About EnglishReference
A dictionary that teaches you how and when to use a word, not just what it means.
Most dictionaries tell you a word's definition and leave the hard part to you: knowing when it sounds natural, who says it, and what it pairs with. EnglishReference is built for English-as-a-foreign-language learners and the teachers who work with them, so it leads with the things a definition alone never captures — register (is this formal, slang, or neutral?), collocations (the words that travel together), CEFR levels (A1–C2), and example sentences at three levels of difficulty.
It's an independent project, built and maintained by a developer with a background in language teaching. No investors, no content farm — just one person trying to make a reference that earns a learner's trust.
How entries are made
Entries are drafted with the help of large language models, then put through a pipeline designed to keep them honest:
- Grounded against references. Draft definitions are checked against established sources such as Wiktionary so the model can't quietly invent a word or attach the wrong sense.
- Validated automatically. Every entry runs through structural and consistency checks — CEFR level, part of speech, register tags, and example tiers all have to line up before it can ship.
- Reviewed by a human. Flagged and high-traffic entries are read by a person. When a definition latches onto the wrong sense of a common word, we null it and regenerate it rather than leave it live.
The pipeline is deliberately conservative: we would rather show nothing than show a plausible-sounding wrong answer. If you spot a mistake, please tell us — corrections from real learners and teachers are the fastest way the dictionary gets better.
What you'll find on a word page
Definitions in plain English, IPA and a phonetic breakdown, CEFR level, common collocations, register and domain tags, three-tier example sentences, word families, and the pitfalls learners actually hit (the "don't say discuss about" kind). A Teacher/Student toggle adjusts how much detail you see, so the same page works for a quick lookup or a lesson plan.
Questions, corrections, or ideas? Reach us on the contact page.