WordWeb Audio Dictionary vs Merriam
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
WordWeb Audio Dictionary
This app provides a comprehensive English dictionary and thesaurus with extensive definitions, usage examples, and synonyms. It features professionally recorded audio pronunciations for thousands of words, supporting British, US, and Australian variants. Intelligent search suggestions and pattern matching aid in finding words, even for crosswords.
- 70,000 audio pronunciations
- 300,000 words, phrases, and derived forms
- 225,000 word sense definitions
- 70,000 usage examples
- Synonyms and similar words
- British, US, and Australian variants
- Intelligent spelling and sound-alike suggestions
- Pattern-matching word search
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A comprehensive English dictionary and thesaurus with 70,000 professionally recorded audio pronunciations. The WordWeb dictionary database includes: - 300,000 words, phrases and derived forms - 225,000 word sense definitions - 70,000 usage examples - 70,000 audio pronunciations - 85,000 text pronunciations - Synonyms and similar words - British, US and Australian words, pronunciations and spellings The intelligent word entry suggests possible correct spellings as you type, as well as listing words that sound the same or are often confused. In addition there's a fast pattern-matching word search feature, great for crosswords and other puzzles, or finding that word you've forgotten. Search features include: - Alphabetical listing - Spelling, sounds-like and often-confused suggestions - Fast pattern-matching search (*, ?, vowel and consonant) - Filter search results by noun, verb, adjective, adverbs - Customize search options (case, derived forms, etc) No Internet connection is required to use WordWeb (unlike audio in dictionary.com). A smaller version without audio is also available - search iTunes for WordWeb. [To hear sound make sure sound is not muted on your device]
Merriam
Access America's leading dictionary with over 15,000 extra entries for people and places. Enjoy offline access, voice search, and daily vocabulary builders. This app offers expert word guidance with a thesaurus and example sentences.
- Ad-free experience
- 15,000+ premium entries
- Offline dictionary access
- Voice search functionality
- Daily Word of the Day
- Vocabulary-building word games
- Integrated thesaurus
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Get America's most useful and respected dictionary, optimized for your iPhone, iPad, and Apple Watch. Continuously updated with the newest words and meanings, this is the premier iOS app for English language reference, education, and vocabulary building. Key Features: * No ads! * Premium Content: Over 15,000 additional entries covering people and places * Offline access: Complete access to definitions and synonyms whether or not you're connected * Voice Search: look up a word without having to spell it * Word of the Day: learn a new word every day * Word Games: fun, fast quizzes to test your vocabulary * Favorite Words and Search History: keep track of the words that are most important to you * Favorite Word Syncing Through iCloud: share your favorites between devices and on the Web * For Tablets: browse the entire dictionary with a scrolling index * Apple Watch Extension: see the Word of the Day and find watch-sized definitions with voice search Expert Word Guidance: * Integrated Thesaurus: more than 200,000 word choices with examples of their use * Example Sentences: understand how a word is used in context * Audio Pronunciations: voiced by real English speakers, not text-to-speech robots Terms of Use: https://www.merriam-webster.com/terms-of-use
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is price: WordWeb Audio Dictionary at $3.99 against Merriam's $9.99. Merriam's advantage is ratings volume (22K vs 11) and chart position (#6 vs unranked). On rating, review sentiment, update cadence and ads 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
WordWeb Audio Dictionary costs $3.99 and Merriam $9.99 up front. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.
On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 4.8 for WordWeb Audio Dictionary against 4.8 for Merriam. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Merriam has 22K ratings behind it against 11, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews are what separate them: 78% of WordWeb Audio Dictionary's written reviews are positive against 82% of Merriam's.
WordWeb Audio Dictionary ships an update every 3 months, Merriam every 5 months. The most recent releases landed on October 20, 2026 and October 22, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | WordWeb Audio Dictionary | Merriam |
|---|---|---|
| Price | $3.99 — better | $9.99 |
| Rating | 4.8 (11 ratings) | 4.8 (22K ratings) — better |
| Positive reviews | 78.0% of reviews | 82.0% of reviews — better |
| Number of ratings | 11 | 22K — better |
| Update frequency | Every 3 months — better | Every 5 months |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Monetization | Paid | Freemium — better |
| Best chart rank | — | #6 — better |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod | iPhone, iPad, iPod, Apple Watch — better |
| Requires iOS | 15.5 | 15.0 — better |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 244 MB | 238 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 12+ |
| Developer | Antony Lewis | Merriam-Webster, Inc. |
Customer experience
WordWeb Audio Dictionary
Merriam
User reviews
WordWeb Audio Dictionary
From 11 App Store ratingsWhat we love
- 👍 Easy to use
- 👍 Simple interface
- 👍 Ad-free
- 👍 Good value for money
- 👍 Comprehensive dictionary
Room to improve
- 🐛 Audio not working for some users
- 🐛 Inconsistent audio accents
- 🐛 Not fully compatible with VoiceOver
- 🐛 Audio can be too quiet
- 🐛 Lacks IPA
Merriam
From 22K App Store ratingsWhat we love
- 👍 Clear and intuitive layout
- 🚀 Convenient offline access
- 🔍 Comprehensive word definitions
- 🔠 Helpful thesaurus and word games
- 🔊 Useful audio pronunciations
Room to improve
- 🐛 Frequent app freezes and crashes
- ⚠️ Missing words and incomplete definitions
- 🔍 Lack of spell-check and word suggestions
- 🔍 Limited search functionality
- 🔀 Difficulty navigating back to previous words
Bugs and requests
WordWeb Audio Dictionary
Reported bugs
8 issues- Audio version doesn't work
- Sound settings issue (app thinks sound is off)
- VoiceOver compatibility issues
- No sound in the app
- Cannot play audio
Show 3 moreShow fewer
- Audio not working with iOS updates
- Bug in iOS4 version for copying text
- App crashes/sync freezes
Requested features
8 requests- Include Thesauruses
- Add phrases and idioms
- Merge dictionaries into one app
- Make available for iPod Touches
- Add landscape mode
Show 3 moreShow fewer
- Add dark mode option
- Improve VoiceOver compatibility
- Add translation to Russian
Merriam
Reported bugs
4 issues- App freezes and crashes on launch
- Audio pronunciations not working in some cases
- Inconsistent performance across iOS versions
- Syncing issues between devices
Requested features
5 requests- Improved search with spell-check and suggestions
- Ability to mark and review words
- Integration with system search and Siri
- Support for landscape mode and dark mode
- Expanded word coverage and more detailed definitions
In-app purchases
WordWeb Audio Dictionary
No in-app purchases
Merriam
No in-app purchases
Questions
Is WordWeb Audio Dictionary free?
Is Merriam free?
Which has better reviews, WordWeb Audio Dictionary or Merriam?
Do WordWeb Audio Dictionary or Merriam have ads?
Which is updated more often, WordWeb Audio Dictionary or Merriam?
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