Dictionary API Documentation

# Use this endpoint to make a GET requests to the API
https://api.apiverve.com/v1/dictionary
                 

Dictionary is a simple tool for getting word definitions. It returns the definition a word.

To use this API, you need an API key. You can get one by creating an account on apiverve.com and visiting your dashboard.

Important: Ensure that this API is enabled from within your dashboard to use it in your application. If not, you may receive a 403 error

Most of our APIs are also available on and

{
  "status": "ok",
  "error": null,
  "data": {
    "word": "apple",
    "definitionCount": 5,
    "definitions": [
      "The fleshy pome or fruit of a rosaceous tree (Pyrus malus) cultivated in numberless varieties in the temperate zones. Note: The European crab apple is supposed to be the original kind, from which all others have sprung.",
      "(bot.)  Any tree genus Pyrus which has the stalk sunken into the base of the fruit; an apple tree.",
      "Any fruit or other vegetable production resembling, or supposed to resemble, the apple; as, apple of love, or love apple (a tomato), balsam apple, egg apple, oak apple.",
      "Anything round like an apple; as, an apple of gold. Note: Apple is used either adjectively or in combination; as, apple paper or apple-paper, apple-shaped, apple blossom, apple dumpling, apple pudding. Apple blight, an aphid which injures apple trees. See Blight, n. -- Apple borer (Zoöl.), a coleopterous insect (Saperda candida or bivittata), the larva of which bores into the trunk of the apple tree and pear tree. -- Apple brandy, brandy made from apples. -- Apple butter, a sauce made of apples stewed down in cider. Bartlett. -- Apple corer, an instrument for removing the cores from apples. -- Apple fly (Zoöl.), any dipterous insect, the larva of which burrows in apples. Apple flies belong to the genera Drosophila and Trypeta. -- Apple midge (Zoöl.) a small dipterous insect (Sciara mali), the larva of which bores in apples. -- Apple of the eye, the pupil. -- Apple of discord, a subject of contention and envy, so called from the mythological golden apple, inscribed \"For the fairest,\" which was thrown into an assembly of the gods by Eris, the goddess of discord. It was contended for by Juno, Minerva, and Venus, and was adjudged to the latter. -- Apple of love, or Love apple, the tomato (Lycopersicum esculentum). -- Apple of Peru, a large coarse herb (Nicandra physaloides) bearing pale blue flowers, and a bladderlike fruit inclosing a dry berry. -- Apples of Sodom, a fruit described by ancient writers as externally of air appearance but dissolving into smoke and ashes plucked; Dead Sea apples. The name is often given to the fruit of Solanum Sodomæum, a prickly shrub with fruit not unlike a small yellow tomato. -- Apple sauce, stewed apples. [U. S.] -- Apple snail or Apple shell (Zoöl.), a fresh-water, operculated, spiral shell of the genus Ampullaria. -- Apple tart, a tart containing apples. -- Apple tree, a tree naturally bears apples. See Apple,",
      "-- Apple wine, cider. -- Apple worm (Zoöl.), the larva of a small moth (Carpocapsa pomonella) which burrows in the interior of apples. See Codling moth. -- Dead Sea Apple. (a) pl. Apples of Sodom. Also Fig. \"To seek the Dead Sea apples of politics.\" S. B. Griffin. (b) A kind of gallnut coming from Arabia. See Gallnut.  To grow like an apple; to bear apples. Holland."
    ]
  },
  "code": 200
}
                

Get Word Definition

Token Usage: 1

Get the definition of a word

QUERY PARAMETERS

Field	Type	Description
word	string	(Required) The word for which you want to get the definition (e.g., apple)

SAMPLE REQUEST QUERY

curl --request GET \
--url 'https://api.apiverve.com/v1/dictionary?word=apple' \
--header 'x-api-key: YOUR_API_KEY'
                

RESPONSE CONTENT TYPES

The Dictionary API supports the following response content types:

application/json, application/xml, application/yaml

You can specify the response content type by setting the Accept header in your request. If you don't specify a content type, the API will default to application/json.

Authentication

# Here is a curl example
curl \
-X GET https://api.apiverve.com/v1/dictionary \
-H 'x-api-key={{YOUR-API-KEY}}' \
-F 'auth=true' \
                

The Dictionary API uses an API Key to authenticate requests. You can view and manage your API key by visiting your dashboard.

Your API keys carry many privileges. To keep them from being abused, please do not share the keys on client-side code or Github etc. Keep them very secure.

To use any API, you must have it enabled from within your dashboard. Disabled APIs will fail to respond to your requests.

All requests made to the API must contain the header x-api-key in each of your requests. API requests without authentication will fail.

All API requests must also be made over secure HTTPS. Requests made over plain HTTP will fail.

Error Code	Meaning
401	Your request was made with invalid credentials. This error also appears when you don't pass the x-api-key header in your request.
403	Typically, this occurs when you are trying to access an API that you have not enabled.

Rate Limits

{
    "status": "error",
    "data": null,
    "error": "Rate limit exceeded. Please upgrade your subscription plan."
}
                

Each subscription has its own rate limit. Your limit is based on your subscription plan (free or paid). If you exceed your limits, don't worry. You can always upgrade or downgrade at any time.

When you reach your limit, the service will stop responding and typically return an HTTP 429 response status code. The error will also contain a details JSON.

The Dictionary API uses the following error code:

Error Code	Meaning
429	You have exceeded your rate limit and further requests will be denied until the next cycle.

Errors

For reference, the Dictionary API uses the following error codes:

Error Code	Meaning
Code	Message
200	The request was successful. The response will include the requested data.
400	The request was invalid. The response will include a message that explains the error.
401	The request was not authorized. Usually, this means that the API key is missing or invalid.
403	This means that the request was trying to access a resource that it does not have permission to access.
404	This means that the resource you are trying to access does not exist.
429	This means that you have reached the rate limit. The response will include a Retry-After header that indicates how many seconds you need to wait before making a new request.
500	This means that there was an error on the server side. We are alerted when this happens and we will work to fix it as soon as possible.