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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

Vocabulary Word of The Day

Saturday, March 13th Follow My Lead Word of the Day: aplomb
Aplomb is related to plumber and plumb line, which in turn are both related to Latin plumbum, "lead" (the metal). What's aplomb got to do with that? It's a mashup of French à plomb, whose literal meaning is "straight up and down." From this developed the idea of imperturbable self-confidence. It may require a certain amount of aplomb to make the connection.

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

Word Routes

Exploring the pathways of our lexicon

"Kanye": Rebirth of an Eponym

March 10, 2010
By Ben Zimmer
If you watched the Oscars on Sunday, like many other viewers you were probably left scratching your head when, after "Music by Prudence" won for Best Documentary Short, there was a struggle for the microphone between two of the film's creators. Elinor Burkett snatched the microphone from Roger Ross Williams, in what was almost immediately dubbed a "Kanye moment." Or you could say Burkett "pulled a Kanye," or that Williams simply got "Kanye'd."  Continue reading...

Word Routes

Exploring the pathways of our lexicon

At the Movies: Plumbing the Depths of "The Hurt Locker"

March 5, 2010
By Ben Zimmer
The military slang "hurt locker" dates back to the Vietnam era.  Continue reading...

Behind the Dictionary

Lexicographers Talk About Language

Do's and Don'ts for Singular "They"

March 4, 2010
Neal Whitman takes a look at the contentious issue of singular they.  Continue reading...

Word Routes

Exploring the pathways of our lexicon

Bridge That Gap!

March 2, 2010
By Ben Zimmer
Rep. Eric Cantor said, "We have a very difficult bridge to gap here." Whoops!  Continue reading...

Word Routes

Exploring the pathways of our lexicon

Owning the Podium (and the Lectern)

February 25, 2010
By Ben Zimmer
What's the difference between a podium and a lectern?  Continue reading...

Lesson Plans

Lesson Plans

Put vocabulary to work in your classroom

Using Key Words to Unlock Math Word Problems

March 9, 2010
How can identifying key words help students solve mathematical word problems?  Continue reading...

Lesson Plans

Put vocabulary to work in your classroom

Salinger and the Vocabulary of the Vernacular

February 5, 2010
How can students map the meanings of some of Holden Caulfield's slang words and expressions?  Continue reading...

Lesson Plans

Put vocabulary to work in your classroom

A Victorian Vocabulary Challenge

January 4, 2010
How can students use the Visual Thesaurus to help them complete a challenging Victorian sentence completion exercise?  Continue reading...