{"id":1494,"date":"2006-07-11T17:35:16","date_gmt":"2006-07-11T12:05:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.quickonlinetips.com\/archives\/2006\/07\/onelook-reverse-dictionary-search-find-a-word\/"},"modified":"2026-10-12T09:50:29","modified_gmt":"2026-10-12T04:20:29","slug":"onelook-reverse-dictionary-search-find-a-word","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.quickonlinetips.com\/archives\/2006\/07\/onelook-reverse-dictionary-search-find-a-word\/","title":{"rendered":"OneLook Reverse Dictionary: Find the Word You Can&#8217;t Remember (2026)"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>How often have you known exactly what you mean but couldn&#8217;t think of the word? A normal dictionary can&#8217;t help, because you need the word to look it up. A reverse dictionary works the other way: you describe the idea, and it suggests words. The <strong>OneLook reverse dictionary<\/strong> has been our favourite free tool for this since 2006, and it is still going strong in 2026. Here&#8217;s how to use this <strong>reverse dictionary<\/strong>, with tips and a few alternatives.<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-60639\" src=\"https:\/\/www.quickonlinetips.com\/archives\/wp-content\/uploads\/reverse-dictionary.jpg\" alt=\"OneLook reverse dictionary search\" width=\"867\" height=\"684\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.quickonlinetips.com\/archives\/wp-content\/uploads\/reverse-dictionary.jpg 1419w, https:\/\/www.quickonlinetips.com\/archives\/wp-content\/uploads\/reverse-dictionary-300x237.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.quickonlinetips.com\/archives\/wp-content\/uploads\/reverse-dictionary-1024x808.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/www.quickonlinetips.com\/archives\/wp-content\/uploads\/reverse-dictionary-150x118.jpg 150w, https:\/\/www.quickonlinetips.com\/archives\/wp-content\/uploads\/reverse-dictionary-768x606.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 867px) 100vw, 867px\" \/><\/p>\n<p><strong>Quick answer:<\/strong> Go to the OneLook Thesaurus and Reverse Dictionary, type a short description of what you mean (for example &#8220;fear of heights&#8221; or &#8220;word for a happy accident&#8221;), and press Enter. OneLook lists matching words, best matches first. Click any word to see its definitions from many dictionaries.<\/p>\n<div id=\"ez-toc-container\" class=\"ez-toc-v2_0_88 counter-hierarchy ez-toc-counter ez-toc-custom ez-toc-container-direction\">\n<p class=\"ez-toc-title\" style=\"cursor:inherit\">Table of Contents<\/p>\n<label for=\"ez-toc-cssicon-toggle-item-6acc7b16a6284\" class=\"ez-toc-cssicon-toggle-label\"><span class=\"ez-toc-cssicon\"><span class=\"eztoc-hide\" style=\"display:none;\">Toggle<\/span><span class=\"ez-toc-icon-toggle-span\"><svg style=\"fill: #1a202c;color:#1a202c\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" class=\"list-377408\" width=\"20px\" height=\"20px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" fill=\"none\"><path d=\"M6 6H4v2h2V6zm14 0H8v2h12V6zM4 11h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2zM4 16h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2z\" fill=\"currentColor\"><\/path><\/svg><svg style=\"fill: #1a202c;color:#1a202c\" class=\"arrow-unsorted-368013\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" width=\"10px\" height=\"10px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" version=\"1.2\" baseProfile=\"tiny\"><path d=\"M18.2 9.3l-6.2-6.3-6.2 6.3c-.2.2-.3.4-.3.7s.1.5.3.7c.2.2.4.3.7.3h11c.3 0 .5-.1.7-.3.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7zM5.8 14.7l6.2 6.3 6.2-6.3c.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7c-.2-.2-.4-.3-.7-.3h-11c-.3 0-.5.1-.7.3-.2.2-.3.5-.3.7s.1.5.3.7z\"\/><\/svg><\/span><\/span><\/label><input type=\"checkbox\"  id=\"ez-toc-cssicon-toggle-item-6acc7b16a6284\" checked aria-label=\"Toggle\" \/><nav><ul class='ez-toc-list ez-toc-list-level-1 ' ><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-1\" href=\"https:\/\/www.quickonlinetips.com\/archives\/2006\/07\/onelook-reverse-dictionary-search-find-a-word\/#How_the_OneLook_reverse_dictionary_works\" >How the OneLook reverse dictionary works<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-2\" href=\"https:\/\/www.quickonlinetips.com\/archives\/2006\/07\/onelook-reverse-dictionary-search-find-a-word\/#How_to_use_it\" >How to use it<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-3\" href=\"https:\/\/www.quickonlinetips.com\/archives\/2006\/07\/onelook-reverse-dictionary-search-find-a-word\/#Power_tips_patterns_and_filters\" >Power tips: patterns and filters<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-4\" href=\"https:\/\/www.quickonlinetips.com\/archives\/2006\/07\/onelook-reverse-dictionary-search-find-a-word\/#Who_finds_a_reverse_dictionary_useful\" >Who finds a reverse dictionary useful?<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-5\" href=\"https:\/\/www.quickonlinetips.com\/archives\/2006\/07\/onelook-reverse-dictionary-search-find-a-word\/#Alternatives\" >Alternatives<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-6\" href=\"https:\/\/www.quickonlinetips.com\/archives\/2006\/07\/onelook-reverse-dictionary-search-find-a-word\/#FAQ\" >FAQ<\/a><ul class='ez-toc-list-level-3' ><li class='ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-7\" href=\"https:\/\/www.quickonlinetips.com\/archives\/2006\/07\/onelook-reverse-dictionary-search-find-a-word\/#Is_OneLook_free\" >Is OneLook free?<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-8\" href=\"https:\/\/www.quickonlinetips.com\/archives\/2006\/07\/onelook-reverse-dictionary-search-find-a-word\/#What_is_the_difference_between_a_thesaurus_and_a_reverse_dictionary\" >What is the difference between a thesaurus and a reverse dictionary?<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-9\" href=\"https:\/\/www.quickonlinetips.com\/archives\/2006\/07\/onelook-reverse-dictionary-search-find-a-word\/#Does_it_work_for_phrases\" >Does it work for phrases?<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/li><\/ul><\/nav><\/div>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"How_the_OneLook_reverse_dictionary_works\"><\/span>How the OneLook reverse dictionary works<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.onelook.com\/thesaurus\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">OneLook<\/a> indexes hundreds of online dictionaries and reference sites. When you type a phrase, it finds words whose definitions are conceptually close to it, then ranks them. The best answers appear at the top, and very common or exact matches are highlighted.<\/p>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"How_to_use_it\"><\/span>How to use it<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<ol>\n<li>Open the OneLook Thesaurus page.<\/li>\n<li>Type a short description in plain words: &#8220;someone who loves books&#8221;, &#8220;very old&#8221;, &#8220;smell after rain&#8221;.<\/li>\n<li>Look at the first few results; those are usually the useful ones. &#8220;Smell after rain&#8221; brings up <em>petrichor<\/em>.<\/li>\n<li>Click a word to see definitions from sources such as Merriam-Webster, Oxford, Wiktionary and others.<\/li>\n<li>If the results are off, restate the idea in two or three simple words.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Power_tips_patterns_and_filters\"><\/span>Power tips: patterns and filters<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>OneLook also understands letter patterns, which helps with crosswords and word games:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><code>?<\/code> matches any single letter, <code>*<\/code> any number of letters.<\/li>\n<li><code>#<\/code> matches a consonant and <code>@<\/code> a vowel.<\/li>\n<li><code>\/\/letters\/\/<\/code> unscrambles letters.<\/li>\n<li><code>pattern:meaning<\/code> combines both: <code>b*:happy<\/code> finds words starting with b that mean happy, such as <em>blissful<\/em>.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>You can also sort and filter results, for example by rhyme, syllables or part of speech.<\/p>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Who_finds_a_reverse_dictionary_useful\"><\/span>Who finds a reverse dictionary useful?<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Writers and bloggers<\/strong> hunting for the precise word or a fresher synonym.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Students and language learners<\/strong> who know the meaning but not the word in English.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Crossword and word-game fans<\/strong>.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Anyone<\/strong> with a word on the tip of the tongue.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Alternatives\"><\/span>Alternatives<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.merriam-webster.com\/thesaurus\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Merriam-Webster Thesaurus<\/a><\/strong>: synonyms and antonyms when you already have a close word.<\/li>\n<li><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.reversedictionary.org\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">ReverseDictionary.org<\/a><\/strong>: another describe-the-word tool.<\/li>\n<li><strong>AI chatbots<\/strong> such as ChatGPT, Gemini or Claude are good at &#8220;what&#8217;s the word for&#8230;&#8221; questions; double-check the meaning in a dictionary.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>More handy web tools: an <a href=\"https:\/\/www.quickonlinetips.com\/archives\/2012\/07\/google-free-online-scientific-calculator\/\">online scientific calculator<\/a> and a quick guide to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.quickonlinetips.com\/archives\/2009\/08\/im-sms-chat-acronyms-emoticons\/\">chat acronyms and emoji meanings<\/a>.<\/p>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"FAQ\"><\/span>FAQ<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<h3><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Is_OneLook_free\"><\/span>Is OneLook free?<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n<p>Yes, OneLook is free to use without an account.<\/p>\n<h3><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"What_is_the_difference_between_a_thesaurus_and_a_reverse_dictionary\"><\/span>What is the difference between a thesaurus and a reverse dictionary?<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n<p>A thesaurus needs a starting word and gives similar words. A reverse dictionary starts from a description or definition.<\/p>\n<h3><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Does_it_work_for_phrases\"><\/span>Does it work for phrases?<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n<p>Yes. Results include phrases and idioms as well as single words.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>How often have you known exactly what you mean but couldn&#8217;t think of the word? A normal dictionary can&#8217;t help,&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":60639,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_kad_post_transparent":"","_kad_post_title":"","_kad_post_layout":"","_kad_post_sidebar_id":"","_kad_post_content_style":"","_kad_post_vertical_padding":"","_kad_post_feature":"","_kad_post_feature_position":"","_kad_post_header":false,"_kad_post_footer":false,"_kad_post_classname":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[52],"class_list":["post-1494","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-blogging","tag-popular"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.quickonlinetips.com\/archives\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1494","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.quickonlinetips.com\/archives\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.quickonlinetips.com\/archives\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.quickonlinetips.com\/archives\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.quickonlinetips.com\/archives\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1494"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.quickonlinetips.com\/archives\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1494\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":64166,"href":"https:\/\/www.quickonlinetips.com\/archives\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1494\/revisions\/64166"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.quickonlinetips.com\/archives\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/60639"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.quickonlinetips.com\/archives\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1494"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.quickonlinetips.com\/archives\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1494"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.quickonlinetips.com\/archives\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1494"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}