While the first English dictionaries go back to the early 17th century, Dictionary.com emerged on the scene quite a bit later in 1995. Founded by Brian Kariger and Daniel Fierro, Dictionary.com marks one of the first attempts to bring a traditional reference tool into the digital age — and since then the site has been committed to innovation and accessibility.
“Kariger and Fierro had noted the increasing reliance on the Internet for information and saw an opportunity to make dictionaries and language reference materials widely accessible to a global audience,” says Dan Kort, Dictionary.com’s Senior Product Manager. “Their aim was to create a digital platform where users could quickly find definitions, synonyms, translations, and other linguistic tools, democratizing access to language knowledge beyond traditional printed dictionaries.”
As the oldest online dictionary, Dictionary.com has become a source of trusted linguistic information for millions of users — from students to teachers to word enthusiasts. As times change and language evolves, the team at Dictionary.com remains culturally relevant through its Word of the Day/Year (WOD/WOY) features, which reflect the latest language trends.
“Our mission is based on 4 pillars: accessibility, education, innovation, and inclusivity,” says Dan. “We believe in removing language barriers, as everybody deserves to know what words mean and how to use them. We always want to embrace diverse identities and social movements in definitions and content. The bottom line is a dictionary is a timeless educational tool that shouldn’t be paywalled or gatekept.”
This means that efforts to monetize Dictionary.com could never involve strategies that would restrict free and open access. So over a decade ago, Dictionary.com teamed up with Google to build an ad strategy that would sustain its business without getting in the way of open, accessible information.
