Wiktionary

What Wiktionary does

Wiktionary is a free, multilingual, wiki-based dictionary project operated by the Wikimedia Foundation, a 501(c)(3) non-profit charitable organization headquartered in San Francisco, United States. Launched in 2002, Wiktionary provides word definitions, etymologies, pronunciations, translations, usage examples, and grammatical information across more than 100 language editions, including English (8,838,000+ entries), French (6,930,000+ entries), Malagasy (5,930,000+ entries), Chinese (2,333,000+ entries), Greek, Russian, German, Dutch, Finnish, and Japanese. Each language edition functions as an independent wiki-based dictionary accessible via language-specific subdomains (e.g., en.wiktionary.org, fr.wiktionary.org). The platform is built on MediaWiki, the same open-source wiki engine that powers Wikipedia, and is licensed under Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License 4.0.

The platform is staffed by 7 employees (per firmographic data) and depends on a global community of volunteer editors and contributors who create, edit, and curate dictionary entries. Wiktionary does not generate direct revenue: it is freely accessible to all internet users with no subscriptions, paywalls, advertisements, or premium tiers. Funding flows indirectly through donations and grants to the Wikimedia Foundation, which provides infrastructure, hosting, legal support, and fundraising for the project. The go-to-market motion is entirely community-led and organic — discovery occurs through search engine optimization (Wiktionary ranks highly for dictionary-related queries) and word-of-mouth within language-learning communities.

The user base is horizontal and consumer-facing, with the primary segment being the general public and language learners worldwide seeking free dictionary access. No commercial sales motion exists. Wiktionary has no subsidiaries, no external investors, no venture funding, and operates as part of the broader Wikimedia family of free-knowledge projects alongside Wikipedia, Wikimedia Commons, Wikibooks, Wikidata, Wikivoyage, Wikiquote, Wikisource, Wikispecies, Wikifunctions, and Meta-Wiki.

Name

Wiktionary

Legal name

Wiktionary

Website

https://wiktionary.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

2002

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Wiktionary is a free, community-edited multilingual dictionary operated by the Wikimedia Foundation, providing definitions, etymologies, and translations across 100+ language editions to a global general public and language-learner audience.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Online Dictionary

NAICS

Web Search Portals, Libraries, Archives, and Other Information Services (5192), Libraries and Archives (51921)

SIC

Miscellaneous Publishing (2741)

akta.pro primary industry

Language Content Libraries & Digital Readers (Leveled Readers, Graded Content) (EDAFAOAM)

akta.pro secondary industry

Knowledge Management & Wikis (BPAMAMAH)

Keywords

• Multilingual dictionary
• Open source reference
• Language learning resources
• Collaborative dictionary platform
• Free online dictionary

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Digital Commerce or Content

Cost components

Infrastructure, Operations, Personnel, Technology or R&D

Revenue model

1. Direct User Access: Wiktionary provides free, open access to dictionary entries with no revenue directly generated from users. The platform is funded through the Wikimedia Foundation, which relies on donations and grants rather than advertising or user fees.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels1 record

Core offering

Wiktionary is a free, multilingual, wiki-based dictionary that provides word definitions, etymologies, pronunciations, translations, and grammatical information across 100+ language editions. Content is created and maintained by a global volunteer community of editors and is accessible to anyone via the web at no cost.

Product overview

Wiktionary is a free, multilingual dictionary project and collaborative wiki operated by the Wikimedia Foundation. It consists of multiple language editions (including English, French, Russian, Chinese, German, Malagasy, and Japanese) that collectively provide over 1,000,000+ dictionary entries. Each language edition functions as an independent free dictionary offering word definitions, etymologies, pronunciations, translations, and related linguistic information. The project is community-edited and available under Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Wiktionary (Free Multilingual Dictionary) A free, collaboratively edited multilingual dictionary providing word definitions, etymologies, phonetic pronunciations, translations, usage examples, and grammatical information across 100+ language editions. Content is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License 4.0 and is accessible to anyone with an internet connection at no cost.

Segments1 record

Ideal customer profiles1 record

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature1 record

Partnerships

One partnership is on record.

• Wikimedia FoundationcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerWiktionary is operated by the Wikimedia Foundation, a non-profit charitable organization that also operates Wikipedia, Commons, Wikivoyage, and other wiki projects. The Foundation provides infrastructure, hosting, legal support, and fundraising for Wiktionary.

Scale indicators11 records

Recent moves3 records

Expansion highlights3 records

Direct peers

• Collins Dictionary: HarperCollins' free online dictionary with extensive multilingual and bilingual editions, competing directly with Wiktionary's multilingual reference use case.
• Dictionary.com: One of the largest free online dictionary properties, aggregating reference content from multiple sources with a consumer-facing web experience. Comparable user base and SEO-driven acquisition model.
• Cambridge Dictionary: Cambridge University's free online dictionary offering definitions, translations, and language learning content across English and bilingual editions. Direct competitor for English learners and bilingual dictionary lookups.
• Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English: Pearson's learner-focused English dictionary with corpus-based examples, targeting ESL/EFL users that overlap with Wiktionary's English edition audience.
• Merriam-Webster: America's most recognized English dictionary brand, offering free online definitions plus a premium subscription tier. Directly competes with the English Wiktionary edition on the same user intent (definitions, pronunciations, etymologies) but with professionally curated editorial content.
• Linguee: Multilingual translation dictionary pairing editorial translations with real-world example sentences from web sources. Competes with Wiktionary's translation and bilingual reference use case across many language pairs.
• Oxford Languages / Oxford English Dictionary: Publisher of the Oxford English Dictionary and the world's largest ongoing dictionary research project. The authoritative historical and current English dictionary that Wiktionary explicitly competes with for serious lexicographic reference users.
• Macmillan Dictionary: Free online British English dictionary with thesaurus and usage guidance, targeting the same English-language reference and learner segments as Wiktionary.

Broad incumbents

• Google Translate: Google's dominant free multilingual translation tool, offering word-level translations, definitions, and examples across 100+ languages. Competes with Wiktionary for translation and quick-lookup use cases as part of Google's broader language platform.

Emerging players

• Reverso: Multilingual translation dictionary and language learning platform with example-based translations across many language pairs. Overlaps with Wiktionary's translation and multilingual reference offering, especially for European language learners.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/wiktionary
• GitHubgithub.com/wikimedia
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/wiktionary

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Wiktionary