Merriam-Webster API: Get Merriam-Webster Word of the Day
Gets Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for today or a past archive date, with its meaning, example, pronunciation and background note. Dates without a published entry are unavailable.
Unofficial. Not affiliated with or endorsed by Merriam-Webster.
Inputs
Values from the run on Oct 31, 2026, shown under Output.
- Date optional
date Day to look up (YYYY-MM-DD), such as 2025-02-15. Omit for today.
Not set
Input as JSON
{}Output
{ "date": "2026-09-28", "link": "https://www.merriam-webster.com/word-of-the-day/fungible-2026-09-28" , "word": "fungible", "definition": "Fungible describes things, such as currency, goods, and commodities, that can be exchanged for something else of the same kind or value. In broader usage, fungible can also mean “interchangeable,” as well as “readily changeable to adapt to new situations.”", "did_you_know": "Before expectations about the origins of fungible mushroom into mycological fantasy: no, fungible has no relation to the noun fungus and its plural fungi. The fungi in fungible is there because of the Latin verb fungi, meaning “to perform,” ancestor of both fungible and function. Fungible is conside…", "pronunciation": "FUN-juh-bul", "part_of_speech": "adjective", "example_sentence": "A dollar bill is considered fungible because it can easily and acceptably be traded for ten dimes, four quarters, twenty nickels, or one hundred pennies, as well as any other dollar bill."}Code
curl https://api.fous.com/v1/runs \ -H "Authorization: Bearer $FOUS_API_KEY" \ -H "Content-Type: application/json" \ -d '{"method":"merriam-webster.com/get_word_of_the_day","input":{}}' # Save as fous.py, then run: python3 fous.pyimport json, os, timefrom urllib.error import HTTPErrorfrom urllib.request import Request, urlopenAPI = "https://api.fous.com/v1/runs" KEY = os.environ["FOUS_API_KEY"]HEADERS = { "Authorization": f"Bearer {KEY}", "Content-Type": "application/json" ,}def call(url, body=None): data = json.dumps(body).encode() if body else None request = Request(url, data, HEADERS) try: with urlopen(request, timeout=120) as r: return r.status, json.load(r) except HTTPError as error: message = json.load(error)["error"]["message"] raise RuntimeError(message) from errorstatus, run = call(API, { "method": "merriam-webster.com/get_word_of_the_day" , "input": {}})# 202: still going after 30 s. Ask again until it ends.while status == 202: time.sleep(2) status, run = call(f"{API}/{run['id']}")print(json.dumps(run["data"], indent=2))// Save as fous.mjs, then run: node fous.mjsconst api = "https://api.fous.com/v1/runs" ;const headers = { Authorization: `Bearer ${process.env.FOUS_API_KEY}`, "Content-Type": "application/json" ,};let response = await fetch(api, { method: "POST", headers, body: JSON.stringify({ "method": "merriam-webster.com/get_word_of_the_day" , "input": {} }), signal: AbortSignal.timeout(120_000),});let run = await response.json();// 202: still going after 30 s. Ask again until it ends.while (response.status === 202) { await new Promise((done) => setTimeout(done, 2_000)); response = await fetch(`${api}/${run.id}`, { headers }); run = await response.json();}if (!response.ok) throw new Error(run.error.message);console.log(run.data);# Connect your agent to Fous once, over MCP (Streamable HTTP):# https://api.fous.com/mcp# Set FOUS_API_KEY first: create a key at https://app.fous.com/keys.# Claude Codeclaude mcp add \ --scope user \ --transport http fous https://api.fous.com/mcp \ --header "Authorization: Bearer ${FOUS_API_KEY:?Set FOUS_API_KEY to your Fous API key}"# Codexcodex mcp add fous \ --url https://api.fous.com/mcp \ --bearer-token-env-var FOUS_API_KEY# Cursor, VS Code, Windsurf, Cline and morenpx -y add-mcp https://api.fous.com/mcp -g -n fous \ --header "Authorization: Bearer ${FOUS_API_KEY:?Set FOUS_API_KEY to your Fous API key}"# Then ask your agent:# "Use Fous to run merriam-webster.com/get_word_of_the_day# with {}"Over HTTP, the answer’s data holds the output. A run still going after 30 seconds answers 202 with its id: ask GET /v1/runs/{id} until it ends.
Schema
Input schema
{ "type": "object", "properties": { "date": { "type": "string", "description": "Day to look up (YYYY-MM-DD), such as 2025-02-15. Omit for today." } }}Output schema
{ "type": "object", "required": [ "date", "word", "part_of_speech", "pronunciation", "definition", "example_sentence", "did_you_know", "link" ], "properties": { "date": { "type": "string", "format": "date", "description": "Publication date." }, "link": { "type": "string", "description": "Word of the Day page link." }, "word": { "type": "string", "description": "Word of the Day." }, "definition": { "type": [ "string", "null" ], "description": "Meaning in plain text." }, "did_you_know": { "type": [ "string", "null" ], "description": "Did You Know? note in plain text." }, "pronunciation": { "type": [ "string", "null" ], "description": "Pronunciation shown on the page." }, "part_of_speech": { "type": [ "string", "null" ], "description": "Part of speech shown on the page." }, "example_sentence": { "type": [ "string", "null" ], "description": "Usage example in plain text." } }, "additionalProperties": false}- Price
- 1 credit per completed run (1¢ with pay as you go); failed runs are free.
- Method
merriam-webster.com/get_word_of_the_day- Returns
- date, word, part of speech, pronunciation, definition, example sentence, did you know note, link
Use it from your agent
Give your agent this line. It reads SKILL.md, gets a Fous API key and connects the Fous MCP server. Its run then takes the method merriam-webster.com/get_word_of_the_day with the inputs above.
Ask your agent
- What's today's word of the day on Merriam-Webster? I'd like the definition and an example sentence.
- Look up the word of the day from March 3, 2024, including its pronunciation and the background note.
- I missed the dictionary's featured word on 2023-11-18. What was it and what does it mean?
- Merriam-Webster word of the day for Christmas Day 2022: give me the part of speech and the 'did you know' blurb.
- Fetch today's featured vocabulary word with how to pronounce it and a link to the full entry.
See more
All Merriam-Webster methodsLooks up a word or phrase in Merriam-Webster's dictionary and returns its pronunciation, definitions, examples and word history.
merriam-webster.com/define_wordLooks up a word on its public Merriam-Webster thesaurus page and returns each meaning with its example, synonyms, antonyms and related words.
merriam-webster.com/get_synonymsLooks up an English word on Dictionary.com and returns its pronunciation, audio link, numbered definitions per dialect with examples, word origin and first recorded use.
dictionary.com/define_wordLooks up an English word on Etymonline and returns its origin entries, one per part of speech, with the first date mentioned and cross-referenced words.
etymonline.com/get_word_originGets a word's Thesaurus.com meanings in site order, with part of speech, short meaning, synonyms and antonyms ranked strongest, strong or weak.
dictionary.com/get_synonymsLooks up a word or phrase on Cambridge Dictionary and returns its ordered meanings, example sentences, grammar labels and UK and US pronunciations.
dictionary.cambridge.org/define_wordLists Urban Dictionary's Words of the Day, newest first. Each word comes with its featured date, definition, example, votes and definition link.
urbandictionary.com/list_words_of_the_dayGets Bible Gateway's Verse of the Day in the requested translation (NIV by default). The date is the one Bible Gateway assigns, which may differ from the local date.
biblegateway.com/get_verse_of_the_day