Dictionary.com vs Collins COBUILD Dictionary
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Dictionary.com
Access over 2 million trusted definitions and synonyms for English words. Enhance your vocabulary with daily new words, example sentences, and audio pronunciations. This app provides grammar tips and editorial content to deepen your understanding of the English language.
- 2 million+ definitions and synonyms
- Word of the Day
- Example sentences
- Audio pronunciations
- Grammar tips
- Search history
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Download the #1 free dictionary app! With more than 2 million trusted definitions and synonyms, this English dictionary and thesaurus app for iPhone is optimized for your mobile device. Improve your English vocabulary, whether you're just starting your learning journey or you're already a word wizard. Install the app for access to definitions and synonyms whenever and wherever you need them — no bulky books necessary. Flip to dark mode to give your eyes a break, or stick to the traditional set-up. In addition to the trusted reference content from Dictionary.com and Thesaurus.com, this education app includes: Word of the Day ► Learn a new word each day and expand your vocabulary. Example Sentences ► Browse real-world example sentences to see how words are used. Idioms ► Explore how words can gain new meanings. Rhymes ► Finish every verse. Audio Pronunciations ► Never mispronounce another word. Grammar ► Get grammar tips, word usage, and more to improve your writing. Editorial Articles ► Explore editorial content for features on words, the origins of the English language, and the nuances that make English so complicated and unique. Search History ► Customize your recently searched word list, and never forget the newest words you’ve learned. Dictionary Shuffle ► Think you know ALL the definitions? Prove it with Dictionary Shuffle, which chooses a word at random and brings you to the definition. A-Z Dictionary ► What’s more exciting than ... wait for it … browsing the Dictionary?! We’ve now made it even easier, with the A–Z Dictionary.
Collins COBUILD Dictionary
This comprehensive English language reference tool offers clear definitions in full sentences, drawing from a vast database of real-world text. Enhance your writing and understanding with detailed word entries, example sentences, and advanced search and learning tools.
- Clear definitions in full sentences
- Extensive word database
- Thousands of example sentences
- Search autocomplete
- Keyword lookup
- Camera and voice search
- Favorites and recent word lists
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You will find all the words you need, defined clearly in full sentences. Including a range of 17,000 headwords, 63,000 references and 25,000 examples, the information in this dictionary has been carefully chosen in order to allow the dictionary user to be a confident language user. It will enable you to write better in English as well as understand the language better. The Collins COBUILD Intermediate Dictionary is based on a huge database of text, both written and spoken, called The Bank of English. The Bank of English® contains over 650 million words, and it is the basis of all the statements that COBUILD makes about the language. The entries contain a detailed account of the main uses and meanings of every word. Each of the forms is listed at the start of each entry, along with information about alternative spellings, if any exist. Explanations are written in full sentences, show typical grammatical behavior and give a clear description of meaning. The thousands of examples are taken directly from The Bank of English®, showing typical patterns of usage and grammatical structure. LATEST APP UPDАТES: • Learn in style with any of the four colorful new themes – The colorful layout will turn your learning experience into an enjoyable routine. Customize your dictionary and benefit from the cheerful mood your favorite color brings you. • Dive right into the intricacies of the language - With new and convenient Home page, sleeker and more intuitive visual layout, as well as innovations in the speed of searches, you can get to the desired entry faster than ever. SEARCH TOOLS - quickly find words with the clear, functional, and easy-to-use interface. Designed to provide the most comprehensive search experience, the dictionary combines several search tools to match or predict what are you looking for, including: • Search autocomplete helps you find words quickly by displaying predictions as you type. • Keyword lookup allows you to search within compound words and phrases. • Camera search looks up words in the camera viewfinder and displays results in seconds. • Voice search helps you find an entry when you don’t know how a word is spelled. Looking for a specific word but don't know how it's spelled? We've got you covered with our automatic ‘Fuzzy filter’ to correct word spelling, as well as ‘Wild card’ ('*' or '?') to replace a letter or entire parts of a word. LEARNING TOOLS - engaging features that help you further enhance your vocabulary. Designed to give you freedom to structure your studies, the dictionary combines several learning tools to help you be more organized, including: • ‘Favorites’ that allow you to create custom folders with lists of words. • Recent list which helps you to easily review looked-up words. • Swipe-to-delete functionality in the Recent and Favorites menus. • Word-of-the-day option to teach you a new word every day. Feel excited by the new word or definition you just learned? Share your discovery with friends on social media, email or any other option available on your device.
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is price: Dictionary.com at Free against Collins COBUILD Dictionary's $11.99. Dictionary.com also leads on update cadence (every 3 weeks vs every 9 months) and rating (4.8 vs 4.4). Collins COBUILD Dictionary's advantage is in-app purchases (none vs 9) and ads (none vs shown). On device support there is nothing between them.
Scored on Price · Rating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings · Update frequency · Ads · In-app purchases · Monetization · Best chart rank · Devices · Requires iOS
Dictionary.com is free to download; Collins COBUILD Dictionary costs $11.99 up front. Dictionary.com sells 9 one-off in-app purchases. Collins COBUILD Dictionary asks for nothing beyond the download.
Dictionary.com holds the better App Store score, 4.8 against 4.4. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Dictionary.com has 328K ratings behind it against 46, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews complicate that: 26% of Dictionary.com's written reviews are positive against 59% of Collins COBUILD Dictionary's, so the app with the better star average is not the one people write more warmly about.
Dictionary.com ships an update every 3 weeks, Collins COBUILD Dictionary every 9 months. The most recent releases landed on October 15, 2026 and October 12, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Dictionary.com | Collins COBUILD Dictionary |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free — better | $11.99 |
| Rating | 4.8 (328K ratings) — better | 4.4 (46 ratings) |
| Positive reviews | 25.6% of reviews | 59.2% of reviews — better |
| Number of ratings | 328K — better | 46 |
| Update frequency | Every 3 weeks — better | Every 9 months |
| Ads | Yes | No — better |
| In-app purchases | Yes | No — better |
| Monetization | Free with in-app purchases — better | Paid |
| Best chart rank | #148 — better | — |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad | iPhone, iPad, iPod — better |
| Requires iOS | 16.0 | 9.0 — better |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 35 MB | 68 MB |
| Age rating | 12+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Curiosity Media | MobiSystems, Inc. |
Customer experience
Dictionary.com
Collins COBUILD Dictionary
Bugs and requests
Dictionary.com
Reported bugs
5 issues- Notifications not working as expected
- Inconsistent behavior when tapping on words
- Offline dictionary not downloading properly
- Frequent crashes and freezes on various devices
- Paid features not unlocking or resetting unexpectedly
Requested features
5 requests- Dedicated section to display all forms of a word
- Ability to create and manage custom word lists
- Improved offline mode with more functionality
- Better integration with other productivity apps
- More language support beyond just English
Collins COBUILD Dictionary
Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.
In-app purchases
Dictionary.com
- Rhyming Dictionary$1.99
- Grammar & Tips$1.99
- Idioms & Phrases$1.99
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- Example Sentences$2.99
- Science Dictionary$2.99
- Encyclopedia$2.99
- Offline Dictionary$2.99
- Remove Ads$2.99
- Power Pack$5.99
Collins COBUILD Dictionary
No in-app purchases







