Add Words to Your iPhone Dictionary to Avoid Embarrassing Autocorrect Mistakes; Here's How

What will you do if you come across a new word that you don't recognise? Try searching for the term on Google. If you have an iPhone, instead of surfing the web, you can utilise the built-in iPhone dictionary to learn the meanings of words. This dictionary also serves as the basis for autocorrect on the iPhone, and you can add new terms to it.

Let's look at how to utilise the iPhone dictionary and how to add new terms to it in this piece.

How to Use the iPhone Dictionary

An English dictionary is available for typing by default on your iPhone. You'll get typing suggestions, autocorrect, and lookup results based on this. In addition to English, the iPhone includes dictionaries in Spanish, Chinese, French, Italian, and other languages.

You are free to use as many dictionaries as you want. However, keep in mind that enabling many dictionaries may make it appear cluttered while looking up the definition of a word. Here's how to expand the iPhone dictionary to include new languages.

On your iPhone, go to Settings > General. Then, at the bottom of the screen, scroll down and tap Dictionary.

You'll find a list of all dictionaries in several languages on the Dictionary screen. Simply tap on the dictionary you require (for example, English (US)) to enable it. Then, on the left, you'll see a blue tick and on the right, download progress.

That dictionary is ready to use once the download is finished.

Similarly, depending on your needs, you can choose and download multiple dictionaries. Make sure you only choose language dictionaries, not translation dictionaries, while making your selection.

Spanish-English, for example, will translate a Spanish term into English, whereas Spanish will provide explanations for Spanish words.

How to Use the Dictionary on Your iPhone

After you've enabled it, you can use the iPhone Dictionary to look up the definition of a word in any app, including Safari, Notes, and Photos. You can even use the Dictionary function in apps that aren't native to iOS, such as Gmail. Let's look at how to use the iPhone dictionary to discover word definitions.

Assume you're reading an article on Safari and need to look up the definition of a word. Simply long-press the word and select LookUp from the list of possibilities that displays in the tiny menu.

Then, on your screen, you'll see a new pop-up menu containing the word's definition. You will see the meanings from all of the dictionaries if you have enabled multiple dictionaries for the same language.

Keep in mind that the iPhone dictionary only displays the definition of a single word. When you try to choose numerous words, you'll be presented with choices such as Siri Suggestions, Wikipedia search, and so on.

This dictionary will be used by your iPhone for autocorrect and typing recommendations in addition to the Lookup results. Read on to learn how to add more terms to your iPhone dictionary.

How to Add Words to the Dictionary on Your iPhone

Do you want to add a few additional terms to your iPhone lexicon so that Autocorrect can recognise them? If you often use terms that aren't in the dictionary, your iPhone will remember them and propose them to you the next time you start typing.

The text substitution feature can also be used to add new terms and create shortcuts for them. Let's have a look at how to accomplish this.

On your iPhone, go to Settings > General. Select Keyboard from the General panel.

Tap Text Replacement on the next screen, then the Plus icon in the Text Replacement screen.

Let's imagine you want the iPhone dictionary to detect your initials and replace them with your name automatically. To create a shortcut, type your name in the Phrase box and your initials in the Shortcut box, then press Save in the top right corner.

You can now see your name among the suggestions if you input your initials when typing a message or an email.

If you don't want to build a shortcut and just want to add the term, you can do so. You'll see the term you added in recommendations as you type in that case as well.

How to Delete the Dictionary App from Your iPhone

Do you believe you have too many dictionaries enabled on your iPhone? With a single tap, you can effortlessly get rid of the undesired ones at any time. On your iPhone, go to Settings > General > Dictionary to do so.

Then simply tap on the vocabulary you'd like to delete. That is all there is to it. The dictionary has been disabled, and the Bluetick is no longer visible. Of course, you can activate that dictionary again at any time in the future.

iPhone Dictionary: Frequently Asked Questions

Is there a dictionary on my iPhone?

The built-in iPhone dictionary may be found under Settings > General on an iPhone running iOS 11 or later.

Is it necessary to have an internet connection in order to utilise the dictionary on my iPhone?

No. You don't need an internet connection to search up terms and discover their meanings; you can do so even if you're not connected to the internet.

Is it possible to add new terms to the iPhone dictionary?

Yes. To add new terms to the built-in iPhone dictionary, use the Text Replacement feature (Settings > General > Keyboard > Text Replacement). When you accept an iOS spelling recommendation, the term is added to the dictionary.

Your iPhone's keyboard relies on the dictionary for recommendations and fixes. To make typing easier, use the above approach to add custom words and new terms to this dictionary.