Merriam-Webster Dictionary+

• Price: $9.99

Last verified 30 Aug 2026

4.8 22037 ratings · App Store

1. 1/5Used to be great, now the app doesn’t even work

   March 2023: Paid for this upgraded version of the app, used it for years. Now in recent months, after an “update” or whatever “bug fixes and other tweaks” as they call it…the app doesn’t even work anymore. Constantly freezes as soon as I open it. Frustrating! Pretty disappointed Update June 2024: Seemed to be great, now I’ve rethought it. Sorry but this app is trash. Paid $10 for this “upgraded, no-ad” version of the original app, used it for a while with no problem. As of 2023 the app completely stopped working. It’s now 15 months later and it still freezes every time as soon as I open it. Doesn’t matter if you update it, the app simply won’t work as it’s advertised to. What’s even more interesting is, I deleted the app and downloaded again, just to see if maybe I was wrong and these guys had changed their strategy. Nope, as soon as I opened it, it worked for about 20 seconds until I noticed ghost touches on my screen and bam, it stopped working again 🤔 Must be those “bug fixes and other tweaks“ I bet, huh? Shady! Pretty disappointed ya’ll took my money and flipped the script on the consumer. Any user with a brain can tell this app is used for snooping…shameful.

   HumbleUrselfB4GodDoesit4U · 30 Aug 2026

2. 5/5Hands down best dictionary app

   Not only is it the best dictionary app on my phone, it’s probably the best designed app I’ve ever used. It’s been on my phone for more than a decade so I don’t recall if I coughed up money for the ad-free version or not but if I did, it was a one-time affair and a good use of money. There’s no in-app purchases offered. It’s useful, and unexpectedly, entertaining. It doesn’t get in the way of my workflow with distracting notifications. That may be my personal settings but turning off or limiting notifications on other apps often doesn’t work or reduces the functionality of the app. I could go on about my satisfaction with the M-W app, but won’t. I’ll just say, if you are debating a dictionary app, others are excellent too but eventually get sunsetted. This one will withstand the test of time, is the best source for definitions anyway, and its thesaurus is excellent and easy to use too—no more writer’s block!

   DelBttrfly · 30 Aug 2026

3. 5/5M-W Defends The English Language

   I switched from the Oxford dictionary app I previously had for what might appear to be political reasons yet is actually a non-partisan one: defense of word definitions. When President Trump began tweeting out non-sensical statements that twisted or hollowed out the very meaning of certain words he was trying to use in an Orwellian manner, M-W would tweet out a response that focused on the actual definition of the word in defense of meaningful language. It may have appeared partisan to some, but to me it was a simple & timely reminder that words are not empty vessels. They are not window dressing. They are the window itself and attempts to use them to communicate in a way that is deliberately counter to their actual meaning effectively gaslights an entire language & the very culture that relies on it. I am happy with the app, & even happier supporting a company that recognizes that defending the meaning of words is to defend its core reason for being. Thank you M-W.

   Lunarseas · 30 Aug 2026

4. 5/5Simply the best

   This is the only online dictionary I use or recommend. It has so many (free) ways to help people expand their vocabulary, and these extras work for high school & college, to writing for personal reasons. That’s the extra that I use, and love, the most; the common synonyms & antonyms, but also M-W includes a lot much more. The one that’s best for me & my writing is the origin of the words, including the approximate historical date (in centuries) in which the word was “created” and who most likely created it. At times I find that the original meaning (as used when it was created) is very different to the present day meanings! I went ahead & bought the pro-version, as I use it so often in my writing. I’ve found that M-W the dictionary to be the most user friendly, & helpful. Apologies, but I don’t remember how much is was. I only remember that it wasn’t very much. Just try it, (even the free version still has almost all the things I’ve mentioned.) use it for awhile & compare it to the other online dictionaries. I’m confident that you’ll pick, & stay with, the Merriam-Webster dictionary. 👍🏼

   AintThatAShame · 30 Aug 2026

5. 5/5Homonyms & Incomplete Definitions

   This review is based specifically around the watchOS version of the app, which just got an update. But alas, ‘twas an update that did not address the most critical shortcoming of the app, which is that you can only use voice dictation to look up words. Hence, one will only ever know the definition of “weather” because it will never know whether you meant wether. Until we get the ability to “scribble” (write in) a word to be looked up, it simply won’t be a very useful app on the watch. Additionally, it gives poor and totally incomplete definitions on the watch. Take “weather”, for instance. The watch only tells us the (rather useless) definition of the adjective form (of or relating to the side facing the wind). Why not the noun? You know, the one that is at the top of the list of definitions when you look it up on the iOS version of the app. Furthermore, why does it curtail the definition on the watchOS app? The screen can easily display text, and guess what, that little crown on the side, it allows you to scroll through text! So, theoretically, they could display all the definitions of a word, and we could simply scroll through to find the definition we’re looking for. And why no support for synonyms? Why why why?? What exactly did they update for the watch in this version of the app? I want my money back.

   M.J. Ocasio · 30 Aug 2026

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