Terms & Conditions

EnglishReference is a free English dictionary that helps teachers explain English and learners use it. By using the site you agree to these terms. If you don't agree with them, please don't use the site.

Using the site

You're welcome to use EnglishReference for personal study and for teaching. You may not misuse the site — for example by scraping it at scale, attempting to disrupt or overload it, circumventing security measures, or copying substantial portions of its content for republication. Automated bulk access is not permitted without our written permission.

Content and accuracy

We work hard to make our entries accurate and pedagogically sound, combining automated quality checks with human spot-review. Even so, language reference is never perfect, and definitions, examples, and usage notes are provided for educational guidance only, without any guarantee of completeness or fitness for a particular purpose. If you spot an error, please tell us via the Contact page and we'll review it.

Intellectual property

Our word definitions, example sentences, usage notes, and the design of EnglishReference are our own work and are protected by copyright. You may quote short excerpts for study or teaching with attribution, but you may not copy or redistribute the content in bulk.

Some reference data is adapted from open sources under their own licences — most idiom meanings, and etymology information, are adapted from Wiktionary, available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike licence. Such material remains available under its original licence.

Advertising and third-party links

EnglishReference is supported by advertising. Ads and some links point to third-party websites that we don't control and aren't responsible for; how those parties handle your data is covered by their own terms and policies. Our own data practices are described in our Privacy Policy.

No warranty and limitation of liability

The site is provided "as is" and "as available", without warranties of any kind. To the fullest extent permitted by law, EnglishReference is not liable for any loss or damage arising from your use of, or inability to use, the site or its content.

Changes to these terms

We may update these terms from time to time. If we make a material change, we'll update this page and the "last updated" date above. Questions? Email us: