More Words
LookWAYup is bigger than most published dictionaries - about 250,000 entries in English alone. By comparison, different editions of Webster's have sixty to eighty thousand words (but any dictionary can legally call itself "Webster's"). Each LookWAYup translation language has up to 80,000 entries, again much more than most online translation dictionaries, and it's the only one to give full definitions.Inflected Forms
The above numbers don't even include inflected forms: plural, past tense, comparative, and so on. We haven't counted words like "women", "did", and "harder". If we had, it could be over half a million entries. LookWAYup finds words in any form, it changes them to their dictionary form automatically.Do you use another site such as the excellent OneLook site to look up words? You could be missing half the words - the inflected forms that aren't listed on online dictionary search sites. If you use LookWAYup first (it's also easier to use, see below) and select "OneLook" in your "Second Opinion" options, you'll be sure not to miss anything.
Easier to Use
LookWAYup is designed to catch words in their natural habitat. First, it is not fooled by inflected forms (see above) or small misspellings (see below). Second, it has all sorts of convenient ways to link up with words, by going where the words are or by easily accepting the words that you bring it.On any screen, you can type in the word you want or edit the last one you entered. You can drag and drop words from just about any other open window, including your e-mail or word processor. Don't worry about plurals and punctuation or other characters. Cut and paste if you prefer. If you put it on your browser, which can be done without putting any software on your PC, you can double-click a word on a page then press the LookWAYup button or select it from the right click menu. Within a LookWAYup page, you can double-click any word for a definition - even the translated words.
Spelling Correction
LookWAYup has intelligent spell checking, so you don't have to know how a word is spelled to look up its spelling. You don't have to compensate for the ignorance of the dictionary by typing "*" or "wildcard expressions". You don't have to learn a programming language or guess which part of a word is misspelled. LookWAYup uses phonetics and knowledge of common typos to automatically fix the spelling. It knows alternative and U.S. or U.K. spelling. And in other languages don't sweat the accents. Put them in or not, no need to replace your keyboard - LookWAYup will find the word.Better Thesaurus, Better Translation
The thesaurus is integrated with the dictionary using the "More..." link. There is no need to guess for which meaning is this a synonym. Same for translation. Try it. Translate "act" to another language using any other online translation dictionary. We won't embarass them by linking to them. Now try it here and pick a language.Better Technology
Try putting it on your browser. It doesn't ask you to choose the version for your browser - it's smart enough to figure it out. Does it work on Firefox? Ask them. You can get it through their add-on menu. How about Opera? Ask Opera. In your Opera menu, click on "Get Web panels..." Tens of thousands are using it on Palm wireless browsers, and millions have it on other wireless computers and phones.What about on Internet Explorer? Here we give you two choices: put it on your personal toolbar (10 seconds) or as an extra button and right-click menu (11 seconds). It uses the latest features of your browser except the ones that invade your privacy.
LookWAYup will work on any web page. Unlike other similar dictionaries, it doesn't break down when there are frames. It works within privacy rules and the limits set by the web site, and doesn't interfere with the display or proper functioning of the web page. Most importantly, it respects your privacy.
No Spyware
We take your privacy seriously. It makes us poorer but we sleep better at night. Everything that runs on your computer is open for inspection. If you are so inclined, we will walk you through the source code. This is why when you put it on your computer, there is no warning asking you if you trust us. We follow P3P (Platform for Privacy Preferences) specification standards. We respect the Javascript Security model.Many online dictionary tools read whatever you are looking at without telling you, including online e-mail. We chose not to do this. It doesn't look over your shoulder at what you're doing. It wakes up only when you press the LookWAYup button and then only reads what you're telling it to read. Some versions also look up general information about the document but not the body of the document and not enough to identify the document.