I Built A Dictionary Apps, Words, API-Style

Day 3 of 100 Days Coding Challenge: Python

Today’s adventure is building a dictionary app using a free API. Sure, it’s the budget airline of dictionary apps—it may not get you into Oxford, but it can probably land a gig judging the middle school spelling bee.
Creating this app triggered a wave of linguistic nostalgia. I remembered my early days of learning English… and by “early,” I mean roughly the first twenty years. After nearly three decades in North America, I still get prepositions wrong—just with more confidence and the occasional dramatic flourish.
As for setup, I had to install the requests library. I couldn’t remember if I had it installed already or if I had just dreamed I did it one night in a caffeine-fueled coding fever dream. I installed it anyway, just to be safe—because nothing says “I’m a developer” like doubting your own system and doing it twice.

Today’s Motivation / Challenge

I wanted to create something that felt practical yet beginner-friendly. A dictionary app fits that sweet spot perfectly—it’s a great excuse to practice working with APIs, and it actually does something useful. Besides, I’ve always loved words. They’re like Lego pieces for thoughts, except when they come with silent letters and inconsistent plurals. That’s when they become Jenga.

Purpose of the Code (Object)

This program prompts the user to enter a word, then looks up its definition using an online dictionary API. It prints a simple explanation, giving the app the feel of a pocket dictionary—without the bent corners or the chance of being used as a coaster. The app runs in a loop, allowing users to look up multiple words at once, which makes it feel less like a one-trick pony and more like a low-budget tour guide to the English language.

AI Prompt

Write a Python program that asks the user to enter a word and uses an API to retrieve and display a simple definition. Let the user repeat this until they type “exit”.

Functions & Features

• Accepts user input for a word to define
• Connects to a free dictionary API to fetch the definition
• Displays the first available definition in plain text
• Loops so the user can define multiple words without restarting

Requirements / Setup

Python 3.10 or higher
Install the requests library: pip install requests

Minimal Code Sample

import requests

def get_definition(word):
url = f"https://api.dictionaryapi.dev/api/v2/entries/en/{word}"
response = requests.get(url)
return response.json()[0]["meanings"][0]["definitions"][0]["definition"]

This function takes a word, queries the dictionary API, and returns the first definition found.

dictionary_app

Notes / Lessons Learned

Initially, I had to restart the app every time I wanted to look up a new word. So I added a loop—because I’m that kind of person now. Look at me, looping like a full-grown coder. I even thought about adding pronunciation support, example sentences, or text-to-speech features… but then I blinked and lost all motivation. There’s always Day 4.
This “baby dictionary” does well with common words. Throw something obscure at it and it shrugs—politely. Still, it’s the kind of app I wish I’d had when I first arrived in North America, back when I thought “raining cats and dogs” was a warning to check for falling animals.

Optional Ideas for Expansion

• Add pronunciation audio or phonetic spelling
• Include example sentences to see the word in context
• Integrate a text-to-speech library to read the definitions aloud