How We Ensure Content Integrity
Our writers create original, accurate, engaging content that is easy to read, factually accurate, and informational for English language learners and language lovers alike. Our editorial content is not influenced by website advertisers.
Since we are committed to producing high quality, educational content, our team corrects factual errors in a transparent manner. If there is an error in an article, we will correct it as quickly as possible. We want our readers to bring errors we may have missed to our attention! If you ever come across a page on YourDictionary that you think could be improved, please contact us.
Many of our articles have an author byline that includes the name and a link to more information for each writer who contributes to our website.
Published articles on YourDictionary go through the following process:
- Topic review by director of content strategy and editorial team to determine relevance and alignment with website’s authority and expertise
- Thorough evaluation and research of topic before writing
- Fact-checking information that supports original content and ideas, including the evaluation of factual sources for soundness
- Review of structure and clarity of written content by professional educators and editors
- Evaluation of originality of our content including wording and determination that plagiarism or copied content does not exist
- Up-to-date publishing and updating of all content live on the site
Fact Checking
Our editorial team of professional writers, educators, editors, and copywriters are also experienced fact checkers. Writers are tasked with researching all statements of fact to ensure that news and information presented in our articles is accurate and comprehensive as well as sourced and up to date. Our editors double check all sources provided by our writers for clarity, accuracy, and soundness.
Sourcing
Our editorial team has strict standards for research sources. We use current and reputable websites and resources, such as expert interviews, government organizations, and professional and academic institutions. All data points, facts, and claims are backed up by at least one reputable source. These sources will be provided through links from our content.
We also aim to include balanced perspectives from all groups and communities and encourage reviews of our content from readers of those groups to pinpoint bias and sensitivity. Our website and the content on it is made to serve all people.
Originality
Our original, useful, and unbiased content is verified, properly attributed, and may not infringe the copyright or intellectual property rights. We expect all team members on YourDictionary to abide by all applicable laws, standards, and accepted journalistic practices including:
- Society of Professional Journalists Ethics Code
- Copyright Law of the United States
- FTC Guidelines on Disclosures
- Fair Use
Our dictionary and thesaurus content, specifically definitions, example sentences, word origins, synonyms, and antonyms, is also sourced from authoritative resources. You can see a full list of our language sources on our About Us page. Any original definitions created by the YourDictionary staff have been reviewed by linguists.
Diversity and Anti Bias on YourDictionary
YourDictionary actively encourages diversity, equity, and inclusivity within our editorial team as appropriate and consistent with local regulations. We do not tolerate harassment or discrimination against an individual on the grounds of age, ancestry, color, religious creed, physical or mental disability, marital status, medical condition, genetic information, military and veteran status, national origin, race, sex, gender, gender identity, gender expression, sexual identity, sexual orientation, political affiliation, or any other category protected by law.
As a dictionary of the English language, our website does include definitions of offensive words. We do not tolerate casual usage of these words in our article content, social media, or in conversation among staff. However, we do touch on controversial, biased, and hateful language in some of our content to address why it shouldn’t be used.
While we actively try to not include meanings of offensive language on our site, we do want to provide a complete view of and a full set of definitions and words in the English language for our readers. Some words also change meaning over time, and as they change we strive to update new meanings of these words in a timely manner. If you see a word or page on YourDictionary that is not updated to reflect an inappropriate meaning that the word has come to be associated with, please contact us so we can address any older content that may contain errors.