--- name: "dict" section: "1" platform: "linux" package: "dictd" version: "1.13.3-1" release: "Arch Linux 2026-11-01" platforms: ["linux"] url: "https://new.carta.tech/dict" --- # dict(1) DICT Protocol Client ## NAME dict - DICT Protocol Client ## SYNOPSIS ``` dict word dict [options] [word] dict [options] dict://host:port/d:word:database dict [options] dict://host:port/m:word:database:strategy ``` ## DESCRIPTION **dict** is a client for the Dictionary Server Protocol (DICT), a TCP transaction based query/response protocol that provides access to dictionary definitions from a set of natural language dictionary databases. Exit status is 0 if operation succeeded, or non-zero otherwise.\ See **EXIT STATUS** section. ## OPTIONS - **-h** *server or* **--host** *server* Specifies the hostname for the DICT server. Server/port combinations can be specified in the configuration file. If no servers are specified in the configuration file or or on the command line, **dict** will fail. If IP lookup for a server expands to a list of IP addresses (as dict.org does currently), then each IP will be tried in the order listed. - **-p** *service or* **--port** *service* Specifies the port (e.g., 2628) or service (e.g., dict) for connections. The default is 2628, as specified in the DICT Protocol RFC. Server/port combinations can be specified in the configuration file. - **-d** *dbname or* **--database** *dbname* Specifies a specific database to search. The default is to search all databases (a "\*" from the DICT protocol). Note that a "!" in the DICT protocol means to search all of the databases until a match is found, and then stop searching. - **-m** or **--match** Instead of printing a definition, perform a match using the specified strategy. - **-s** *strategy or* **--strategy** *strategy* Specify a matching strategy. By default, the server default match strategy is used. This is usually "exact" for definitions, and some form of spelling-correction strategy for matches ("." from the DICT protocol). The available strategies are dependent on the server implementation. For a list of available strategies, see the -S or --strats option. - **-C** or **--nocorrect** Usually, if a definition is requested and the word cannot be found, spelling correction is requested from the server, and a list of possible words are provided. This option disables the generation of this list. - **-c** *file or* **--config** *file* Specify the configuration file. The default is to try *~/.dictrc* and */etc/dict/dict.conf*, using the first file that exists. If a specific configuration file is specified, then the defaults will not be tried. - **-D** or **--dbs** Query the server and display a list of available databases. - **-S** or **--strats** Query the server and display a list of available search strategies. - **-H** or **--serverhelp** Query the server and display the help information that it provides. - **-i** *dbname or* **--info** *dbname* Request information on the specified database (usually the server will provide origination, descriptive, or other information about the database or its contents). - **-I** or **--serverinfo** Query the server and display information about the server. - **-M** or **--mime** Send *OPTION MIME* command to the server. **NOTE:** Server's capabilities are not checked. - **-f** or **--formatted** Enables formatted output, i.e. output convenient for postprocessing by standard UNIX utilities. No, it is not XML ;-) Also error and warning messages like\ " No matches...", " Invalid strategy..." etc. are sent to stderr, not to stdout. **Format:**\ \-I, -i, -H and similar:\ \ host\port\ \ \\line1\ \ \\line2\ \ ...\ \-S:\ \ host\port\strategy1\short description1\ \ host\port\strategy2\short description2\ \ ...\ \-D:\ \ host\port\database1\database description1\ \ host\port\database2\database description2\ \ ...\ \ \-m:\ \ host\port\database1\match1\ \ host\port\database2\match2\ \ ... - **-a** or **--noauth** Disable authentication (i.e., don't send an AUTH command). - **-u** *user or* **--user** *user* Specifies the username for authentication. - **-k** *key or* **--key** *key* Specifies the shared secret for authentication. - **-V** or **--version** Display version information. - **-L** or **--license** Display copyright and license information. - **-4** Forces dict to use IPv4 addresses only. - **-6** Forces dict to use IPv6 addresses only. - **--help** Display help information. - **-v** or **--verbose** Be verbose. - **-r** or **--raw** Be very verbose: show the raw client/server interaction. - **--pipesize** Specify the buffer size for pipelineing commands. The default is 256, which should be sufficient for general tasks and be below the MTU for most transport media. Larger values may provide faster or slower throughput, depending on MTU. If the buffer is too small, requests will be serialized. Values less than 0 and greater than one million are silently changed to something more reasonable. - **--client** *text* Specifies additional text to be sent using the CLIENT command. - **--debug** *flag* Set a debugging flag. Valid flags are: - **verbose** The same as **-v** or **--verbose**. - **raw** The same as **-r** or **--raw**. - **scan** Debug the scanner for the configuration file. - **parse** Debug the parser for the configuration file. - **pipe** Debug TCP pipelining support (see the DICT RFC and RFC1854). - **serial** Disable pipelining support. - **time** Perform transaction timing. ## CONFIGURATION The configuration file currently has a very simple format. Lines are used to specify servers, for example: server dict.org or, with options: server dict.org { port 8080 }\ server dict.org { user username secret }\ server dict.org { port dict user username secret } the **port** and **user** options may be specified in any order. The **port** option is used to specify an optional port (e.g., 2628) or service (e.g., dict) for the TCP/IP connection. The **user** option is used to specify a username and shared secret to be used for authentication to this particular server. Servers are tried in the order listed until a connection is made. ## EXIT STATUS 0 Successful completion 20 No matches found\ \ 21 Approximate matches found\ \ 22 No databases available\ \ 23 No strategies available 30 Unexpected response code from server\ \ 31 Server is temporarily unavailable\ \ 32 Server is shutting down\ \ 33 Syntax error, command not recognized\ \ 34 Syntax error, illegal parameters\ \ 35 Command not implemented\ \ 36 Command parameter not implemented\ \ 37 Access denied\ \ 38 Authentication failed\ \ 39 Invalid database\ \ 40 Invalid strategy\ \ 41 Connection to server failed ## CREDITS **dict** was written by Rik Faith (faith@cs.unc.edu) and is distributed under the terms of the GNU General Public License. If you need to distribute under other terms, write to the author. The main libraries used by this programs (zlib, regex, libmaa) are distributed under different terms, so you may be able to use the libraries for applications which are incompatible with the GPL -- please see the copyright notices and license information that come with the libraries for more information, and consult with your attorney to resolve these issues. ## BUGS If a **dict:** URL is given on the command line, only the first one is used. The rest are ignored. If a **dict:** URL contains a specifier for the nth definition or match of a word, it will be ignored and all the definitions or matches will be provided. This violates the RFC, and will be corrected in a future release. If a **dict:** URL contains a shared secret, it will not be parsed correctly. When *OPTION MIME* command is sent to the server *(-M option)* , server's capabilities are not checked. ## FILES - *~/.dictrc* User's **dict** configuration file - */etc/dict/dict.conf* System **dict** configuration file ## SEE ALSO [**dictd**(8)](/dictd/8.md), [**dictzip**(1)](/dictzip/1.md), **http://www.dict.org,** **RFC 2229**