The times that I have found myself needing a dictionary to check the spelling or meaning of a word are countless. I don’t carry a dictionary on my person (I imagine few people do) and end up having to find a workaround to using a dictionary. That is until the Dictionary.com app came out for the iPhone, Android and BlackBerry. I can’t tell you how many times these applications have come in handy.

The great thing about the applications is that they aren’t just limited to dictionary functionality. There is a full thesaurus feature integrated into the applications which use Thesaurus.com’s database to find synonyms and antonyms. The applications also have an English and Spanish word of the day section which is great for extending your vocabulary. All dictionary entries include phonetic and audio pronunciations but the audio pronunciations require an internet connection.

For whatever reason the iPhone application has many more definitions and synonyms available compared to the BlackBerry and Android versions of the application, but I haven’t run into any words that I couldn’t find. The iPhone version stores all of the definitions and synonyms in the application making them available for offline use, however the audio pronunciations and word of the day features do require internet access. The Android and BlackBerry applications require an internet connection for all application functions.

Dictionary.com’s applications are a great way to have a dictionary in your pocket and you can’t beat the free price. Check out the applications for yourself at Dictionary.com and let us know what you think about the apps.