Wordnik

Wordnik is an online English dictionary, thesaurus, and language resource focused on showing how words are actually used. Rather than limiting entries to a conventional editorial definition, the service combines dictionary and thesaurus material with automatically collected examples from a very large text corpus. This approach allows Wordnik to present information for a much broader vocabulary than a typical print dictionary, including uncommon, newly emerging, technical, and informal words. The project was launched by a group of former Oxford University Press dictionary specialists. Its principal cofounders were lexicographer Erin McKean, editorial director Grant Barrett, chief computational lexicographer Orion Montoya, and engineer Anthony Tam. Wordnik.com began as a closed beta in February 2008 and became publicly accessible in June 2009. The company was initially based in San Mateo, California. Wordnik's content has drawn on established reference sources including the Century Dictionary, the American Heritage Dictionary, WordNet, and the GNU Collaborative International Dictionary of English. Wiktionary has also served as an important source of words and citations. In addition to definitions, the site has offered example sentences, pronunciations, tags, favorites, comments, and user-created word lists. Its central product idea is that a word can be understood not only through a formal definition but also through numerous authentic examples of its use. The service has used automated programs to gather material from the Internet and display word-related information without applying a conventional layer of editorial selection to every example. Wordnik has generally distinguished its model from fully user-written dictionaries: users could comment, tag, favorite, and organize words, while definitions were not ordinarily submitted directly by users. In September 2009, Wordnik acquired the social language website Wordie.org, transferring its accounts and data to Wordnik. In January 2011, McKean and Tam relaunched the broader company as Reverb Technologies, Inc., headquartered in Palo Alto, while continuing to operate Wordnik.com. Under the Reverb name, the business explored additional language and publishing technologies, including Reverb for Publishers, a blog plug-in designed to identify related articles. By December 2011, the company had reported raising $12.8 million in venture financing. In 2015, it ran a Kickstarter campaign intended to expand Wordnik's coverage by adding one million words that were absent from major English dictionaries. Wordnik's published statistics in the early 2010s illustrated the scale of its database, including billions of words, millions of unique words, and hundreds of millions of example sentences. The available reference material does not establish the organization's current ownership, headquarters, operating status, or financial condition.

Wordnik emerged from the work of dictionary and language specialists associated with Oxford University Press. Erin McKean, Grant Barrett, Orion Montoya, and Anthony Tam developed a service intended to broaden the conventional dictionary experience by combining established reference content with computational collection of real-world usage examples. Wordnik.com entered closed beta in February 2008 and opened to the public in June 2009. Its initial base was in San Mateo, California. The service assembled definitions and related information from sources such as the Century Dictionary, the American Heritage Dictionary, WordNet, GCIDE, and Wiktionary. It also gathered examples from online text through automated systems. The resulting interface could show definitions, synonyms, antonyms, pronunciations, tags, comments, favorites, and lists alongside a large number of contextual examples. A defining feature of Wordnik was its emphasis on evidence of usage. Instead of treating a dictionary entry as a single authoritative definition, the service sought to help readers understand a word by displaying many examples drawn from a broad corpus. This supported coverage of obscure and newly appearing vocabulary and helped distinguish Wordnik from smaller, more static reference products. The service did not ordinarily permit users to write dictionary definitions directly, although it provided several social functions for annotation and organization. In September 2009, Wordnik expanded its community and data resources through the acquisition of Wordie.org, a social language website. Wordie accounts and data were subsequently moved to Wordnik. In January 2011, the company behind the site was relaunched as Reverb Technologies, Inc. in Palo Alto by McKean and Tam. Wordnik remained an operating service under the Reverb name, while the company also pursued adjacent publishing and language-technology products. One such product, Reverb for Publishers, was described as a plug-in for blogs that helped locate related articles. The company reported $12.8 million in venture financing by December 2011, although the available material does not identify the investors or provide a later financing history. In 2015, Wordnik turned to Kickstarter for a project focused on adding one million words missing from major English dictionaries. This initiative reflected the site's long-standing interest in vocabulary expansion and in documenting language beyond the boundaries of traditional reference works. Early-2010s Wordnik statistics reported billions of words, millions of unique words, hundreds of millions of example sentences, and substantial levels of user activity through comments, tags, favorites, pronunciations, and lists. The supplied sources do not establish the present corporate structure, current leadership, ownership, headquarters, or whether all historical services remain active.

• 2015

  Million-word Kickstarter project

  [1]Wordniken.wikipedia.org

  Wordnik began a Kickstarter campaign to expand its dictionary coverage by one million words.

• 2011

  Reverb Technologies relaunch

  [1]Wordniken.wikipedia.org

  The company was relaunched as Reverb Technologies, Inc., with Wordnik continuing as a core service.

• 2009

  Public launch

  [1]Wordniken.wikipedia.org

  Wordnik opened its service to the public in June after its initial beta period.

• 2009

  Wordie.org acquisition

  [1]Wordniken.wikipedia.org

  Wordnik acquired the social language site Wordie.org and transferred its user accounts and data.

• 2008

  Closed beta begins

  [1]Wordniken.wikipedia.org

  Wordnik.com began operating as a closed beta online dictionary and language resource.

A data-rich, corpus-based English language reference service that emphasizes authentic usage examples and broad vocabulary coverage rather than only conventional dictionary definitions.

• Online dictionary and thesaurus · 2009

  Wordnik.com

  Wordnik's primary web service combines dictionary and thesaurus material with pronunciations, tags, comments, favorites, lists, and automatically collected contextual examples. Its corpus-oriented approach is designed to expose readers to a wider range of vocabulary and usage evidence than a conventional dictionary entry.

• Publishing technology

  Reverb for Publishers

  A Reverb-era plug-in for blogs and publishers intended to identify related articles and connect published content with relevant language or subject matter. The available material does not establish its current availability.

• 2015Wordnik Million Words Kickstarter

  United States · Online

  Wordnik used Kickstarter to seek support for finding and adding one million words that were not represented in major English dictionaries.

  Outcome. The supplied sources do not state the campaign's financial result or implementation outcome.

  Source

• 2011

  Relaunch as Reverb TechnologiesStrategy

  Background

  The company pursued opportunities beyond the Wordnik dictionary website.

  Action taken

  Erin McKean and Anthony Tam relaunched the company under the Reverb Technologies name while continuing to operate Wordnik.com.

  Aftermath

  The business added publishing and related-content tools, including Reverb for Publishers.

  Source

• 2009

  Acquire Wordie.orgM&A

  Background

  Wordnik sought to expand its social language features and user-generated organizational data.

  Action taken

  It purchased Wordie.org and moved the site's accounts and data to Wordnik.

  Aftermath

  Wordie.org's community and data became part of the Wordnik service.

  Source

1. 1Wordniken.wikipedia.org
2. 2Wordnik official websitewordnik.com