Products

Merriam-Webster's Elementary Dictionary with Audio (Grades 3-5)

API Product Description

The essential dictionary for children grades 3–5, ages 8–11, with more than 36,000 entries. Expanded usage sentences and phrases include nearly 1,300 quotes from classic and contemporary children's literature. Additional features include word history and synonym paragraphs; pronunciation paragraphs for each letter; child-friendly usage hints; and Greek and Latin word root paragraphs to aid spelling and vocabulary-building.

Data features available in this reference:

Definitions
Examples
Word root and word history paragraphs
Synonym paragraphs
"Headscratcher" language tips
Pronunciation symbols
Audio pronunciations (coming soon)
Spelling suggestions (coming soon)

Formats available:

XML
JSON (Coming soon)

Query options:

Keyword: main headword

API Request URL

XML: http://www.dictionaryapi.com/api/v1/references/sd2/xml/school?key=[YOUR KEY GOES HERE]

Example XML Response

<entry id="school[1]"> <hw hindex="1">school</hw> <pr>ˈskül</pr> <fl>noun</fl> <def> <sn>1</sn> <dt>:a place for teaching and learning</dt> <sn>2</sn> <dt>:a session of teaching and learning <vi>night <it>school</it> </vi> <vi>You'll be late for <it>school</it>.</vi> </dt> <sn>3</sn> <dt>:<sx>schoolhouse</sx> </dt> <sn>4</sn> <dt>:the teachers and pupils of a school <vi>The entire <it>school</it> was at the rally.</vi> </dt> <sn>5</sn> <dt>:a group of persons who share the same opinions and beliefs <vi>a new <it>school</it> of philosophy</vi> </dt> </def> <hi> <pl>Word History</pl> <pt>You may not think of your education as relaxation, but, believe it or not, the word <it>school</it> can be traced back to a Greek word meaning “leisure.” Ancient Greek <it>scholē</it>, “rest, leisure,” came to be applied to the philosophical discussions in which the best of Greek society spent their free time (of which they had a great deal, since slaves did most of the real work). The meaning of <it>scholē</it> was extended to the groups who listened to a particular philosopher, and later to the set of beliefs held by such a group. When Latin <it>schola</it> was borrowed from Greek, the emphasis fell more on the place where a philosopher spoke, and it is the sense “place of instruction” that was ultimately passed to English.</pt> </hi> </entry>

Documentation

XML tag description
DTD
Example XSL for converting XML to HTML (Coming soon)