Alphabeticall

RESTful JSON API

The Alphabeticall API provides free, programmatic access to comprehensive dictionary data. Perfect for building language learning apps, writing tools, or research projects.

Base URL

https://alphabeticall.com/api/v1

Authentication

None Required

Format

JSON

CORS is enabled for all origins, making the API accessible from browser-based applications.

Endpoints

List Words

/api/v1/wordset_words

Retrieve a paginated list of words with optional filtering.

Parameter	Type	Default	Description
`page`	integer	1	Page number for pagination
`per_page`	integer	20	Items per page (max: 100)
`letter`	string	-	Filter words starting with letter
`search`	string	-	Search words containing string
`random`	boolean	false	Return random selection
`count`	integer	10	Number of random words (max: 50)

curl "https://alphabeticall.com/api/v1/wordset_words?letter=a&page=2"

Get Single Word

/api/v1/wordset_words/:id

Retrieve a specific word by its ID.

curl "https://alphabeticall.com/api/v1/wordset_words/123"

Search Words

/api/v1/wordset_words/search

Search for words matching a query.

Parameter	Type	Required	Description
`q`	string	Yes	Search query
`exact`	boolean	No	Match exact word only
`page`	integer	No	Page number
`per_page`	integer	No	Items per page

curl "https://alphabeticall.com/api/v1/wordset_words/search?q=example"

Response Format

All endpoints return raw JSON data without wrapper objects. Each word object contains:

{
  "id": 123,
  "word": "example",
  "definition": {
    "word": "example",
    "wordset_id": "a1b2c3d4e5",
    "meanings": [
      {
        "id": "m1a2b3c4d5",
        "def": "a thing characteristic of its kind or illustrating a general rule",
        "speech_part": "noun",
        "example": "it's a good example of how they can collaborate",
        "synonyms": ["instance", "sample", "specimen"],
        "labels": [
          {
            "name": "formal",
            "is_dialect": false
          }
        ]
      }
    ],
    "editors": ["user1"],
    "contributors": ["user2", "user3"]
  }
}

The definition field contains the complete wordset data structure as stored in the database.

Example Usage

JavaScript (Fetch API)

// Search for words
fetch('https://alphabeticall.com/api/v1/wordset_words/search?q=hello')
  .then(response => response.json())
  .then(words => {
    words.forEach(word => {
      console.log(`${word.word}: ${word.definition.meanings[0].def}`);
    });
  });

// Get random words
fetch('https://alphabeticall.com/api/v1/wordset_words?random=true&count=5')
  .then(response => response.json())
  .then(words => console.log(words));

Python

import requests

# Get words starting with 'a'
response = requests.get('https://alphabeticall.com/api/v1/wordset_words?letter=a')
words = response.json()

for word in words:
    print(f"{word['word']}: {word['definition']['meanings'][0]['def']}")

Ruby

require 'net/http'
require 'json'

# Search for exact word
uri = URI('https://alphabeticall.com/api/v1/wordset_words/search?q=ruby&exact=true')
response = Net::HTTP.get(uri)
words = JSON.parse(response)

words.each do |word|
  puts "#{word['word']}: #{word['definition']['meanings'][0]['def']}"
end

Error Handling

The API uses standard HTTP status codes and returns errors in JSON format:

{
  "error": {
    "code": "not_found",
    "message": "The requested word was not found"
  }
}

Status Code	Description
`200`	Success
`400`	Bad Request - Invalid parameters
`404`	Not Found - Resource not found
`500`	Internal Server Error

Usage Guidelines

No rate limiting is currently enforced. The API is free to use!

While we don't enforce rate limits, please be respectful of our resources:

Cache responses when possible

Store frequently accessed data locally to reduce API calls

Use pagination instead of fetching all data

Request data in smaller chunks to improve performance

Implement exponential backoff for retries

Wait progressively longer between retry attempts

Consider using the random endpoint for sampling

Get a representative sample without processing all data

API Documentation