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MCP for Language: Adding a Dictionary to Your AI Agent in One Line

#mcp #ai #agents #tutorial

Your Agent Doesn't Have a Dictionary

Open your MCP config. You've probably got tools for search, databases, APIs, file systems, maybe code execution. Your agent can query Postgres, hit a REST endpoint, read a PDF, and write to S3.

Now ask yourself: what tool gives your agent verified vocabulary?

When your agent explains a word, it generates the definition from its training data. It might be right. It might be subtly wrong. It's different every time. There's no ground truth.

For casual use, this is fine. For educational robots, language learning platforms, or any application where children are involved, "probably right" isn't good enough.

Word Orb as MCP Server

One line in your MCP config:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "word-orb": {
      "url": "https://word-orb-api.nicoletterankin.workers.dev/mcp"
    }
  }
}
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That's it. Works with Claude Desktop, ChatGPT, Cursor, Gemini, and any MCP-compatible client. Your agent now has access to:

  • word_lookup — Verified definition, etymology, translations across 47 languages, age-appropriate explanations, and pronunciation audio for any word
  • kelly_audit — Vocabulary quality assessment
  • translate — Translations with native script and phonetic pronunciation for 47 languages

What You Get

A single call to word_lookup returns structured data across multiple dimensions:

Verified definitions backed by etymology. Not a hallucinated summary. The definition traces the word through its linguistic roots. Deterministic — same word, same response, every time.

47-language translations with native script and phonetic pronunciation. Arabic in Arabic script with transliteration. Mandarin in characters with pinyin. Japanese with romaji. Your multilingual agent doesn't guess at translations — it looks them up.

Age-appropriate tones. Four registers: child (5-12), teen, adult, and elder (65+). Your agent adjusts vocabulary based on who it's talking to:

"courage" for a 5-year-old:
"Being brave even when you feel scared inside."

"courage" for an adult:
"The mental or moral strength to persevere through fear or adversity."
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240,000 pronunciation audio files. Robots and voice assistants can play actual recorded pronunciation, not TTS approximations.

Framework Integration Examples

MCP is the cleanest path, but Word Orb works with whatever you're building on.

LangChain (Python) 

from langchain.tools import BaseTool
import requests

class WordOrbTool(BaseTool):
    name = "word_orb_lookup"
    description = "Look up a word for verified definition, translations, and pronunciation"

    def _run(self, word: str) -> str:
        resp = requests.get(
            f"https://word-orb-api.nicoletterankin.workers.dev/api/word/{word}",
            headers={"Authorization": "Bearer wo_YOUR_KEY"}
        )
        return str(resp.json())
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CrewAI (Python) 

from crewai.tools import BaseTool
import requests

class WordOrbTool(BaseTool):
    name = "Dictionary Lookup"
    description = "Look up vocabulary for accurate, age-appropriate definitions"

    def _run(self, word: str) -> str:
        resp = requests.get(
            f"https://word-orb-api.nicoletterankin.workers.dev/api/word/{word}",
            headers={"Authorization": "Bearer wo_YOUR_KEY"}
        )
        return str(resp.json())
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OpenAI Function Calling (JavaScript) 

const tools = [{
  type: 'function',
  function: {
    name: 'word_orb_lookup',
    description: 'Look up a word for verified definition, translations, and audio',
    parameters: {
      type: 'object',
      properties: { word: { type: 'string' } },
      required: ['word']
    }
  }
}];
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npm Package 

npm install @lotd/word-orb
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const WordOrb = require('@lotd/word-orb');
const orb = new WordOrb('wo_YOUR_KEY');
const word = await orb.word('courage');
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The Numbers

Metric Value
Words 162,250
Languages 47
Translations 846,742
Audio files 240,297
Teaching archetypes 12
Age groups 4
Response time (p50) 3ms
Edge locations 300+

Who Uses This

Word Orb was built to power thedailylesson.com — 62,000 lesson segments across 11 languages and 3 age groups. The same infrastructure is now available to any educational AI system, robot, or agent that needs reliable vocabulary.

Get Started

MCP config (one line):

{"mcpServers":{"word-orb":{"url":"https://word-orb-api.nicoletterankin.workers.dev/mcp"}}}
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API and pricing: word-orb-api.nicoletterankin.workers.dev/pricing

npm: npm install @lotd/word-orb

GitHub: nicoletterankin/word-orb

Free tier: 50 calls/day. No credit card. Instant API key.

Built by Lesson of the Day PBC.

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