3,000 spelling bee words, defined overnight with the Merriam-Webster API
A parent preparing their child for a spelling bee had 3,000 words and no definitions. A small script pulled each one from the Merriam-Webster Collegiate Dictionary, flagged the tricky ones, and produced a clean sheet ready for flashcards.
- Client
- Parent of a spelling bee student
- Tools
- Python, Merriam-Webster API, Excel
- Size
- About 3,000 words
- Delivered
- The next day
The problem
A parent was helping their daughter prepare for a spelling bee. They had a spreadsheet of about 3,000 study words, but learning a word means knowing what it means, and looking up 3,000 definitions by hand would have taken weeks. The definitions also had to come from the Merriam-Webster Collegiate Dictionary, the dictionary the competition uses.
What I built
- A Python script that reads the word list, asks the Merriam-Webster Collegiate Dictionary API for each word, and writes back the part of speech and a clear primary definition.
- Built-in care for the API's limits, so the job stays within the daily allowance.
- Flags for anything that needs a human look: words with no entry, words with several competing meanings, and answers with odd formatting.
- A manual clean-up pass on every flagged row, choosing the right meaning, stripping the dictionary's markup and making the wording consistent.
- Short instructions and a recorded walkthrough, so the parent can run it again on a new word list.
The result
- A clean spreadsheet of word, part of speech and definition, delivered the day after the job started.
- Ready for flashcards. I also showed how to combine the word and part of speech into one column for the front of the card, so the sheet could go straight to a flashcard printing service.
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