catalinadictionarymacosspotlight
I just updated to macOS Catalina.
Looks like I can't type a word I don't know the meaning of into spotlight and get its dictionary definition anymore, even though in System Preferences > Spotlight "Definition" is checked.
How re-enable the functionality so that spotlight can be used like a dictionary?
Finally, I found a hack! I wrote a blog post about this which you can find here (in Chinese).
These are the key steps:
Open the file with Xcode:
~/Library/Preferences/com.apple.spotlight.plist
If you do not have this file, change the order System Preferences → Spotlight which will cause the OS to create it.
Within the orderedItems node, add a Dictionary item as follows:
.plist file.Open System Preferences → Spotlight, you will find a blank entry, this is what we had added above. You can drag it like other entries to change the order as you like.
You are done! Now type a word in spotlight and see what happened.
Warning: be careful about editing the system dictionary as it is easy to get an unusable dictionary. You also run the risk of having the updated dictionary over-written by subsequent OSX updates.
To edit the system level dictionaries, there is a helpful Q&A that tells you where to find the dictionaries: superuser.
In summary:
~/Library/Spelling/LocalDictionary
The System-wide equivalent, which is empty on my Mac, would be here:
/Library/Spelling/
Aside from this, you will find packaged dictionaries here:
/Library/Dictionaries/
~/Library/Dictionaries/
If it were me, I would just add the word to my personal dictionary. Although your question was how to edit the system dictionary, I note that on my system (10.8.2 Australian English) both your words are accepted.
But Microsoft Word 2011 (with Australian English) puts red lines under expresso and is happy with espresso.
It appears your example may be one of those where there is different usage in different parts of the world and in different software packages.
Best Answer
It seems like the default dictionary changed during the upgrade to Catalina. I had to go into the Dictionary app settings and select
New Oxford American Dictionary(for American English).