Star Dictionary is an independent reference for word meanings, origins, idioms, slang and translations, and the people who use it help keep it accurate. This page tells you how to reach the editors, what to include, and what happens after you write.
How to Reach the Editors
Email the editors at contact@stardict.org. There is no contact form.
The Star Dictionary editors read every message themselves. Please write one email per topic, so a correction and a word suggestion don’t get mixed up in the same message.
Star Dictionary is not the StarDict software project. StarDict is a dictionary program built by other developers. For questions about installing or using that program, contact its developers. Star Dictionary can’t help with it.
Corrections
If you find a mistake, email it to contact@stardict.org with the word or page in your subject line. The editors will check it against reliable references and fix the entry if the correction holds up.
What Counts as a Correction
Any error in an entry is worth reporting, including:
- A definition that is wrong, incomplete or out of date
- An etymology you think is incorrect or disputed
- A slang meaning that has changed or differs by region
- A translation that misses the sense of the original, or uses the wrong level of formality
- A wrong pronunciation, part of speech or register label
- A typo or a usage example that doesn’t make sense
How to Write a Useful Correction
Specific reports get checked faster. A good correction includes:
- The word or page you are writing about
- What’s wrong, copied exactly as it appears on the page
- What you think is correct, and why
- A source, if you have one: a published dictionary, a scholarly reference, or a clear example of the word in real use, with where and when it appeared
You don’t need credentials. A native speaker who knows how a word is really used in their region is often the best source for a slang or translation entry.
What Happens Next
The editors read your message and check the claim against reliable references. Here is what can happen:
- The correction holds up. The entry is updated.
- The point is genuinely disputed, for example a contested word origin. The entry may be revised to show the disagreement rather than pick a side the evidence can’t support. If the origin really is unknown, the entry says so.
- The entry is already correct. It stays as it is, and the editors may write back to explain why.
- More detail is needed. The editors will email you to ask.
You’ll get a reply when one is useful, for example to ask a question or to tell you a change has been made. Your email address is used only to answer your message.
Tips and Word Suggestions
Slang and new usage move fast, so tips about words the site doesn’t cover yet are welcome. Send them to the same address.
To make a tip easy to check, tell the editors:
- The word or phrase, spelled the way you’ve seen it
- What you understood it to mean
- Where you came across it (a region, a community, a game, a platform or a particular meme)
- Roughly when you first noticed it
Not every suggestion becomes an entry. The editors add a word when its meaning and use can be confirmed from real sources.
General Questions
You can also email questions about language: why a word means what it does, where an idiom came from, or how two similar words differ. The editors can’t promise a personal answer to every question, but good questions often turn into new entries or longer explanations on the site.
What Star Dictionary Does Not Accept
Star Dictionary does not accept guest posts, sponsored articles or link requests. That includes:
- Guest posts or articles written for publication on the site
- Sponsored or paid content of any kind
- Requests to add, swap or buy links
- Payment, products or favors in exchange for adding, removing or rewording an entry
- Requests to use a brand or product in usage examples
Emails about any of these won’t get a reply.
Before You Hit Send
Name the word, quote the exact text you mean, and add a source if you have one. Messages like that are the quickest for the editors to check, and the quickest way to get an entry fixed.