Merriam-Webster
Dictionary and Thesaurus Data
- Authentication
- API Key
- HTTPS
- Yes
- CORS
- Unknown
- Category
- Dictionaries
- Data source
- public-apis + marcelscruz
- Documentation / URL
- https://dictionaryapi.com/
Overview
The Merriam-Webster Dictionary API serves definitions, audio pronunciations, and etymology from the Collegiate and Learner’s dictionaries. Auth is a free API key.
⚠️ Status (verified 2026-08):
dictionaryapi.comwas unreachable from our network (TLS connection failures). This may reflect regional/network blocking — verify from your network before relying on it.
What it provides
curl "https://www.dictionaryapi.com/api/v3/references/collegiate/json/hello?key=YOUR_KEY"[
{ "meta": { "id": "hello", "uuid": "..." }, "fl": "interjection", "shortdef": ["used as a greeting"] }
]Notes
- Keys are issued per dictionary product (Collegiate vs Learner’s) — a key works only for its product.
- The v3 API is JSON; endpoints:
/api/v3/references/{dict}/json/{word}.
FAQ
Is Merriam-Webster API free? Free tier with daily limits; more is paid.
Why can’t I reach it? Our 2026-08 check hit TLS failures — verify from your network.
How do keys work? Each dictionary product (Collegiate/Learner’s) has its own key.
More in Dictionaries
| API | Auth | HTTPS | CORS | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chinese Character Web Chinese character definitions and pronunciations | No auth | No | No | ↗ |
| Chinese Text Project Online open-access digital library for pre-modern Chinese texts | No auth | Yes | Unknown | ↗ |
| Collins Bilingual Dictionary and Thesaurus Data | API Key | Yes | Unknown | ↗ |
| Free Dictionary Definitions, phonetics, pronounciations, parts of speech, examples, synonyms | No auth | Yes | Unknown | ↗ |
| Indonesia Dictionary Indonesia dictionary many words | No auth | Yes | Unknown | ↗ |