Get instant dictionary definitions and translations for any text on any website! Just select text and click the book icon.
🚨 For Chrome, Edge, Safari, and other browsers:
Use the WordGlance Userscript — it works the same as the extension.Why no extension for Chromium-based browsers?
Cause… fu*k Google.
- ✨ What it does
- 🚀 How to install
- 📱 How to use
- ⚙️ Settings
- 🌍 Supported languages
- ❓ Common questions
- 👨💻 For developers
- 🤝 Contributing
- 📄 License
- 📚 Dictionary: Get definitions, examples, synonyms and antonyms
- 🌍 Translation: Translate to 40+ languages instantly
- ⚡ Fast: Smart caching for instant results
- 🎨 Beautiful: Clean interface with dark mode
- 📱 Mobile-friendly: Optimized for both desktop and mobile devices
- 🔧 Customizable: Choose your languages and preferences
Option 1 (Recommended): Install from Firefox Add-ons
Option 2: Manual installation
- Download the extension files from this repository
- Open Firefox and go to
about:debugging - Click "This Firefox" tab
- Click "Load Temporary Add-on"
- Select the
manifest.jsonfile from the downloaded folder
If you prefer a userscript or use other browsers, check out the WordGlance Userscript which works on Chrome, Edge, Safari, and other browsers.
- Select text - Highlight any word or phrase (double-tap on mobile, or long-press and drag)
- Click the 📖 icon - It appears near your selection
- Browse results - Use arrows to see more definitions/translations
- Adjust settings - Click the extension icon in your toolbar → Settings
- Desktop: Works with mouse selection, keyboard shortcuts, and double-click
- Mobile: Double-tap to select words, or long-press and drag for phrases
- Works best with single words for definitions
- Great at short phrases for translations
- Supports 40+ languages including Spanish, French, German, Chinese, Japanese, Arabic, and more
Click the extension icon to access settings:
- 🌙 Dark Mode - Easy on the eyes for night browsing
- 🌍 Languages - Choose source and target languages (defaults to Auto → English)
- 🗂️ Cache - Clear stored data if needed
- English → Spanish (
en→es) - English → French (
en→fr) - Auto-detect → Chinese (
auto→zh) - Any language → English (
auto→en)
Major languages: Arabic, Bengali, Chinese, English, French, German, Hindi, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Portuguese, Russian, Spanish
All 40+ languages (A-Z): Amharic, Arabic, Bengali, Bulgarian, Chinese, Croatian, Czech, Danish, Dutch, English, Estonian, Filipino, Finnish, French, German, Greek, Hebrew, Hindi, Hungarian, Indonesian, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Latvian, Lithuanian, Malay, Norwegian, Polish, Portuguese, Romanian, Russian, Serbian, Slovak, Slovenian, Spanish, Swahili, Swedish, Thai, Turkish, Ukrainian, Vietnamese, Zulu
Q: Is it free?
A: Yes! Completely free and no ads.
Q: Do I need to create an account?
A: Nope! Works instantly after installation.
Q: Does it work on mobile?
A: Yes! Works flawlessly on both desktop and mobile devices.
Q: Is my data safe?
A: Yes! Everything stays in your browser. No data is sent to us, and the extension is open source so you can inspect the code if you want to verify.
Q: Why isn't it working?
A: Make sure the extension is installed and enabled. Try refreshing the page or restarting Firefox.
Q: The translation seems wrong?
A: Try using "Auto-detect" for source language, or select specific languages in settings.
Q: Does it work on all websites?
A: Yes! WordGlance works on any website where you can select text.
Q: How do I change the target language?
A: Click the extension icon → Settings → Choose your language.
Q: Why do some words show "No definition found"?
A: Very new words, slang, or technical terms might not be in the dictionary. Try synonyms or simpler terms.
Q: Does it slow down my browser?
A: No! WordGlance is lightweight and only activates when you select text.
Q: Can I translate entire sentences?
A: Yes, but it works best with 1-5 words. For longer text, use dedicated translation tools.
Q: How do I disable it temporarily?
A: Click the extension icon → Toggle WordGlance off/on, or disable it in Firefox Add-ons manager.
Q: Does it work offline?
A: No, it needs internet to fetch definitions and translations from online APIs.
Q: What browsers are supported?
A: This extension is designed for Firefox. For Chrome, Edge, Safari, and other browsers, use the WordGlance Userscript instead.
Have a question, suggestion, or found a bug? Open an issue on GitHub and we'll help you out!
manifest.json- Extension configuration (Manifest V2)background.js- Background service workercontent.js- Content script for webpage interactionpopup.js- Settings popup interfacepopup.html- Settings popup HTMLpopup.css- Settings popup styling
The extension uses browser storage for user preferences:
wordglance-source-language- Source language (default: 'auto')wordglance-target-language- Target language (default: 'en')wordglance-dark-mode- Dark mode togglewordglance-cache-definitions- Cached dictionary resultswordglance-cache-translations- Cached translation results
- Dictionary: Dictionary API - Free English dictionary
- Translation: Free Translate API - Multi-language translation
Special thanks to these amazing free APIs that make WordGlance possible!
Found a bug? Want a feature? Open an issue or submit a pull request!
Love WordGlance? Give it a ⭐ star on GitHub!
Open source under GPL-3.0 License