Comparison

WordWeb Dictionary vs Merriam

Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.

Head to head
About

WordWeb Dictionary

This app provides a comprehensive offline English dictionary and thesaurus with fast searching, spelling suggestions, definitions, and usage examples. It offers extensive word data and advanced search filters without requiring an internet connection.

Highlights
  • Offline dictionary and thesaurus
  • Fast searching
  • Spelling suggestions
  • Definitions and usage examples
  • Synonyms and related words
  • Advanced search filters
  • Bookmark and history support
Features
Read full description

The WordWeb English dictionary and thesaurus: fast searching, spelling suggestions, definitions, usage examples, synonyms, related words - and no adverts. An offline audio version is available separately. The comprehensive WordWeb dictionary database includes: - 285,000 words, phrases and derived forms - 225,000 word sense definitions - 70,000 usage examples - 85,000 text pronunciations - Synonyms, similar and related words - N. American, British, Australian and international English A version with 70,000 professionally recorded audio pronunciations is available as a separate product. The intelligent word entry suggests possible correct spellings as you type, as well as listing words that sound the same or are often confused. Additional features include the ability to drill down on any word in a definition, full bookmark support and history. Search features include: - Alphabetical listing - Spelling suggestions - Sounds-like and often-confused - 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, and it's free. Chambers dictionary and thesaurus are also available, and you can cross-reference to both Chambers and old Oxford dictionary apps from WordWeb.

About

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.

Highlights
  • Ad-free experience
  • 15,000+ premium entries
  • Offline dictionary access
  • Voice search functionality
  • Daily Word of the Day
  • Vocabulary-building word games
  • Integrated thesaurus
Features
Currently charting
Read full description

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

WordWeb Dictionary4 screens
Merriam4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is price: WordWeb Dictionary at Free against Merriam's $9.99. WordWeb Dictionary also leads on review sentiment (90% vs 82%). Merriam's advantage is ratings volume (22K vs 268) and rating (4.8 vs 4.6). On update cadence, ads, in-app purchases and 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

CostPrice · In-app purchases · Ads · Monetization

WordWeb Dictionary is free to download; Merriam costs $9.99 up front. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Merriam holds the better App Store score, 4.8 against 4.6. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Merriam has 22K ratings behind it against 268, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews complicate that: 90% of WordWeb Dictionary's written reviews are positive against 82% of Merriam's, so the app with the better star average is not the one people write more warmly about.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Both ship on a similar rhythm, roughly every 5 months. The most recent releases landed on October 16, 2026 and October 18, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard6 real differences · 5 level
WordWeb Dictionary versus Merriam: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterWordWeb DictionaryMerriam
PriceFree — better$9.99
Rating4.6 (268 ratings)4.8 (22K ratings) — better
Positive reviews90.1% of reviews — better82.0% of reviews
Number of ratings26822K — better
Update frequencyEvery 5 monthsEvery 5 months
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNoNo
MonetizationFree — betterFreemium
Best chart rank—#9 — better
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPodiPhone, iPad, iPod, Apple Watch — better
Requires iOS15.515.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size77 MB238 MB
Age rating4+12+
DeveloperAntony LewisMerriam-Webster, Inc.

Customer experience

WordWeb Dictionary

All ratings268 ratings
Positive90.3%
Neutral1.9%
Negative7.8%
Written reviews625 reviews
Positive90.1%
Neutral3.5%
Negative6.4%

Merriam

All ratings22,135 ratings
Positive97.5%
Neutral1.2%
Negative1.2%
Written reviews516 reviews
Positive82.0%
Neutral6.2%
Negative11.8%

User reviews

WordWeb Dictionary

From 268 App Store ratings

What we love

  • 🚀 Fast and efficient
  • 👍 Simple and user-friendly
  • 🔒 No ads or data tracking
  • 💡 Offline functionality
  • 👍 Comprehensive definitions

Room to improve

  • 🐛 Occasional crashes or bugs
  • 🔍 Limited word suggestions
  • 📏 Needs adjustable text size
  • 🔀 Difficulty clearing search history

Merriam

From 22K App Store ratings

What 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 Dictionary

Reported bugs

2 issues
  • Text input field not working on some devices
  • Definitions not updating with latest changes

Requested features

4 requests
  • Add audio pronunciation
  • Expand thesaurus and etymology features
  • Implement a random word generator
  • Allow customizing word list display

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

None

WordWeb Dictionary

No in-app purchases

None

Merriam

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is WordWeb Dictionary free?
WordWeb Dictionary is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is Merriam free?
Merriam costs $9.99, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, WordWeb Dictionary or Merriam?
Merriam is rated higher. WordWeb Dictionary averages 4.6 out of 5 from 268 ratings, while Merriam averages 4.8 from 22K ratings.
Do WordWeb Dictionary or Merriam have ads?
Neither WordWeb Dictionary nor Merriam shows ads.
Which is updated more often, WordWeb Dictionary or Merriam?
WordWeb Dictionary ships an update every 5 months, and Merriam every 5 months. Most recently, WordWeb Dictionary was updated on October 16, 2026 and Merriam on October 18, 2026.

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