Merriam Webster USB Dictionary and Thesaurus

Remember the good 'ol days when that hundred-pound slab of text was the only way to beef up your vocabulary? Merriam Webster, a well-defined name in the business, has stuffed over 300,000 definitions and 500,000 synonyms onto a 256MB USB drive (with a couple hundred megs to spare, we understand). Aside from having the entire dictionary and thesaurus at your disposal, it comes with a few other tools to help proof your masterpiece: phonetic spell correction, a grammar guide, confusable function alerts -- a feature that alerts the user if there's a potential mix-up in similar sounding words -- and even a crossword puzzle solver to show that newspaper who's boss. All things we could probably use around here at Engadget HQ, we know, we know. So if your word processor's checking functions have failed you once too many, or you simply find comfort in always having the right words to say, the $49 drive could prove quite meaningful.

[Via Popgadget]

[Josh* @ Jul 21st 2006 5:04AM]

sounds a lot like dashboard's dictionary/thesaurus widget, with a few more extras tacked on. Doesn't sound like anything that can be priced $50 with a straight face, though. For the M-W diehards out there, then?

[zenprime @ Jul 21st 2006 5:42AM]

Most likely this will also be tacked on to a desk set of books or other things and listed as "Free USB-key dictionary and Thesaurus, a $49.99 value!"

[DM @ Jul 21st 2006 6:26AM]

Hah, hardly anything... Ive got the Oxford dictionary (with thesaurus) on my Symbian Mobile phone for ages, and thats only 6 MB... next!

[austin @ Jul 21st 2006 6:28AM]

I have the M-W software on my computer. Nice when I don't have an internet connection, and words in the results are clickable (useful in thesaurus mode when I can't quite remember the word I'm thinking of). It can also integrate with your word processor's dictionary. This is especially helpful if you write technical or jargon-heavy pieces. The software itself is ~$45, so $5 for a USB key that makes it portable isn't too shabby.

Dongles bother me, but if you need portability it's not a bad deal. A little odd-looking, but whatever.

[Pomme @ Jul 21st 2006 6:42AM]

@ Josh : You don't have a net connection every time of the day (for widgets or online dictionary), and I guess you don't have your personal computer when you're out. And even if you have a laptop, you could not have a net connection...

Just to say that it could be really helpful.

[RisingSunofNihon @ Jul 21st 2006 7:45AM]

I'd pay $50 bucks for that. As other commenters have said, you don't always have a net connection when you need it. And I'd rather carry around that little USB drive than a couple of thick books.

[shirizaki @ Jul 21st 2006 7:45AM]

I'd like it in a downloadable program. I just bought a 1GB flash drive, ad it doesn't tickle my loins to have to purchase another flash drive just to have a sweet dictionary and thesaurus.

Of course I already have the internet. I expect something like this to show up on portableapps.com or something pretty soon.

[Alex @ Jul 21st 2006 9:17AM]

Errrr, dictionary.com anyone?

[shmengie @ Jul 21st 2006 9:35AM]

how in the world can you have any program(s) on a 256mb thumb drive with 'a couple hundred megs to spare'? i feel like i'm in that movie 'scanners' and you're trying to explode my mind!!

[Ian @ Jul 21st 2006 10:05AM]

Well if it's mostly text, then there's no reason for it to take up a lot of space. There's only a little bit of coding for the interfaces, I'd assume.

[DT @ Jul 21st 2006 11:16AM]

@ Pomme,
The dictionary widget doesn't require an internet connection. The entire thing is on your computer.

[peter @ Jul 21st 2006 1:34PM]

worthless.

these type of resources are online for free. those that say "...no connection to the internet is required..." - um, don't know about you, but i very, very rarely find myself on a computer that isn't connected to the internet anymore. our public transit even has free wi-fi. so it seems like a good idea that's simply 2 years too late...

[tristanfey @ Jul 21st 2006 1:56PM]

RE: shmengie

As DM said, he has the Oxford version which is only 6MB. If M-W's version is about the same, that leaves you 250MB. I think that qualifies as a couple hundered MBs to spare.

[mike @ Nov 9th 2007 2:50PM]

would u please give me the registeration code of MW mobile dictionary collegiate,please cause i downloaded it and cant use it.and thank u for your perfect crop.i like to learn english and dont have enough money to buy it.