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Vocabulary.com is the ideal destination for discovering vocabulary. A vocabulary learner's dictionary of 150,000 words shows definitions, relations between words, and how words are used in context. Learn new words, share vocabulary lists, play word games, and connect with a community of word lovers. Exploring vocabulary has never been so much fun!

Vocabulary Resources

Visual Thesaurus
An interactive dictionary and thesaurus that leads you to discover the connections between vocabulary words in a visually captivating display. Word maps blossom with meaning, encouraging exploration instead of rote memorization to expand vocabulary.
Vocabulary University
Looking for the previous version of this website? Visit www.vocabularyuniversity.com.
Cambridge Dictionaries Online
Cambridge Advanced Learner's Dictionary and other excellent learner dictionaries are available online, free of charge.
Online Etymological Dictionary
A free and open resource for reliable information on word roots.
Vintage Vocabulary
A site highlighting American words and expressions with intriguing origins.
UsingEnglish
Designed for ESL learners, UsingEnglish contains an extensive list of English idioms.
Academic Word List (AWL)
Developed by linguistics professor Averil Coxhead, AWL contains frequently occurring English vocabulary words from a broad range of academic texts.

Tools and Tips for Teachers:

ReadWriteThink
A collaboration between NCTE and IRA, ReadWriteThink has a searchable lesson plan archive that features many lessons with a focus on vocabulary learning.
Education Oasis
Graphic organizers for teachers that can help students learn new vocabulary words and concepts.
Literacy Matters
A project from the Education Development Center with valuable resources for enriching vocabulary instruction as a means to improve content literacy.
Cuesta College Guide to Vocabulary
An overview of helpful vocabulary strategies that include interpreting context clues, recognizing word roots, and analyzing common relationships between words.

Featured Vocabulary Lists

Academic Vocabularymore »

Science, Grades 6-8 »(119 words)
Vocabulary list related to science and technology for...
  • asexual reproduction
  • asteroid
  • atmosphere
  • atmospheric pressure
  • atom

Language arts, Grades 9-12 »(96 words)
Vocabulary list related to English language arts for...
  • acronym
  • allegory
  • alliteration
  • allusion
  • ambience

Arts, Grades 6-8 »(85 words)
Vocabulary list related to the arts (visual arts,...
  • a cappella
  • aesthetics
  • agility
  • angle
  • archetype

Current Events Vocabularymore »

Obama's Address to Schoolchildren »(32 words)
Words from President Obama's address to America's...
  • schoolwork
  • foster home
  • homework
  • extracurricular activity
  • homelessness

Credit crisis vocabulary »(33 words)
Vocab from New York Times overview: http://topics.nyti...
  • mortgage-backed security
  • stock market
  • penny stock
  • homeowner
  • refinance

Swine flu vocabulary »(25 words)
Vocab from New York Times overview: http://topics.nyti...
  • swine flu
  • pandemic
  • severe acute respiratory syndrome
  • lethality
  • virus

Fiction Vocabularymore »

Lois Lowry's "The Giver" Chapter 1 »(99 words)
Vocabulary study list for Lois Lowry's "The Giver"...
  • childcare
  • nightclothes
  • family unit
  • overfly
  • street cleaner

E.B. White's "Charlotte's Web" »(115 words)
Vocabulary study list for E.B. White's "Charlotte's...
  • leftovers
  • crumple
  • swathe
  • snooze
  • gullible

Harper Lee's "To Kill a Mockingbird" Chapters 1-10 »(164 words)
Vocabulary study list for Harper Lee's "To Kill a...
  • nauseate
  • asinine
  • delete
  • douse
  • crumple

Non-Fiction Vocabularymore »

Anne Frank's "Diary of a Young Girl" Part 1 »(173 words)
Vocabulary study list for Anne Frank's "Diary of a...
  • immigrate
  • moodiness
  • wangle
  • faze
  • collapsible

Virginia Woolf's "A Room of One's Own" »(343 words)
Vocabulary study list for Virginia Woolf's "A Room of...
  • truncate
  • hortatory
  • misogynist
  • intensification
  • avuncular

"Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass" »(234 words)
Vocabulary study list for "Narrative of the Life of...
  • pharisaical
  • execrate
  • exculpate
  • transferable
  • imbue

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Vocabulary Word of The Day

Thursday, September 2nd In the Picture Word of the Day: naive
We honor this adjective from French today in two of its limited senses: "created by one without formal training" and "showing unaffected simplicity." These are the senses in which the adjective was applied to a school of painting, one of whose greatest exemplars was Henri Rousseau, who died 100 years ago today.

Vocabulary Tools

  VocabGrabber Automatically create lists of vocabulary from any text using VocabGrabber.
Try it now!   Spelling Bee Think you are a good speller? Play the Visual Thesaurus Spelling Bee and find out! Click here to start.

Words on Words

Behind the Dictionary

Lexicographers Talk About Language

Look it Up! A Dictionary by Any Other Name...

August 25, 2010
News recently broke about words like chillax and vuvuzela getting added to the Oxford Dictionary of English. Merrill Perlman, who writes the "Language Corner" column for Columbia Journalism Review, noticed that many reports of the story couldn't get the name of the dictionary right. Here is her guide for the perplexed.  Continue reading...

Word Routes

Exploring the pathways of our lexicon

The Origins of Text-Speak, from 1828?

August 20, 2010
By Ben Zimmer
Comical verses with "proto-text-speak" can be found all the way back to 1828.  Continue reading...

Word Routes

Exploring the pathways of our lexicon

"Mad Men" Word Watch: Get Over It!

August 18, 2010
By Ben Zimmer
The latest episode of "Mad Men" had some expressions that set off people's linguistic radar.  Continue reading...

Word Routes

Exploring the pathways of our lexicon

Slaterisms: Have You Ever Wanted to "Hit the Slide"?

August 12, 2010
By Ben Zimmer
New expressions circulated this week relating to flight attendant Steven Slater's dramatic resignation.  Continue reading...

Word Routes

Exploring the pathways of our lexicon

Dan Brown Lexicography: "Secret Vault of Non-Words!"

August 10, 2010
By Ben Zimmer
A story that appeared last week in the the London-based Daily Telegraph just might be the most nonsensical article about lexicography in recent memory.  Continue reading...

Lesson Plans

Lesson Plans

Put vocabulary to work in your classroom

Jump-Starting Research with the Visual Thesaurus

August 30, 2010
How can the Visual Thesaurus help identify effective keywords for search engine inquiries?  Continue reading...

Lesson Plans

Put vocabulary to work in your classroom

Making Sense of Homographs

July 26, 2010
How can students use the Visual Thesaurus to make sense of some common homographs and to discover a pattern among stress homographs?  Continue reading...

Lesson Plans

Put vocabulary to work in your classroom

The Three M's of Statistics: Mode, Median, Mean

June 30, 2010
How can students use the Visual Thesaurus to learn more about mode, median, and mean, and to apply their knowledge in solving some basic statistical math problems?  Continue reading...