Cambridge University Press just launched a new API that is meant to make it easy for developers to add data from a variety of the organization’s dictionaries to their own sites and mobile apps. With the launch of this API, Cambridge University Press is following in the footsteps of other well-known dictionary publishers like Merriam-Webster and the Oxford English Dictionary, as well as startups like Wordnik.
The service gives developers access to API methods like “get an entry,” “get pronunciation” and “get thesaurus list.” Developers can take the API for a spin on the company’s demo site.
Dominic Glennon, Cambridge Dictionaries’ reference systems manager, said in a canned quote today: “The API makes our dictionary data easily available to any developer with a good idea and we can’t wait to see what they do with it. The API is language-independent – developers with any platform can use the API, and the only requirement is that the user has a working internet connection.”
The dictionaries that are accessible through Cambridge’s API are the Cambridge Advanced Learner’s Dictionary, Cambridge Dictionary of American English, Cambridge Business English Dictionary, Cambridge Learner’s English-Turkish Dictionary and the Cambridge Learner’s Dictionary.
The service is free for developers who make fewer than 3,000 API calls per month and paid access starts at £50 per month for up to 15,000 API calls.