Translators regularly hit a word they half-know: an unusual term in the source text, or a translation that feels almost right but not quite. The dictionary lookup lets you check it without leaving the translation interface.

Looking up a Word#

The dictionary lives in the toolbar at the bottom of the translation interface.

1. Click Dictionary lookup in the toolbar.
2. Type the word or expression you want to look up.
3. Press Enter.

What You Get Back#

The dictionary returns, for the word you looked up:

• the part of speech — noun, verb, adjective, and so on,
• a definition, written in the language you are translating from,
• up to five synonyms, which is often the fastest way to find a better word than the one you first thought of,
• one or two example sentences showing the word in use,
• and a list of translations into the language you are currently translating into. Each translation comes with its own part of speech and an example sentence, which is what makes it possible to tell two candidate translations apart.

Because the definition is given in the source language and the translations in your target language, the panel adapts to whichever language pair you are working on.

If no definition can be found for the term, the panel tells you so — this normally means a typo, a product name, or a string that is not really a word.

Dictionary or Term Base?#

The dictionary is a general-purpose reference. It has no knowledge of your product, and nothing you look up is recorded as a decision.

The Term Base is the opposite: it is your glossary, holding the terms your team has agreed on and the translations they must be given. When you settle a question about how a term should be translated in your product, record the answer in the Term Base so the rest of the team inherits it.

Use the dictionary to understand a word. Use the Term Base to decide one.

Next Up: Machine Translation. Set up Google Translate, Microsoft Translator, Gemini and Mistral on your project… »