Free Dictionary Word Definitions Scraper

Free Dictionary Word Definitions Scraper

Scrape word definitions, phonetics, and examples from the Free Dictionary API, in 12 languages, up to a million words per run. Every word comes back as one flat row with its part of speech, pronunciation audio, synonyms, and usage examples. No API key, no rate limits. Export to CSV, JSON, Excel, or XML.

The Free Dictionary API gives you clean dictionary data without an API key, but calling it word by word and stitching the responses together is slow. This Actor takes a list of words, looks each one up in the language you choose, and returns every definition, phonetic, audio link, and example in one fixed schema. It is the fastest way to build a word list, a vocabulary dataset, or a language-learning resource.

Who uses it	What they scrape Free Dictionary for
Language learners	Build a personal vocabulary list with definitions and audio for any word they look up
NLP engineers	Create a clean, structured dataset of words, parts of speech, and examples for model training
Content writers	Check definitions, synonyms, and usage examples while drafting or editing
Educators	Generate word lists with phonetics and examples for lesson plans or quizzes
App developers	Populate a dictionary or flashcard app with pronunciation audio and definitions

What it does

This Actor collects word definitions, phonetics, pronunciation audio, parts of speech, and example usage from the Free Dictionary API and returns each word as one flat row.

• 🌍 12 languages: English, Hindi, Spanish, French, Japanese, Russian, German, Italian, Korean, Brazilian Portuguese, Arabic, and Turkish.
• 🔊 Pronunciation audio: each word includes a direct link to its audio file when the dictionary provides one.
• 📚 Full lexical data: definitions, parts of speech, phonetics, synonyms, antonyms, and usage examples in one row.
• ⚡ Batch lookup: feed it a list of words and it fetches them all in one run, up to a million words.
• 🔑 No API key: the Free Dictionary API is public, so there is nothing to register or configure.

Results export to CSV, JSON, Excel, or XML, or straight from the API.

What you can do with Free Dictionary data

📖 Build a vocabulary dataset.

An NLP engineer feeds a list of 10,000 English words and exports the definitions, parts of speech, and examples to CSV for a language model training set.

🎧 Create a pronunciation guide.

A language teacher looks up 200 French words and uses the audio links and phonetics to build a listening exercise for students.

✍️ Check usage while writing.

A content writer runs a list of tricky words through the Actor and reviews the definitions and example sentences to choose the right one.

📱 Populate a flashcard app.

An app developer scrapes 5,000 Spanish words with audio and definitions, then imports the JSON into a spaced-repetition flashcard system.

🌐 Compare translations.

A researcher looks up the same 50 words in English, Spanish, and German to compare definitions and usage across languages.

Why choose this scraper

	What you get
No API key	The Free Dictionary API is public, so you can start scraping immediately without registration or authentication.
12 languages	Look up words in English, Hindi, Spanish, French, Japanese, Russian, German, Italian, Korean, Brazilian Portuguese, Arabic, or Turkish.
Pronunciation audio	Each word includes a direct link to its audio file when the dictionary provides one, ready for your app or dataset.
Flat output	Every word comes back as one row with definitions, phonetics, parts of speech, synonyms, antonyms, and examples, so you can export to CSV, JSON, Excel, or XML without reshaping.
Batch up to a million	Set maxItems to collect as many words as you need in a single run, from a handful to a million.

How it compares

This Actor focuses on the Free Dictionary API, while Urban Dictionary covers slang and the other Free Dictionary actors offer similar core lookups with different feature sets.

Feature	ParseForge	Urban Dictionary	Free Dictionary API	Free Dictionary Scraper
Standard dictionary definitions	Yes	Not listed	Yes	Yes
Pronunciation audio links	Yes	Not listed	Yes	Yes
Slang definitions	Not listed	Yes	Not listed	Not listed
Multi-language support	Yes, 12 languages	Not listed	Not listed	Yes
Batch word lookup	Yes, up to 1,000,000 words	Not listed	Not listed	Not listed
No API key required	Yes	Not listed	Yes	Yes

Configure the run

Drive the Actor with a list of words and a language code, and set a maximum number of words to collect per run. The Actor looks up each word and returns every match in one flat row. The Input tab lists every parameter.

A first run with the defaults:

{
 "words": [
 "serendipity",
 "ephemeral",
 "ubiquitous"
 ],
 "maxItems": 10
}

A larger pull:

{
 "words": [
 "serendipity",
 "ephemeral",
 "ubiquitous"
 ],
 "maxItems": 200
}

Pricing

Pay-per-result: $0.005 per result collected. You pay only for the results written to your dataset.

Results collected	Approximate cost
100 results	$0.50
1,000 results	$5.00
10,000 results	$50.00

New Apify accounts start with $5 in free credit.

Free users

Free-plan runs return up to 10 results as a preview. Upgrade your Apify plan to collect up to 1,000,000 results per run.

Run it

1. Create a free Apify account with $5 in credit.
2. Open the Free Dictionary Word Definitions Scraper.
3. Set your inputs and any filters, then click Start.
4. Export the results as CSV, Excel, JSON, or XML from the Dataset tab.

Run it programmatically through the Apify API (run-sync-get-dataset-items) or the ApifyClient for JavaScript and Python.

Use with AI agents (MCP)

Give an AI agent live access to Free Dictionary through the Model Context Protocol. Add the Actor to Claude, Cursor, or any MCP client:

$claude mcp add --transport http apify "https://mcp.apify.com?tools=parseforge/dictionaryapi-words-scraper"

Then prompt it in plain language to run the scraper and read back the results.

Troubleshooting

Why am I getting no results?

Check that your words list is not empty and that the language code is correct. If a word is misspelled or not in the dictionary, the API returns no data for that word, but the run should still complete.

Why is the run slow?

The Actor looks up words one by one to avoid overwhelming the API. For large lists, increase the timeout or split the list into multiple runs.

Why are some fields empty?

The Free Dictionary API does not provide every field for every word. For example, some words have no audio or no synonyms. Empty fields are normal.

Can I change the language after starting?

No, the language is set at the start of the run. To change it, create a new run with a different language code.

Why did the run stop before processing all my words?

Check the maxItems setting. The Actor stops after collecting that many words, even if your list is longer.

FAQ

Question	Answer
Do I need an API key to use this Actor?	No. The Free Dictionary API is public and does not require authentication, so you can run the Actor immediately.
Which languages are supported?	English, Hindi, Spanish, French, Japanese, Russian, German, Italian, Korean, Brazilian Portuguese, Arabic, and Turkish. English has the most complete data.
What does each result row contain?	Each row includes the word, its definitions, parts of speech, phonetics, pronunciation audio link, synonyms, antonyms, and example sentences when the dictionary provides them.
How many words can I look up in one run?	You can set maxItems from 1 up to 1,000,000 words per run. The Actor will process the list you provide up to that limit.
What if a word is not found?	The Actor will return an empty result or an error message for that word, depending on the API response, and continue with the next word in your list.
Can I export the results?	Yes. The Actor outputs a flat dataset that you can export to CSV, JSON, Excel, or XML from the Apify platform.
Is there a rate limit?	The Free Dictionary API does not impose rate limits, but the Actor processes words sequentially to be polite to the service.
Can I use this for commercial projects?	The Free Dictionary API data is free to use. Check the API's terms of service for any restrictions on commercial use.
How do I provide the list of words?	Use the words input field, which accepts a list of strings. You can paste them directly or upload a file in the Apify console.
Does it return pronunciation audio?	Yes, when the dictionary provides an audio file, the row includes a direct URL to the audio.

Related actors

Browse the full ParseForge collection for more scrapers.

🆘 Need help? Email parseforge@protonmail.com with your run ID, your input, and what you expected.

⚠️ Disclaimer. This Actor is unofficial and is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or sponsored by DictionaryAPI.dev. It collects only publicly available data. You are responsible for using the collected data in compliance with the source's terms of service and applicable data-protection laws, including GDPR, CCPA, and PIPL. Do not use it to collect personal data unlawfully.