The quickest, most intelligent way to improve vocabulary.
Vocabulary.com combines the world's smartest dictionary with an adaptive learning game that will have you mastering new words in no time.
Look up a word, learn it forever.
Don’t just memorize. Achieve mastery.
Ditch the flash cards and stop memorizing definitions. Vocabulary.com teaches you words by systematically exposing you to a wide array of question types and activities that will help you understand all the meanings and nuances of every word you’re learning.
Even after you’ve achieved mastery, we’ll reinforce what you have learned to make sure that it all stays fresh in your memory.
Read more: What does it take to "master" a word?
Get the lowdown on every word.
When you look up a word in our dictionary, you’ll read a friendly explanation that you will actually remember. It’s as if your favorite teacher were explaining the word to you.
Our clever usage tips and thousands of real-world examples will show you how words live in the wild so you’ll be more confident using them yourself.
See a word you’d like to know better? Click "Learn this Word" and easily add it to your learning program.
Read more: Introduction to the Dictionary, Tracking Your Progress on Words You Are Learning
Start playing.
We’ll get to know you.
As you play Vocabulary.com, we figure out which words you know and which ones you need a little help with. We keep practicing with you until you master the tough ones.
Let us know which words you want to focus on, and we’ll prioritize those.
It’s a science.
Vocabulary.com may seem simple on the outside, but behind the scenes we’re using sophisticated algorithms to help you learn over 15,000 words more effectively.
How? We start with our massive pool of over 200,000 vocabulary questions that we designed to evaluate and teach vocabulary words. Each question tests a particular meaning of a word, provides helpful hints, and is followed by an explanation of the correct answer. Many studies have shown that the best way to learn is through multiple exposures to a word, with challenging questions that make you think. That’s what we provide.
We use the science of learning to model how you learn (and forget) new words. By comparing your answers to the hundreds of millions of answers given by other Vocabulary.com users, we personalize your learning experience and choose the best question for you at just the right time.
It’s a game.
Sure, there’s a lot of science and technology muscle behind our system, but expanding your vocabulary doesn’t have to be a brain-buster.
We’ve turned learning vocabulary into an addictive game. Accumulate points, achievements, and badges while competing against your Facebook friends, your classmates, or other members of the Vocabulary.com community. You may not even notice that you’re learning along the way.
Read More: Introduction to the VocabTrainer
A Personalized Learning Program Just for You
It's Like a Personal Trainer for Your Brain
We use our adaptive learning system to ensure that you get the right question at the right time. We build a model of your vocabulary and abilities as you answer each question, and then serve you up with questions that are not too hard and not too easy. From the results of these questions, we determine what words to focus on in your personalized learning program.
As you play Vocabulary.com, we begin to compile a list of words for you to learn. If you get a question wrong or choose to use a hint, the word is added to the list. Once we add a word to this list, we keep working with you until you’ve mastered that word.
You can tailor your personalized learning program by visiting the My Progress / Words I'm Learning section. Want to add words or change the focus of your learning? No problem.
Read more: Managing the Words in Your Learning Program
Earn Points and Achievements
As you answer questions correctly and learn words, you earn points. And as you earn more points, you are assigned a badge that represents your level. You start as a “novice,” and then as you hit different point goals, you’ll earn new level badges.
You can also earn extra badges based on various achievements, such as correctly answering 5 questions in a row, or acing a round.
Read more: Points, Achievements, and Leaderboards
Chart Your Progress
You can find out more about how you’re doing by visiting the My Progress section. From there you’ll see charts on overall progress, as well as progress on any individual word you are learning.
Read more: Tracking Your Overall Progress