Dictionary Day – Oct. 16, 2026

Expected Dictionary Day Deals

As a Recognition holiday, Dictionary Day typically inspires educational initiatives and special offers on literary resources. While we await official 2027 promotions, history shows that retailers like Barnes & Noble and Amazon often feature discounts on dictionaries, thesauruses, and reference books. Online learning platforms such as Coursera and MasterClass may offer promotions on language and writing courses. Educational software companies like Merriam-Webster itself might highlight digital subscriptions. Local bookstores often host special reading events or vocabulary challenges. We will update this page with confirmed live deals as October 16 approaches.

History of Dictionary Day

The man who would someday become the father of the dictionary as we know it today, Noah Webster, was born on October 16, 1758, in Hartford, Connecticut. His father, a farmer and craftsman, and his mother, who stayed at home, headed a very middle-class and typical colonial family. When scholarly young Noah was 16, he set off for Yale — the first college in Connecticut. Since law was too expensive of a career path, Noah chose to go into teaching. 

It was in teaching that he first felt compelled to reform the burgeoning American academic system and language. His first textbook was issued in 1783 and covered the grammar of the English language. Due to its blue cover, it came to be known as the “Blue-Backed Speller.” This little blue book became the most popular book in America in the day and age.

Refining teaching English and the education system wasn’t enough for Noah. After marrying Rebecca Greenleaf in 1789, he set about in 1801 to define many of the terms that set apart American English from the way the language was spoken in England. He also moved to Amherst, Massachusetts for the purpose of founding Amherst College, then later moved back to New Haven.

Many of us are familiar with the spelling differences between English and American English words like ‘color.’ Much of that can be credited to Webster, who, in his first edition of the American English dictionary in 1806, took time to correct English spellings to American English ones. Another example: Webster re-spelled ‘musick’ as ‘music.’ Though this bestselling dictionary defined no less than 37,000 words, he was unsatisfied. The next 22 years of his life would be dedicated to editing and adding new words. Eventually, at the old age of 70, Webster published his new dictionary in 1828. The book defined over 65,000 words.

After Webster died in 1843 as an American hero who pioneered the dictionary and supported both the abolition of slavery and universal education, G & C Merriam, Co. purchased the rights to his “An American Dictionary of the English Language”. The Merriam brothers behind the company, George and Charles, continued to refine Webster’s dictionary, eventually giving us the Merriam-Webster dictionary we know today.

How Businesses Can Celebrate Dictionary Day