If your work involves reading or writing a lot of text on your computer, a dictionary is an indispensable tool for you. It can save you the trouble of looking up a word on the internet and, in turn, aid you in your workflow.

Having a dictionary app on your computer makes it easy to find the meanings of words you encounter every day, check their spellings, and learn more about them, such as their synonyms and antonyms.

Here's a list of the best Linux dictionaries that can help you read, write, and understand a language better.

1. dict

dict dictionary for linux

dict is a CLI-based dictionary for Linux. It's essentially a client for DICT (Dictionary Network Protocol), which provides access to a variety of dictionaries via a uniform interface.

Being a command-line tool, dict is pretty easy to use. To look up the definition of a word with dict, you simply need to use the dict command followed by the word. After which, dict looks it up in the dictionaries hosted at dict.org and returns you its definition. Besides, if you want, you can also look up a word in a specific database for more accurate and relevant meanings/definitions.

In addition to looking up definitions, dict is useful for finding new words as well, thanks to the matching feature. So, for instance, if you want to view a list of four-letter words that start with the letter 't' and end in 'r', you can ask the same to dict, and it will return a list of all such words.

dict Installation

To install dict on Debian/Ubuntu, open the terminal and run the following command:

        sudo apt install dict
    

On other Linux distros, open the package manager, search for dict in there, and install it.

2. GoldenDict

goldendict for linux

GoldenDict is one of the most feature-rich and graphical dictionaries for Linux. It offers a beautiful representation of results rich in colors, images, formatting, and links while also including support for some of the most popular dictionary file formats.

In addition, with GoldenDict, you also get support for Wikipedia, Wikitionary, and other similar websites, so you can pick a reference source based on your preference. Plus, if required, you have the option to use an arbitrary website as your reference to look up definitions of words in GoldenDict.

Adding to the functionality further, GoldenDict also lets you listen to pronunciations, which can come in handy at times. Similarly, another useful feature in GoldenDict is Scan Popup. Once enabled, this feature enables you to translate a word by simply hovering over it and pressing the Shift key.

How to Install GoldenDict

To install GoldenDict on Debian/Ubuntu, run:

        sudo apt install goldendict
    

On Arch Linux, you can install GoldenDict from the AUR:

        yay -S goldendict-git
    

On Fedora, CentOS, or RHEL:

        sudo dnf install goldendict
    

3. Artha

artha dictionary for linux

Artha is a free, offline English dictionary for Linux. It's based on WordNet, a lexical database that provides a wide range of information about words across many languages. So you can rest assured about finding a match when you look up a word in Artha.

Talking about usability, Artha is pretty fluid and easy to use. It includes support for hotkeys, so you can select a word and hit the hotkey to look it up. Then, there's the auto-complete feature, which automatically suggests the word you're spelling to save you time and effort and comes in handy when you want to look up a word you don't know how to spell.

Additionally, Artha also lets you use regex (regular expression) in your searches to narrow down results to those that are more accurate and specific. One feature of Artha that stands out compared to other dictionaries is its tabbed UI, which lets you check synonyms, antonyms, and other useful information with a simple click.

Artha Installation

For installing Artha on Debian/Ubuntu, open the terminal and run:

        sudo apt install artha
    

On Fedora, use:

        sudo yum install artha
    

You can use Yay to install Artha on Arch Linux:

        yay -S artha
    

4. WordNet Browser

wordnet browser for linux

WordNet Browser is a minimal dictionary app for Linux. It's basically a window-based interface for the free and multilingual dictionary database WordNet, developed by Princeton University, that displays relevant results in an easy-to-digest format.

Featuring a minimal interface, WordNet Browser is pretty straightforward to use. When you look up a word on it, it presents you with a bunch of information about that word sorted into different sections, which you can select from a dropdown button at the top to expand.

Occasionally, WordNet results may include meanings with multiple senses, i.e., different meanings under different circumstances. In such cases, the WordNet Browser informs you about the same when you look up a word and gives you the option to restrict the search to one or more specific senses.

How to Install WordNet Browser

Use this command to install the WordNet Browser on Debian/Ubuntu:

        sudo apt install wordnet-gui
    

On Arch Linux, run:

        yay -S wordnet
    

Here's how to install Yay on your Arch-based system if you don't have it installed already.

To install WordNet Browser on Fedora, CentOS, and RHEL, use:

        sudo yum install wordnet
    

5. GNOME Dictionary

gnome dictionary for linux

GNOME Dictionary is yet another minimal but highly functional dictionary app for Linux. While the first look at its UI could indicate that there's not much on offer here, going into the menus suggests otherwise and unveils the true extent of its functionality.

For starters, GNOME Dictionary lets you select a dictionary source and even add a custom one, as per your preference. Then, there's the option to pick a dictionary database from an array of databases, including those in different languages, which expands its scope of use even further.

As for the usability, all you got to do to look up a word in GNOME Dictionary is enter your search term in the search box, and it will return the result from your chosen dictionary database. The returned result includes the definition, verb, and usage examples, with hyperlinks to synonyms, which you can click on to view. Lastly, the software also offers a few keyboard shortcuts to facilitate faster operations.

How to Install GNOME Dictionary on Linux

On Debian/Ubuntu, you can install GNOME Dictionary using:

        sudo apt install gnome-dictionary
    

If you're on Fedora, CentOS, or RHEL, run:

        sudo yum install gnome-dictionary
    

In case of any other Linux distro, you can install GNOME Dictionary from Flathub using:

        flatpak install flathub org.gnome.Dictionary
    

Looking Up Words on Linux Made Easy

A good dictionary software allows you to look up words to learn their definitions, synonyms, antonyms, etc., and, in turn, helps you improve your vocabulary and understand languages better. It's easy to find the right dictionary software for your Linux machine, so you don't have to manually look up words on the internet anymore.

Alternatively, if you often find yourself struggling to find a word—the meaning of which you already know—OneLook Reverse Dictionary can be of use for such times.