Defining Words Quickly

Written by Eric Wyatt (last updated October 14, 2019)

2

When you read a PDF, e-book, or webpage in Microsoft Edge you might come across a word that you might need help understanding. Perhaps the meaning of the word has escaped your memory, or you just haven't run across the word before. Either way, Microsoft Edge has a very handy feature that can help you find the definition of the word. Best of all, this feature has been available and enabled by default since the October 2018 update.

To test this out, open your desired webpage, e-book, or PDF in Microsoft Edge. Then activate Reading View. (If you don't know how to do that, click this link for further information.)

Select any single word in the text you are reading, and an overlay will appear above the word. (Make sure you select only a single word; this won't work if you select more than that.) This overlay provides a short definition of the word you selected. You can even click on the speaker icon in the overlay and have the word pronounced for you. (See Figure 1.)

Figure 1. A selected word's definition overlay within Microsoft Edge.

With this handy feature you can quickly improve your vocabulary or help provide a better understanding of why the author used a certain word in their writing.

 This tip (13687) applies to Windows 10.

Author Bio

Eric Wyatt

Eric Wyatt is a swell guy (or so his friends tell him). He is a formally trained designer and branding expert, bringing a wide range of skills to his Tips.Net articles. ...

MORE FROM ERIC

Ransomware Defense

Ransomware attacks can cause your system and data to become inaccessible. These dangerous and potentially costly attacks ...

Discover More

Fast Undistracted Web Reading

When using Microsoft Edge, focus on the reading of a webpage with Reader View. Reader View turns off the distractions of ...

Discover More

Adding the Day of the Week to the Taskbar Clock

Sometimes it is helpful to know the day of the week. How do you get the taskbar clock to show the day of the week?

Discover More
More WindowsTips

Understanding Your Hosts File

Your system's Hosts file is an important file that can be used to increase the speed of you network connections, let you ...

Discover More

Moving Your Downloads Folder

If you're on the Internet a lot, chances are you do a lot of downloading. By default, your Downloads folder is on your C: ...

Discover More

Remove Saved Passwords in Edge Chromium

Having Edge store password information can be a time saver and helpful. See how to remove saved passwords within Edge.

Discover More
Comments

If you would like to add an image to your comment (not an avatar, but an image to help in making the point of your comment), include the characters [{fig}] (all 7 characters, in the sequence shown) in your comment text. You’ll be prompted to upload your image when you submit the comment. Maximum image size is 6Mpixels. Images larger than 600px wide or 1000px tall will be reduced. Up to three images may be included in a comment. All images are subject to review. Commenting privileges may be curtailed if inappropriate images are posted.

What is 8 - 5?

2019-10-18 11:53:12

David H.

Vivian. I use the Google Dictionary extension on my chrome browser. Here's the link: https://chrome.google.com/webstore/detail/google-dictionary-by-goog/mgijmajocgfcbeboacabfgobmjgjcoja?hl=en


2019-10-14 11:16:33

Vivian W

Is Edge the only browser with this great feature?


Newest Tips