MacOS – Find source of Spotlight Dictionary result

catalinadictionarymacosspotlight

When we look up the meaning of any word through Spotlight:

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There is no 'source' information.

Find

Even the Dictionary.app, which Spotlight uses, does not show the source.

The best I can find so far is to disable / enable different Dictionaries in Dictionary.app's Preferences, until the definition disappears / changes, to figure out from what dictionary the meaning is from.

How can I see where the definition comes from without this pain?

Best Answer

The Dictionary app does tell you the source, though it is not intuitive. When you add a new "source" through Dictionary's Preferences, the Dictionary app adds a tab button for it on the top.

  • Example 1 - Oxford Dictionary:

Dictionary screenshot - Oxford

  • Example 2 - Apple Dictionary:

Dictionary screenshot - Apple

When a search result is displayed in Dictionary, the tab button name highlights the source from which it found the result.

Sometimes, the tab button names are not helpful. For such cases, you can rename it to what you want:

  • Right-click the tab name, and click on Edit Label:

Dictionary screenshot - Renaming a tab button

  • Type the new name, and click OK.

Dictionary screenshot - Renaming a tab button

  • The tab button will now be renamed:

Dictionary screenshot - Renaming a tab button

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