Summon A Dictionary Definition With A Three-Fingered Tap [OS X Tips]

By

Dictionary Three Finger Tap

Having access to a dictionary is one way to really improve your vocabulary. When my teacher in eighth grade English class told me that, I ignored it, because who has time to stop reading, grab the dictionary from the shelf (or under my seat, in middle school), and look up that word. By the time I was done with that, I’d have lost any meaning in the reading I was doing, anyway. Ugh.

Flash forward to now, and almost every device has a dictionary attached to it. The same is true for Mac OS X, at least the Mountain Lion variety, and it’s super easy to bring up.

When you’re reading on your Macbook, whether you’re in Safari, a PDF document, a Pages file, you name it, all you need to do to bring up a quick dictionary entry is to highlight the word with a double-click, or a click and drag.

Then, tap three fingers on your trackpad, without actually clicking it, and a dictionary definition will pop up in an attractive little window.

Neat, huh? To get rid of the dictionary window, just click anywhere off of it, and you’re done. Keep reading, secure in the knowledge of your new word.

Via: Mac OS X Tips

Newsletters

Daily round-ups or a weekly refresher, straight from Cult of Mac to your inbox.

  • The Weekender

    The week's best Apple news, reviews and how-tos from Cult of Mac, every Saturday morning. Our readers say: "Thank you guys for always posting cool stuff" -- Vaughn Nevins. "Very informative" -- Kenly Xavier.