for removing the cores from apples. -- Apple fly (Zoöl.), any dipterous insect, the larva of which burrows in apples. Apple flies belong to the genera Drosophila and Trypeta. -- Apple midge (Zoöl.) a small dipterous insect (Sciara mali), the larva of which bores in apples. -- Apple of the eye, the pupil. -- Apple of discord, a subject of contention and envy, so called from the mythological golden apple, inscribed \"For the fairest,\" which was thrown into an assembly of the gods by Eris, the goddess of discord. It was contended for by Juno, Minerva, and Venus, and was adjudged to the latter. -- Apple of love, or Love apple, the tomato (Lycopersicum esculentum). -- Apple of Peru, a large coarse herb (Nicandra physaloides) bearing pale blue flowers, and a bladderlike fruit inclosing a dry berry. -- Apples of Sodom, a fruit described by ancient writers as externally of air appearance but dissolving into smoke and ashes plucked; Dead Sea apples. The name is often given to the fruit of Solanum Sodomæum, a prickly shrub with fruit not unlike a small yellow tomato. -- Apple sauce, stewed apples. [U. S.] -- Apple snail or Apple shell (Zoöl.), a fresh-water, operculated, spiral shell of the genus Ampullaria. -- Apple tart, a tart containing apples. -- Apple tree, a tree naturally bears apples. See Apple,",
"-- Apple wine, cider. -- Apple worm (Zoöl.), the larva of a small moth (Carpocapsa pomonella) which burrows in the interior of apples. See Codling moth. -- Dead Sea Apple. (a) pl. Apples of Sodom. Also Fig. \"To seek the Dead Sea apples of politics.\" S. B. Griffin. (b) A kind of gallnut coming from Arabia. See Gallnut. To grow like an apple; to bear apples. Holland."
]
}
}
Response fields
Paths are relative to data. Premium fields are absent rather than zeroed on plans that do not include them, so check for presence instead of comparing to 0.
| Field | Type | Example | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
word | string | "apple" | The word that was looked up in the dictionary |
definitionCount | number | 5 | Total number of definitions found for the word |
definitions | array | [The fleshy pome or fruit of a rosaceous tree (Pyrus malus) cultivated in numberless varieties in the temperate zones. Note: The European cr… | Array of definition strings for the word |
Response headers
Every response carries your balance, so your own code always knows where it stands without polling anything. All four are exposed to browsers through CORS.
| Header | What it carries |
|---|---|
x-api-remaining-credits | Credits left in the current cycle |
x-api-credits-used | Credits spent in the current cycle |
x-api-max-credits | The allowance for the cycle |
x-api-version | Version of the endpoint that answered |
Errors
Read the HTTP status first, then error for the specific reason. The body names the parameter that has to change.
| Status | Meaning | What to do |
|---|---|---|
400 | Input was rejected | Read error; it names the parameter that has to change. |
401 | Key missing or invalid | Check the header name and the key value. |
403 | Key valid, but not permitted here | A key restriction or an IP allow-list — never a bad key. |
429 | Rate limited, or out of credits | Read error to tell them apart, then back off or top up. |
What a call costs — 2 credits per call
Credits are shared across every APIVerve API — one balance, one key, one bill. Failed requests never count against it, so a rejected input costs nothing.
| Plan | Per month | Credits | Dictionary calls | Per 1,000 calls |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Free | Free | 200 | 100 | Free |
| Starter | $29.99 | 200,000 | 100,000 | $0.30 |
| Pro | $99.99 | 1,000,000 | 500,000 | $0.20 |
| Mega | $299.99 | 4,000,000 | 2,000,000 | $0.15 |
Calls are what the credits buy at this API's rate — spend them here, on any of the other APIs, or across both. Nothing is reserved per endpoint.
Call it from cURL — GET /v1/dictionary
No SDK to install — this is a plain HTTPS call to /v1/dictionary with your key in the x-api-key header. Swap in a real key and it runs as-is.
curl "https://api.apiverve.com/v1/dictionary" \
-H "x-api-key: YOUR_API_KEY"Resources
Also published for
Only the languages APIVerve ships a client for are listed — the rest call the endpoint directly over HTTPS.
Call it from Node.js — GET /v1/dictionary
Install the Node.js SDK, then call the Dictionary API with your key. The client wraps the same HTTPS request, so anything it returns is what the endpoint returns.
npm install @apiverve/dictionaryconst res = await fetch("https://api.apiverve.com/v1/dictionary", {
headers: { "x-api-key": "YOUR_API_KEY" },
});
const { data } = await res.json();
console.log(data);Resources
Also published for
Only the languages APIVerve ships a client for are listed — the rest call the endpoint directly over HTTPS.
Call it from Python — GET /v1/dictionary
Install the Python SDK, then call the Dictionary API with your key. The client wraps the same HTTPS request, so anything it returns is what the endpoint returns.
pip install apiverve-dictionaryimport requests
res = requests.get(
"https://api.apiverve.com/v1/dictionary",
headers={"x-api-key": "YOUR_API_KEY"},
)
print(res.json()["data"])Resources
Also published for
Only the languages APIVerve ships a client for are listed — the rest call the endpoint directly over HTTPS.
Call it from C# / .NET — GET /v1/dictionary
Install the C# / .NET SDK, then call the Dictionary API with your key. The client wraps the same HTTPS request, so anything it returns is what the endpoint returns.
dotnet add package APIVerve.API.Dictionaryusing var client = new HttpClient();
client.DefaultRequestHeaders.Add("x-api-key", "YOUR_API_KEY");
var json = await client.GetStringAsync("https://api.apiverve.com/v1/dictionary");
Console.WriteLine(json);Resources
Also published for
Only the languages APIVerve ships a client for are listed — the rest call the endpoint directly over HTTPS.
Call it from Go — GET /v1/dictionary
No SDK to install — this is a plain HTTPS call to /v1/dictionary with your key in the x-api-key header. Swap in a real key and it runs as-is.
req, _ := http.NewRequest("GET", "https://api.apiverve.com/v1/dictionary", nil)
req.Header.Set("x-api-key", "YOUR_API_KEY")
res, _ := http.DefaultClient.Do(req)
defer res.Body.Close()
body, _ := io.ReadAll(res.Body)
fmt.Println(string(body))Resources
Also published for
Only the languages APIVerve ships a client for are listed — the rest call the endpoint directly over HTTPS.
Call it from PHP — GET /v1/dictionary
No SDK to install — this is a plain HTTPS call to /v1/dictionary with your key in the x-api-key header. Swap in a real key and it runs as-is.
$ch = curl_init("https://api.apiverve.com/v1/dictionary");
curl_setopt($ch, CURLOPT_RETURNTRANSFER, true);
curl_setopt($ch, CURLOPT_HTTPHEADER, ["x-api-key: YOUR_API_KEY"]);
$response = curl_exec($ch);
echo $response;Resources
Also published for
Only the languages APIVerve ships a client for are listed — the rest call the endpoint directly over HTTPS.
Call it from Ruby — GET /v1/dictionary
No SDK to install — this is a plain HTTPS call to /v1/dictionary with your key in the x-api-key header. Swap in a real key and it runs as-is.
require "net/http"
uri = URI("https://api.apiverve.com/v1/dictionary")
req = Net::HTTP::Get.new(uri)
req["x-api-key"] = "YOUR_API_KEY"
res = Net::HTTP.start(uri.hostname, uri.port, use_ssl: true) { |h| h.request(req) }
puts res.bodyResources
Also published for
Only the languages APIVerve ships a client for are listed — the rest call the endpoint directly over HTTPS.
Zero-code embed — one snippet, no backend
Drop an interactive Dictionary form onto any page. The widget calls the API for you, so no key ever appears in your markup and there is nothing to deploy.
Changelog — Dictionary API
Every change to this endpoint, newest first. Breaking changes ship as a new version and the previous one keeps serving — response fields are added, never removed or retyped in place, so an integration written against v1 keeps working.
Entries are picked up from dated catalog snapshots, so the first one appears after the next snapshot that moves something. A period where nothing changed produces no entry — silence is a valid changelog for the Dictionary API.
Data Lookup
- ASN Lookup
- Bible
- Country Calling Code
- Dictionary
- Dog Breeds
- Emoji Lookup
- Gender Detector
- Gravatar Lookup
- IP Demographics
- Lottery Numbers
- Nobel Prizes
- Open Source Licenses
- Thesaurus
- Timezone Lookup
- Unicode Character Lookup
- World Time
- ZIP Demographics
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