Collins English app for iPhone and iPad

4.4 ( 224 ratings )

Reference Education
Developer: Ultralingua, Inc.

11.99 USD

Current version: 2.9, last update: 4 years ago
First release : 02 Oct 2008
App size: 24.59 Mb

Over 140,000 definitions • Conjugates thousands of English verbs • Hundreds of usage notes and examples • No internet connection required
Ultralingua makes apps for people who love languages. You can count on our English dictionary and thesaurus to provide all the content you need, along with extra features that help you get the most out of the dictionary. Use our verb conjugation tool to find complete conjugations of thousands of verbs in all standard forms, and the thesaurus to find synonyms and antonyms when you need them with no internet connection required.
DICTIONARY:
• Over 75,000 entries with 140,000 definitions
• Tap-and-hold any word or phrase and choose "Speak" from the popup menu to hear that word spoken using Apples built-in text-to-speech feature.
• Thousands of biographic and geographic entries, as well as etymologies (root word histories)
• Slang, technical language, and regional differences in spelling and usage
• Hundreds of usage notes about troublesome constructions
• Smart search results in case you misspell or mistype
• Search-as-you-go displays words and narrows your selection as you type
VERBS:
• Conjugations for thousands of English verbs
• Includes all standard tenses and forms
• Smart search finds infinitives and catches misspellings
• Must-have reference tool for any student or language professional
• On iPhone/iPod touch, conjugate a verb from the dictionary results by tapping it
MORE:
• Translate numerals into English text with the number tool
• Tap the history button to view the 50 most recent dictionary definitions, verb conjugations, and more in one place. Sort the list alphabetically or by date, and choose to clear the list completely or delete one entry at a time.
• No internet connection required
• Change your device settings to view the app display in English, Spanish, French, Italian, Portuguese, or German
View our reviews below to see why users love this app, and remember to let us know what you think!
Are you learning English? A monolingual English dictionary is a must-have tool for any English language learner. This app includes conjugations of thousands of English verbs in all standard forms. The all-English data also helps immerse students in the language, which is shown to increase proficiency and retention.
This universal app will run on iPad, iPhone, and iPod touch, so you can purchase it once and load it onto all your devices. The iPad and iPhone/iPod touch versions look and behave differently to give you a great experience on every device you own. The interface will change, but you’ll always have the same outstanding language data and tools inside.
Dictionaries are available from Ultralingua for many languages, including combinations of English, Spanish, French, Italian, Portuguese, German, and more. See what else we have to offer by searching for Ultralingua in the App Store.
Follow us on Twitter and become a fan on Facebook for app news, language learning tips, and more:
http://www.twitter.com/ultralingua
http://on.fb.me/ifI8Hy

Pros and cons of Collins English app for iPhone and iPad

Collins English app good for

Rich selection of words, lots of biographical entries, related words and phrases grouped with the initial lookup. You can tap on a word in a definition to look up that word, then backup, view history, or keep tapping on words till the itch is scratched. After working with it some more, I may end up downgrading my evaluation of some other dictionary apps. Not as fast as WordBook, and definitely a lot more expensive, but it does provide quite a bit of extra value.

Fast, does have many example sentences, and definitions based on context - very useful and unique to Collins. Other dictionaries fall short here. Maybe an enhanced search feature in future updates? Very satisfied.

Would love to see the following additions: 1) explination of how to pronounce the words. 2) sample mp3 to click and hear the word spoken. 3) more usage examples for a word. 4) function to solve anagrams

Some bad moments

Just awful. Way to confusing to use. It also has bad definitions. Every time I would look at a definition, there would be a more complicated word in the definition than the original word I was looking up. And believe me when I say Im not an idiot. Its like the dictionary kept trying to sound intelligent and wound up being totally confusing. Total waste of money.

I mean, who a heck cares about conjugations of English verbs? In French, for instance, this feature is very helpful to many because there are many irregular conjugations; however, it is absolutely worthless in English. (They mustve just copied and pasted the interface from French dictionary they also offer. Thats why the button reads -ir.) I expect them to remove this feature and add example sentences or auto- correction as you type, just to make this app worth the 25 bucks. Their customer service doesnt reply questions, which is the worst of all. Other than that, this app is okay. Very nice interface.

Dear Collins Thanks for upgrading the app all the time but work on the content too. The dictionaries have so many words missing. Please upgrade the product not just the packaging. I only really care about using it for translation.

Write review