English vocabulary

Learn English vocabulary
that sticks.

A deep English dictionary with one-tap flashcards and spaced repetition. Save the words you meet while reading, working, or studying — and review them right before you'd forget.

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Free · No account required · Works offline

How it works

Look up, save, review.

No setup.

Look it up.

Search any English word. Every meaning it carries — with CEFR level, frequency, and example. Run has dozens of senses. Get has more.

Save the meaning you met.

One tap, no typing. That exact meaning becomes a flashcard.

Review before you forget.

Spaced repetition brings each word back at the right moment. Five card formats so the word sets from every angle.

approach

VERB / NOUN · 4 SENSES

approachableunapproachableapproachability

A2 to come near or nearer to something or someone in space, time, quality, or amount verb

To come near or nearer to something or someone in space, time, quality, or amount.

The train began to approach the station slowly.

B1 to speak to someone for the first time about a proposal, request, or offer verb

To speak to someone for the first time about a proposal, request, or offer.

She decided to approach her boss about a pay rise.

B2 a way of dealing with something or doing something noun

A way of dealing with something or doing something.

We need to try a different approach to solve this puzzle.

C1 to be almost the same as something; to come close to a particular quality or state verb

To be almost the same as something; to come close to a particular quality or state.

His performance approached perfection during the final act.

English vocabulary research

How many English words do you actually need?

Vocabulary researchers measure size in word families — a root word and its common forms. The CEFR levels map roughly to these thresholds, based on studies by Nation, Milton, and others.

The jump from B1 to B2 means learning roughly 2,000 more word families. At 5 new words a day, that's about a year — if you review consistently and don't forget what you've already learned.

~500

~1,000

~2,000

~4,000

~8,000

~16,000

For the English you actually need.

Most English vocabulary apps teach the same thousand words everyone already knows. OpenWords starts from the words you run into — in articles, in meetings, in lectures, in books — and turns each one into a flashcard at the moment you look it up.

Non-native speakers building everyday, academic, or professional English

IELTS, TOEFL, or Cambridge exam candidates who need CEFR-levelled word lists

Advanced readers who keep meeting C1–C2 words they half-know and keep forgetting

Anyone who's tried Anki and found it too much work to set up

FAQ

English vocabulary questions

What's the best way to learn English vocabulary?

Read and listen to things you find interesting, save the words you don't know in their exact meaning, and review them before you forget. That's the loop OpenWords runs for you.

Does it work for IELTS, TOEFL, or academic English?

Yes. Entries carry CEFR levels up to C2 and frequency data, so you can focus on the words that matter for academic reading, exam prep, or professional writing.

Can I study English vocabulary offline?

Review works offline — once a word is saved, you can study it anywhere. Looking up new words needs internet.

What does CEFR mean?

The European scale for language levels, from A1 (beginner) to C2 (near-native). Every entry in OpenWords carries one, so you know what's worth learning at your level.

Is OpenWords free?

Yes. No subscriptions, no paywalls. Free to download, free to use, no account required.

How is OpenWords different from Anki?

Anki is powerful but you build everything yourself — decks, cards, schedules. OpenWords does that work for you. Look up a word, tap save, and it joins your review queue automatically.

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