Review of 10 iPad Dictionary apps

Dictionaries are an excellent resource for solidifying meaning, aiding understanding of texts and sorting out scrabble conflicts. There are plenty of iPad apps with excellent content, many are free. One of the major issues is the interface. Copying text out of some dictionary apps is impossible. Some don't store bookmarks or histories or have a "back" button. Another shortfall is discovery, the lack of serendipity in the app interface which you get when just flicking through the pages of a paper based dictionary. I have performed a small test with a number of dictionary apps, including a range of word look ups and a feature list. There is a reasonable variation among the apps, but fortunately many good ones are actually free.

I have used the paper based Macquarie Dictionary (2nd Ed) for years, however the iOS version is iPhone only and very basic, however the developers have said that an upcoming upgrade will be a universal app. I decided not to test the Oxford, as it was expensive and although tempting, I already had the Australian version which appears to be identical in operation. Note that Collins and the Advanced English apps use the same MSDictViewer engine. Also most pay-for dictionaries often have a cheaper "essential"/"concise" version available. Do you really want to pay for a reduced number of words? Why are you buying a dictionary with some of the words missing?! How are you supposed to read Melville if the dictionary doesn't have "grapnel", "Tophet", "copestone" and so forth.

Words tested: Piccaninny, Load, Tweet, Muggle, Oberon

My paper based Macquarie Dictionary (2nd Ed) has "piccaninny" with three definitions: 1. a Negro or coloured child. 2. an Aboriginal child. 3. A small child. For some reason, piccaninny (also pickaninny) is now considered offensive. So my favourite breakfast dish at Pancake Manor has recently been renamed to "Picadilly Dawn". I was taken aback by the offensive categorisation, so investigating current dictionary definitions was included in this research. Sadly the tested apps came up short compared to the paper based Macquarie definitions. All dictionaries that had the term also noted the word was (possibly) offensive. I assume this is a U.S. issue where any word that contains even a hint of ethnicity is considered offensive. Sadly, even the MacQuarie app did not have definition (3).

I used the number of definitions for the word "Load" to sort the list. "Tweet" was examined for the definition of short message on the Twitter internet service; this is a new word officially added by Oxford ... but oddly not in the Australian Oxford Dictionary. "Muggle" was also used for similar reasons. Finally "Oberon" was examined to see if both the Shakespeare character as well as the satellite of Uranus was listed; the MacQuarie app had only a definition for a town called Oberon, no Shakespeare, no moon; the paper version included a second definition of the name of an Indian actor born in 1911.

The apps usually report number of words stored in the dictionary, but have different ways of measuring this metric which makes comparison invalid. I did include the reported number at the end of the notes section, but this should be seen as a rough guide only.

This blogger's choice

All of the listed dictionary apps fail at some level. Because of this, I would suggest acquiring a couple of the free dictionaries no matter what you end up getting. For a recommendation from the selection below I would suggest the offering from Dictionary.com and the free offering from Merriam-Webster, they have a paid version if you don't like the advertisements. I liked the Collins for content. The Australian Oxford kept having temporary freeze sessions, even after rebooting, reinstalling, but otherwise had good content. WordBook XL is for the scrabble/crossword fiend with it's handy solver function.

iPad app name	Cost	Size	Advert	Include iPhone	Works Offline		Piccaninny	Load	Tweet	Muggle	Oberon
Dictionary.com	free	50Meg	Yes		Yes		1 def, origin	39 defs	No	Yes	Yes
		Output: Email, facebook, twitter					Notes: History, bookmarks, voice input, shake for a word, 2000K
Chambers Dictionary	$10	25Meg		Yes	Yes		No	36 defs	No	No	No astro
		Output: none					Notes: Bookmarks, random word, 260K
Macquarie Complete Australian	$35	19Meg		Only	Yes		3 defs, origin	31 defs	No	No	No
		Output: Copy enabled					Notes: iPhone app tested, upgrade expected, 210K
Collins English Dictionary Unabridged	$37	21Meg		Yes	Yes		2 defs, origin	28 defs	Yes	No	Yes
		Output: none					Notes: Bookmarks, History, random word, cross references, 500K
Free Dictionary	free	1Meg	Yes	Yes	No		2 defs, origin	27 defs	No	Yes	Yes
		Output: Copy enabled					Notes: Thesaurus, translation, download offline dictionary, bookmarks
Meriam-Webster	free	21Meg	Yes		Yes		1 def, origin	24 defs	No	No	No astro
		Output: none					Notes: Voice search
Australian Oxford	$30	166Meg		Yes	Yes		2 defs, origin	18 defs	No	No	Yes
		Output: none					Notes: History, bookmarks, 170K
Dictionary Free	Free	27Meg		Yes	Yes		1 def	14 defs	No	No	No
		Output: Copy enabled					Notes: Link to wikipedia, bookmarks, history, 140K
Dictionary! for iPad	free	11Meg	Yes		Yes		1 def	14 defs	No	No	Yes
		Output: none					Notes: Links to wiktionary, ugly, 200K
WordBook XL	$4	20Meg			Yes		1 def	14 defs	No	No	Yes
		Output: Email					Notes: Bookmarks, Notes, Solver (word puzzles), 220K
WordWeb	free	29Meg		Yes	Yes		No	14 defs	Yes	Yes	No astro
		Output: none					Notes: Bookmarks, random word, cross references, 285K
Advanced English Dictionary and Thesaurus	free	22Meg		Yes	Yes		No	12 defs	No	No	No
		Output: none					Notes: Bookmark, random word, word of the day, 140K
Oxford English Dictionary	$37	203Meg		Yes
		- not tested -					Notes: Similar to Australian Oxford.