Browser-like buttons help the app take two steps forward and one back.

Merriam-Webster’s Colligate Dictionary crams 225,000 print definitions into this iPhone app with few other updates. While its search narrows down words quickly, alphabetical browsing is limited, and it doesn’t pronounce words out loud. At least it adds web browser-like forward- and back-buttons for a modest iPhone extra.


We searched for words by typing out the first letters, narrowing down the full dictionary until we found the correct entry. This worked well enough, but we also wanted to leasurely swipe through a list of the letters. Instead, flicks churn through the entire dictionary; good luck getting past the “A” entries with this technique.

The actual entries include helpful information, even without iPhone extras. Most include etymological details, although these are often presented in abbreviated code that makes sense for a print volume but could have been clearer here. Best of all, we bounced between entries by tapping new words, but words in forms other than their root often led nowhere.