Word of the Day
Today’s word
Pick a word of the day for your level
How to actually remember a new word
Reading a definition once rarely makes a word yours. Research on vocabulary learning, summarised in Paul Nation’s Learning Vocabulary in Another Language, keeps finding the same three ingredients: meeting a word several times, in real contexts, spaced out over days.
Each Definio entry is built around that. Start with the meaning, then read the example sentences and notice the words that usually sit next to it. Step through the word’s history: knowing that meticulous comes from Latin metus, “fear”, makes it easier to recall than a bare definition. Then write your own sentence. Finally, save the word and let the vocabulary quiz bring it back in a few days.
If you meet a word elsewhere, look it up in the dictionary, find a better-fitting alternative with the synonym finder, or break it into parts with the Greek and Latin roots guide.
Questions people ask
How is the Definio word of the day chosen?
Every word comes from our own list of 180 entries across five collections: kids, students, SAT & GRE, big words and rare words. A fixed shuffle picks one per day, so everyone sees the same word on the same date and a word does not repeat until the whole list has been shown.
What time does the word of the day change?
At midnight in your own time zone. The page works out today’s date in your browser, so the word changes when your calendar does.
Why learn one word a day instead of a long list?
Vocabulary sticks through spaced, repeated encounters in context, not one-off memorising. One word with its story, a couple of sentences and a try-it-yourself sentence is small enough to do every day, and the quiz brings words back just as you are about to forget them.
Is there a word of the day for kids or students?
Yes. The kids and students pages each have their own daily word drawn from a list written for that age group, with definitions pitched at the right level.
Can I see past words of the day?
The last seven days are listed below today’s word, and every word has its own permanent page. Save any word to your list to review it later in the quiz.