About Better Words

Built by a Teacher. Designed for Real Vocabulary Mastery.

Better Words is an educator-built vocabulary learning platform created and maintained by Richard Skinner, a fully qualified teacher with over 20 years of experience teaching middle and high school students in England and Asia.

Better Words was created to solve a problem seen repeatedly in real classrooms: recognizing a word is not the same as being able to use it accurately, confidently, and appropriately.

Most dictionary websites explain what a word means. Far fewer help learners master words through clarity, context, and practice. Better Words exists to bridge that gap.

Our Educational Philosophy

Vocabulary mastery is not about memorization or exposure alone.

It is about precision, usage, and understanding words in context.

While many dictionary sites focus on definitions in isolation, Better Words is intentionally designed as a vocabulary learning system. Each entry is structured to support learners as they move from passive recognition to active command.

Across the site, vocabulary learning is reinforced through:

clear, student-friendly definitions
carefully written example sentences showing real usage
synonyms and related words to deepen understanding
quizzes and practice tools to support long-term retention

This structure reflects how vocabulary is taught and learned most effectively in classrooms.

Who Better Words Is For

Better Words is designed for:

students preparing for exams such as IELTS, TOEFL, SAT, ACT, GRE, and GMAT
teachers seeking clear, classroom-ready vocabulary explanations
learners aiming to improve academic writing, reading comprehension, and spoken fluency
anyone who wants to use words accurately and confidently, not just recognize them

Clarity and usefulness are prioritized over jargon, abstraction, or unnecessary complexity.

The Background Behind Better Words

The foundations of Better Words were laid long before it became a website.

As a student and later as a teacher, the site’s creator maintained a growing personal vocabulary system — recording unfamiliar and interesting words, refining definitions, and writing illustrative example sentences. Over time, this collection expanded into thousands of carefully curated entries.

Before entering the teaching profession, Richard Skinner worked as a computer programmer specializing in web development. This technical background later enabled the creation of a structured, scalable online learning platform capable of supporting thousands of vocabulary entries with consistent educational design.

Better Words brings together:

over two decades of full-time classroom teaching experience
long-form vocabulary writing and curation
educational publishing experience, including three vocabulary books
technical expertise in building large, content-driven learning systems

The result is a platform designed deliberately for learners — not automated content generation.

Editorial Standards and Use of AI

Accuracy, clarity, and educational value guide all content on Better Words.

The majority of definitions and example sentences were written before the widespread use of modern AI tools, based on teaching experience and manual curation.
In recent years, AI has been used selectively as a supporting tool to help deepen explanations, expand examples, and improve clarity.
All content is reviewed, structured, and refined under human editorial judgment to ensure it serves genuine learning goals.

AI is used to enhance educational quality, not to replace expertise or produce generic content.

What Makes Better Words Different

Better Words is not intended to be a general-purpose dictionary.

It is a vocabulary learning platform built by an educator.

What distinguishes the site:

consistent structure across thousands of vocabulary entries
learner-focused explanations rather than encyclopedic definitions
emphasis on usage, nuance, and context
integrated practice tools that encourage active learning

Every page is designed to answer not only “What does this word mean?” but also “How is this word actually used?”

Our Commitment

Better Words is committed to:

educational accuracy over automation
clarity over complexity
learning outcomes over page views
helping learners genuinely improve their command of language

Vocabulary is foundational to thinking, learning, and communication.

Better Words exists to help learners build that foundation — one word at a time.

About the Author

Richard Skinner is a fully qualified, full-time educator with over 20 years of experience teaching middle and high school students in England and Asia. He specializes in vocabulary development, academic language, and learner-focused instructional design.

Richard is the author of three vocabulary books, written to help students build precise, usable, and exam-ready vocabulary. His work combines long-term classroom experience with a background in computer programming and web development, enabling the creation of large-scale, structured educational platforms.

Before the widespread adoption of AI tools, Richard manually wrote and curated the majority of the vocabulary definitions and example sentences on Better Words. Today, AI is used selectively as a supporting tool to enhance clarity and depth — always guided by human editorial judgment and educational intent.

Learn more about Richard’s published work here: https://www.betterwordsonline.com/books