These are all links to websites you can use to look up terminology. I specify what I typically use each source for (i.e. looking up idioms, technical terms, colloquial terms) and also mention what languages each resource has available. I also include the official description from the websites for informational purposes.
Table of Contents
You can either jump directly to the site from this list or jump down to the description of the site, including available languages and other information.
| EuroTermBank | Visit Website | Jump to Section |
| MSD Manuals | Visit Website | Jump to Section |
| ProZ.com Term Search | Visit Website | Jump to Section |
| Termium PLUS | Visit Website | Jump to Section |
| Tureng | Visit Website | Jump to Section |
| UNTERM Portal | Visit Website | Jump to Section |
| WordReference | Visit Website | Jump to Section |
EuroTermBank (Visit )
| From EuroTermBank: The EuroTermBank is a largest centralized online terminology bank for Languages of the European Union and Icelandic, interlinked to other terminology banks and resources. The EuroTermBank enables exchange of terminology data with existing national and EU terminology databases by establishing cooperative relationships, aligning methodologies and standards, designing and implementing data exchange mechanisms and procedures. | Great for: Reputable specialized glossaries |
Available languages:
While I don’t like to really use the term search here, I do like to go to their “Collections” section and search subjects to find glossaries in my target language. Very limited medical information, but you can use the term search to find sources that contain those terms.
Kelly’s thoughts on EuroTermBank
MSD Manuals (Visit )
| From MSD Manuals: The MSD Manuals are a comprehensive medical information source covering thousands of topics in all fields of medicine. They are offered as a free public service to health care professionals and the general public. | Great for: Medical terminology |
Available languages:
A great resource for medical terminology. While it doesn’t directly translate terms, you can search a topic, pull up the page you like, and switch the language at the top to pull up the same article in your language of choice.
Kelly’s thoughts on MSD Manuals
ProZ.com Term Search (Visit )
From ProZ.com: Search millions of translated terms and phrases in a collection of glossaries and dictionaries built by and for professional translators Available languages: | Great for: Hard-to-find technical terms (including medical) |
If I’m ever having a difficult time finding a term or short phrase, chances are a translator has tried to tackle it at some point and posted it on ProZ. Their term translations are all voted on and decided upon by professional translators, many of whom are experts in their respective fields.
Kelly’s thoughts on ProZ Term Search
Termium Plus (Visit )
| From TermiumPLUS: TERMIUM Plus®, one of the largest terminology and linguistic data banks in the world, gives you access to millions of terms in English, French, Spanish and Portuguese. You can find terms, abbreviations, definitions and usage examples in a wide range of specialized fields. The data bank is an essential tool for understanding an acronym, checking an official title, finding an equivalent in another language, and much more. | Great for: Technical terms across disciplines, incl. medicine and health |
Available languages:
This is actually the terminology and linguistic database of the Canadian government. It has tons of specialized topics you can limit your search to, including medicine and health topics.
Kelly’s Thoughts on TermiumPLUS
Tureng (Visit )
| From Tureng: Tureng Multilingual Dictionary offers you an extensive dictionary where you can search terms in 4 different languages. You can search words by their fields of profession, hear 9 different accents in 4 languages, add and correct entries. You can use our apps for iPhone, Android, Windows Phone, iPad, Windows 8/10 and macOS. | Great for: Idiomatic expressions, slang, regionalisms |
Available languages:
My go-to for anything I can’t find on WordReference AND idiomatic expressions. Great resource for slang, colloquialisms, regionalisms, and many different contexts of words. It also shows the specific countries that regionalisms come from.
Kelly’s thoughts on Tureng
UNTERM Portal (Visit )
| From UNTERM: UNTERM is a multilingual terminology database maintained jointly by the Secretariat (including the main duty stations and regional commissions) and certain specialized agencies of the United Nations system, including the International Maritime Organization, the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization, the World Health Organization and the World Meteorological Organization. | Great for: Technical medical terms, chemical compounds, (inter)national organization names, view multiple languages at once |
Available languages:
A reputable terminology database including the WHO and UNESCO in many different languages. A lot of general health term translations won’t be found here, but highly technical terms, chemicals, and names of national and international organizations can be found here. Can view multiple language translations at one time.
Kelly’s thoughts on UNTERM
WordReference (Visit )
| From WordReference: Started in 1999 in an effort to provide free online bilingual dictionaries and tools to the world. The site has grown gradually ever since to become one of the most-used online dictionaries, and the top online dictionary for its language pairs of English-Spanish, English-French, English-Italian, Spanish-French, and Spanish-Portuguese. | Great for: General use, forums for hard-to-find terms |
Available languages:
My go-to general dictionary. I always cross-reference the Collins tab for Spanish, because sometimes the WordReference entries aren’t quite right.
Kelly’s thoughts on WordReference
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