How Do I Hear the Pronunciation of a Word in the App
Where is the Audio Pronunciation?
When you search for a word within the app, you’ll be taken to the word’s Dictionary (or Thesaurus) entry. When on a word’s dictionary or thesaurus entry, we list a pronunciation feature that allows you to hear how a word is pronounced; you can listen to pronunciations when online.
Tap the “Speaker” icon to listen to the audio pronunciation.
- The Speaker icon is located on the lower right-corner of the main blue or orange banner, where the word itself is listed.
Can't Hear the Sound/Audio?
In this case, there may be a few things to check, to ensure your device is set up to allow our audio pronunciations.
- Please ensure you've updated the app to the latest version available in the App Store.
- If you've set your device to disallow the Dictionary.com app to have sound, via your device "Settings" or through the first notification prompt it sends, you won't hear the pronunciation. Set the permissions to grant the Dictionary.com's app use of your device's audio.
- Additionally, please check that the volume on your device is turned up. Once you have your volume settings up, try opening the app, searching a word, and tapping the Speaker icon again. You may get a message encouraging to check your volume and sound settings.
To allow our app to play Sound (including the audio pronunciations), please follow these steps:
- Navigate to your device "Settings."
- Tap on "Notifications"( or "Notification Center")
- Then tap on the Dictionary.com App.
- There you can turn on or off the notification settings. Please ensure the option for 'Sound' is turned on. Once it is, you should be able to use the Pronunciation feature, in our app.
Speaker icon missing?
- The Speaker icon is only listed when your device is online and you have the Offline Dictionary turned off. Pronunciations are not available offline/when you have the Offline Dictionary switched on. Instructions for turning the Offline Dictionary on or off, can be found here.
Notes:
- If you've recently upgraded your app, you may have disallowed our app to access your device's sound. In this case, we'd recommend you check the above steps to set this to rights.
- As an American English Dictionary, we have American pronunciations. We don't currently offer other pronunciations, such as British English. See our recommendations for British English: Is there a way to see and hear words in British English?