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Q&A How can I search for words by meaning/definition?

Does the OneLook Reverse Dictionary work for this? You still need to winnow down your search phrase, but it might work. (Information from this answer.) However, good ol' Google will sometimes do t...

posted 12y ago by Neil‭  ·  last activity 4y ago by System‭

Answer
#3: Attribution notice added by user avatar System‭ · 2019-12-08T02:19:39Z (over 4 years ago)
Source: https://writers.stackexchange.com/a/5496
License name: CC BY-SA 3.0
License URL: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/
#2: Initial revision by (deleted user) · 2019-12-08T02:19:39Z (over 4 years ago)
Does the [OneLook Reverse Dictionary](http://www.onelook.com/reverse-dictionary.shtml) work for this? You still need to winnow down your search phrase, but it might work. (Information from [this answer](https://english.stackexchange.com/a/12973/161).)

However, good ol' Google will sometimes do this as well; just type in "word that means" and the rest of a short phrase. For example, here's the search phrase ["Word that means separating wheat from chaff"](https://www.google.com/#hl=en&safe=off&sclient=psy-ab&q=word+that+means+separating+wheat+from+chaff&oq=word+that+means+separating+wheat+from+chaff&aq=f&aqi=&aql=&gs_nf=1&gs_l=hp.3...7933.9629.3.10019.16.16.0.0.0.4.128.1321.13j3.16.0.LCEFYqFN6SM&pbx=1&bav=on.2,or.r_gc.r_pw.r_cp.r_qf.,cf.osb&fp=8c09eaea2875d914&biw=1276&bih=683). The first search result is "winnow", which may or may not be the word you're looking for.

#1: Imported from external source by user avatar System‭ · 2012-04-25T15:47:30Z (almost 12 years ago)
Original score: 7