dictionary-lookup
GitHub通过Free Dictionary API查询英文单词定义、发音（含IPA和音频）、词源及同义词。严格区分API数据与模型知识，支持多词性整理，处理404缺失情况，仅限英语。
Trigger Scenarios
Install
npx skills add mohitagw15856/pm-claude-skills --skill dictionary-lookup -g -y
SKILL.md
Frontmatter
{
"name": "dictionary-lookup",
"description": "Look up word definitions, pronunciation, etymology and synonyms with zero API keys — the Free Dictionary API via curl, with honest handling of words it doesn't know. Use when asked define a word, how do you pronounce this, what's the origin of a word, or synonyms for something. Produces the definition set organized by part of speech, IPA pronunciation with audio link, and the rerunnable command — with the model's own knowledge clearly separated from the fetched source."
}
Dictionary Lookup Skill
A dictionary lookup sounds like something a language model shouldn't need — until the question is "is this actually a word," "what's the IPA," or "give me a citable source," where fetched beats recalled. The Free Dictionary API answers over keyless HTTPS with definitions, phonetics, audio, and origins. This skill fetches, formats by part of speech, and keeps a clean line between what the source says and what the model adds — because a dictionary answer's whole value is knowing which is which.
What This Skill Produces
- The entry — definitions grouped by part of speech, with example sentences where the source has them
- Pronunciation — IPA text and the audio-file link when available
- Synonyms/antonyms — from the source, supplemented (and labeled) by the model when thin
- The command — exact curl, rerunnable; and an honest miss-report when the API lacks the word
Required Inputs
Ask for these if not provided:
- The word — and the sense if context suggests one ("mean" the verb, the adjective, or the statistic?)
- What they actually need — a quick meaning, pronunciation, etymology, or a citable check that a word exists — the output leads with it
- Language note — this API is English-only; other languages get an honest redirect (Wiktionary manually) rather than a fake answer
Framework: Fetch, Format, and the Honesty Line
- The call:
curl -s "https://api.dictionaryapi.dev/api/v2/entries/en/serendipity"→ JSON array:phonetic/phonetics[](IPA +.audiomp3 links),meanings[]grouped bypartOfSpeech, each withdefinitions[](withexamplesometimes),synonyms,antonyms, plusoriginon some entries. - Lead with the asked-for thing: a pronunciation question gets IPA in line one, not after four noun senses; an is-it-a-word check gets yes/no plus the entry as proof.
- The miss is information: a 404 means this API lacks the word — common for new coinages, technical jargon, and inflected forms. Report exactly that, try the lemma (running → run), and if the model still knows the word, define it clearly labeled as model knowledge, not the fetched source. Never dress recall as a citation.
- Sense selection over sense-dumping: when context implies a sense, lead with it and compress the others to one line each; "mean" has a dozen senses and the user wanted one.
- Supplement with labels: the API's synonym lists are often thin — model-added synonyms go under "additional (model-suggested)," keeping the source's authority intact for the part that claims it.
Output Format
[word] · [IPA] [· audio link]
[part of speech] — [the leading sense, with example] [Other senses, compressed · other parts of speech]
Origin: [when present in source or asked — labeled if model-supplied] Synonyms: [source list] [· additional (model-suggested): …]
Source: Free Dictionary API · rerun: [exact curl]
[On a 404: "not in this dictionary — tried '[lemma]'; the definition below is model knowledge, not a fetched source"]
Quality Checks
- The asked-for element (meaning/IPA/origin/existence) leads the answer
- Definitions are grouped by part of speech, contextual sense first
- Source content and model additions are visibly separated
- 404s report the miss and try the lemma before falling back
- The rerunnable curl appears
Anti-Patterns
- Do not present model recall as the fetched entry — the label line is the skill's integrity
- Do not dump every sense undifferentiated when context picked one
- Do not fake non-English lookups on an English-only API — redirect honestly
- Do not treat a 404 as "not a word" — it's "not in this dictionary," a much smaller claim
- Do not skip pronunciation when the question was spoken-word-shaped (names, presentations, ESL contexts)
Version History
- 54fad50 Current 2026-07-19 13:24
