# How often do you look up words you don't know? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [December 11, 2013, 2:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-often-do-you-look-up-words-you-dont-know/676040 "2013-12-11T02:28:12Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Lakai](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/9de0a6/32.png) [@Lakai](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lakai)\ **Post date:** [December 11, 2013, 2:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-often-do-you-look-up-words-you-dont-know/676040/1 "2013-12-11T02:28:12Z")
If you’re reading a novel for fun, how often will you look up words you don’t understand? Every word? Words that are essential to understanding the sentence? Or only when you’re in the mood to look up words? ---
**Author:** ![zoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zoid/32/336_2.png) [@zoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/zoid)\ **Post date:** [December 11, 2013, 2:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-often-do-you-look-up-words-you-dont-know/676040/2 "2013-12-11T02:41:28Z")
Since I’m almost never more than 20 feet from a computer I just google terms I don’t know. I do whenever I come across something I don’t know. Sometimes if a book is talking about how a character loves their 1962 Pontiac Grand Prix or something I’ll google that as well to get a look at one. ---
**Author:** ![Slithy\_Tove](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/slithy_tove/32/18248_2.png) [@Slithy\_Tove](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Slithy_Tove)\ **Post date:** [December 11, 2013, 2:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-often-do-you-look-up-words-you-dont-know/676040/3 "2013-12-11T02:41:45Z")
Whenever words pop into my head that I recognize but I’m not sure of. “Otiose” “God, you’re so otiose!” “He is often obstreperous.” This is easier with an iPhone, but I still like to use an old dictionary because I always find other stuff while looking up specific words or dates. ---
**Author:** ![Just\_Ed](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e19b73/32.png) [@Just\_Ed](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Just_Ed)\ **Post date:** [December 11, 2013, 2:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-often-do-you-look-up-words-you-dont-know/676040/4 "2013-12-11T02:42:57Z")
All the time. It’s extremely easy now that I use a Kindle, but even when I read paper books, I always tried to have a dictionary on hand. I used to obsess over getting the best combination of authoritative and convenient dictionaries, and had a collection of them at one point ranging from a huge hardcover unabridged to various paperback “desk” dictionaries. Even now in the digital age I have the OED and Merriam-Webster installed on my desktop and the New Oxford American Dictionary and the American Heritage Dictionary on my iPad. Of course, if the meaning of the questionable word is clear from context, I might not pull up the actual definition immediately, depending on how enthralled I am in my reading. I do, however, try to keep the word in mind and look it up when I take a break. ---
**Author:** ![Inna\_Minnit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/5f8ce5/32.png) [@Inna\_Minnit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Inna_Minnit)\ **Post date:** [December 11, 2013, 2:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-often-do-you-look-up-words-you-dont-know/676040/5 "2013-12-11T02:47:09Z")
It hardly ever happens that I come upon a new word, but yes, I do google for a definition. ---
**Author:** ![Johanna](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johanna/32/8318_2.png) [@Johanna](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johanna)\ **Post date:** [December 11, 2013, 2:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-often-do-you-look-up-words-you-dont-know/676040/6 "2013-12-11T02:49:18Z")
Every single time, my whole life long. ---
**Author:** ![scootergirl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e99b99/32.png) [@scootergirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/scootergirl)\ **Post date:** [December 11, 2013, 2:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-often-do-you-look-up-words-you-dont-know/676040/7 "2013-12-11T02:58:11Z")
I look up the definition if I cannot understand the word even in the context of the sentence. English is my second language. Also, I am in love with on line thesaurases; I use them all the time when writing. ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [December 11, 2013, 3:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-often-do-you-look-up-words-you-dont-know/676040/8 "2013-12-11T03:01:00Z")
I find myself looking up slang terms the most frequently. Just yesterday I learned there’s a thing called froggystyle. I knew the position but I never knew it had a name. ---
**Author:** ![Ethilrist](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ethilrist/32/4604_2.png) [@Ethilrist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ethilrist)\ **Post date:** [December 11, 2013, 3:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-often-do-you-look-up-words-you-dont-know/676040/9 "2013-12-11T03:06:35Z")
True story: I was mowing the lawn one day when I noticed that my three-year-old son was dropping his blocks out the living room window into the garden. I shut down the mower, went to the door and stuck my head inside, and called out to my wife, “Hey, [our son] is defenestrating his toys.” I went back to mowing the lawn. A few minutes later my wife came out, waited for me to stop, and said “You know, when I married the son of an English teacher, I knew you’d eventually use a word I never heard before…” ---
**Author:** ![Trinopus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/2bfe46/32.png) [@Trinopus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Trinopus)\ **Post date:** [December 11, 2013, 3:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-often-do-you-look-up-words-you-dont-know/676040/10 "2013-12-11T03:26:08Z")
> [@Just\_Ed](#): > > All the time. It’s extremely easy now that I use a Kindle, but even when I read paper books, I always tried to have a dictionary on hand. . . . This. And this! (I love the SDMB: I rarely have to do more than “quote and nod” to answer questions!) ---
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [December 11, 2013, 3:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-often-do-you-look-up-words-you-dont-know/676040/11 "2013-12-11T03:41:30Z")
> [@Slithy\_Tove](#): > > Whenever words pop into my head that I recognize but I’m not sure of. “Otiose” “God, you’re so otiose!” You just had to use a word I’m not familiar with, didn’t you? :mad: ---
**Author:** ![Becky2844](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/91b2a8/32.png) [@Becky2844](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Becky2844)\ **Post date:** [December 11, 2013, 5:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-often-do-you-look-up-words-you-dont-know/676040/12 "2013-12-11T17:22:35Z")
Often, but not nearly as much as I mean to. ---
**Author:** ![Prof.Pepperwinkle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/prof.pepperwinkle/32/13627_2.png) [@Prof.Pepperwinkle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Prof.Pepperwinkle)\ **Post date:** [December 11, 2013, 5:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-often-do-you-look-up-words-you-dont-know/676040/13 "2013-12-11T17:25:20Z")
Daily, for nearly 50 years. I used to read dictionaries. (I still would, but somehow it always seems like the zygote did it.) ---
**Author:** ![Draelin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ce73a5/32.png) [@Draelin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Draelin)\ **Post date:** [December 11, 2013, 5:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-often-do-you-look-up-words-you-dont-know/676040/14 "2013-12-11T17:37:33Z")
I usually only do it if I can’t decipher the meaning from context. And I did just have to look up “otiose.” ---
**Author:** ![jrsone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/f0a364/32.png) [@jrsone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jrsone)\ **Post date:** [December 11, 2013, 5:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-often-do-you-look-up-words-you-dont-know/676040/15 "2013-12-11T17:41:11Z")
Usually. With google being in reach at all there is no reason not to for me. When i’m using my Kindle app, it’s built in, so I use that frequently. I like to “feel” smart. Emphasis on feel. ---
**Author:** ![Crotalus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/crotalus/32/41_2.png) [@Crotalus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Crotalus)\ **Post date:** [December 11, 2013, 5:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-often-do-you-look-up-words-you-dont-know/676040/16 "2013-12-11T17:46:21Z")
Daily. One of the best things about getting my first smart phone was that it put a dictionary in my pocket at all times. It’s even better now that I do much of my reading on a tablet; the dictionary app is always in the background. ---
**Author:** ![bup](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/6bbea6/32.png) [@bup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bup)\ **Post date:** [December 11, 2013, 6:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-often-do-you-look-up-words-you-dont-know/676040/17 "2013-12-11T18:44:17Z")
If I’m near a computer, usually. If anywhere else, I usually forget to by the time I get to a computer. ---
**Author:** ![JohnGalt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johngalt/32/184_2.png) [@JohnGalt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JohnGalt)\ **Post date:** [December 11, 2013, 6:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-often-do-you-look-up-words-you-dont-know/676040/18 "2013-12-11T18:50:54Z")
Just used Google to look up “mulct” while reading _What’s the Matter with Kansas?_. It’s a great word. ---
**Author:** ![QuickSilver](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/quicksilver/32/7832_2.png) [@QuickSilver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/QuickSilver)\ **Post date:** [December 11, 2013, 6:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-often-do-you-look-up-words-you-dont-know/676040/19 "2013-12-11T18:53:40Z")
Constantly when I’m on my kindle. When I’m reading a paper book, I just ignore the word I don’t know. Most of the time the thought/sentence makes perfect sense without it. ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [December 11, 2013, 8:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-often-do-you-look-up-words-you-dont-know/676040/20 "2013-12-11T20:48:41Z")
> [@Prof.Pepperwinkle](#): > > Daily, for nearly 50 years. I used to read dictionaries. (I still would, but somehow it always seems like the zygote did it.) Twist ending. It was really the zymurgist. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-often-do-you-look-up-words-you-dont-know/676040.md?page=2)