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Written by Mark Bender
This macro uses Macro Express and your Internet connection to look up the definition of any highlighted word or phrase at Merriam-Webster’s on-line dictionary. If the spelling is wrong, at that page, the suggestions are brilliant. Sometimes a hyphenated or unhyphenated phrase produces odd results.
Download the file umdefineword.mex and save it on your hard drive. Open this macro file or merge this macro into your existing macro file.
Lance Neustaeter has revised the Define Word macro. He says “This is a modification to the user-submitted macro originally written by Mark Bender. I added a ‘blank clipboard’ check, to avoid accidentally sending blank requests to Merriam-Webster.” He also removed some macro commands that were unnecessary for his environment.
You can download the revised macro from umdefinewordrevised.mex.
Highlight a word and press Ctrl+/.
It checks to see if Internet Explorer is running. If not, it opens IE. It goes to the Merriam-Webster Online, pastes the word or phrase to look up, and, using the <TAB> and <ENTER> keys, looks up the definition.
Macro Express 3: This macro requires Internet Explorer 4.0 or later. The Wait For Web Page command used by this macro does not work with Netscape, Opera.
Macro Express 2000: This macro requires Internet Explorer 4.0, 5.0 or 5.01. The Wait For Web Page command used by this macro does not work with Netscape, Opera or Internet Explorer 5.5.
** Mark wins a Macro Express T-shirt for his submission.
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