Vocabulary test online: how well you know word meanings
One word at a time, you choose the closest meaning from 4 options. 30 words in a fixed order, from common ones to rare ones, and no clock on your answers.
Start the Vocabulary testAfter word 30 you see your score and can keep it with a free account.
How it works
3 practice words come first, then 30 scored ones. Nothing is timed, so the length depends on how long you think about each word: about 6 minutes.
- 1 · First
3 practice words
Easy words that teach the format. After each one, the screen says for 2 seconds whether you were right, or shows the meaning you should have picked.
- 2 · Each word
Pick the closest meaning
The word sits in large type with 4 answers stacked below it. Click or tap the one that matches it best. Your first click is final and the next word follows.
- 3 · 30 words
Harder as you go
A 3-second countdown starts the scored words. They come in 5 groups of 6, from basic and everyday words up to advanced and rare ones.
A counter shows which word you are on, out of 30, and a thin bar at the top fills as you go. The scored words give no feedback. If you would rather hear the instructions than read them, the first screen has a button that plays them aloud.
Word knowledge items have long been part of intelligence and neuropsychological batteries. In the classic format you explain each word aloud and an examiner grades the definition. This version asks you to recognise the meaning among 4 written options instead, which takes less time and needs nobody to score it.
What it measures
Every item asks the same question: do you know this word well enough to pick its meaning out from options that are close, opposite or merely plausible?
Word knowledge
- Receptive vocabulary: recognising a meaning when you see it, which is easier than producing a definition from nothing.
- Range: the later groups use words you meet mostly in reading rather than in everyday talk.
- Precision: separating the right sense of a word from neighbours that share part of its meaning.
What else shapes the score
- Reading: the word and all 4 answers are written, so reading ease plays a part.
- Language history: the words are English, and years of using English shape what you know.
- Care with each option, since a fast click can land on a near neighbour of the right meaning.
Psychologists class vocabulary as a crystallized ability: knowledge built up through school, reading and experience. Horn and Cattell (1967) set it apart from fluid reasoning, the capacity to solve unfamiliar problems, and reported that crystallized ability holds up with age while fluid reasoning tends to decline. A note on the result screen makes the same point: vocabulary tends to grow through adulthood and resists decline with age.
Because word knowledge changes so slowly, word-based tests are used to estimate a person's earlier level of ability. Crawford and colleagues (2001) checked one of them, the National Adult Reading Test, against intelligence scores from 66 years before. This 30-word form was not built or normed for that purpose, and it gives no such estimate.
A test, not a diagnosis.
A vocabulary score reflects the words you recognised in one sitting. It cannot confirm or rule out a learning, language or other condition.
What you get
Your score is on screen the moment you answer word 30.
On the result screen
- Words correct out of 30, and your accuracy as a percentage.
- A headline reading set by that accuracy, with its cut-offs at 80% and 50%.
- Accuracy within each group of 6 words: the first 4 groups at a glance, all 5 in a breakdown table.
- 2 short findings that depend on your reading, and a CSV file with each word, your answer, the keyed answer and your response time.
When you keep it
- A free account saves the score, so you can open it again on any device.
- It appears under verbal comprehension in your results, beside Similarities and the other verbal tests you take.
- Straight after, you get a suggestion for the test to try next.
How this version is scored
The test stores your choice and response time for every word. Only the choices count toward the score.
- Correct answer
- Each word has one keyed meaning. Choosing it earns 1 point and any other option earns 0. There is no partial credit.
- Score
- How many keyed meanings you chose, from 0 to 30. The 3 practice words are left out.
- Accuracy
- Score divided by 30, as a whole percentage. It sets the headline: 80% or more reads as strong word knowledge, 50 to 79% as moderate, and under 50% as words that were hard across levels.
- Difficulty groups
- Words 1 to 6 are labelled basic, 7 to 12 everyday, 13 to 18 intermediate, 19 to 24 advanced and 25 to 30 rare. Each group's accuracy is its correct answers out of 6.
- Response time
- How long each choice took, in milliseconds. It is saved in the CSV file and plays no part in the score.
Chance level. With 4 options per word, picking at random would land about 7 or 8 correct out of 30. A score close to that says little about word knowledge.
The same list each time. The 30 words, their order and their answer options never change. A retake shows you the same items, so a second score partly reflects what you remember from the first.
No adult norms. This 30-word form has no published adult norms. The score stays a count of correct answers; it is not turned into a percentile or an age-based standing.
Before you start
The task travels well to any device, and a few habits keep the score meaningful.
For a cleaner attempt
- Read all 4 options before you choose, because the first click cannot be undone.
- Leave dictionaries, search engines and helpers out of it, so the score describes you.
- Pick a time when you can read without hurrying, and stay on the tab until word 30.
- When unsure, go with the meaning that feels closest; every word needs an answer to move on.
Interpret cautiously when
- English is not your first language, or you learned it later in life.
- Reading takes you extra effort, or you use a screen reader or other reading support.
- You were tired, rushed or interrupted partway through.
- You have taken this test before, since the words stay the same.
Questions
What does a vocabulary test measure?
It measures word knowledge: how many words you understand and how precisely. Psychologists treat it as a crystallized ability, built through school, reading and experience, so it reflects your language background as well as your thinking. In this version you recognise meanings among 4 options rather than defining words aloud.
What is a good score on a vocabulary test?
This 30-word form has no published adult benchmark, so there is no cut-off to pass. The result screen groups accuracy into 80% or more, 50 to 79% and under 50%. Random guessing would give about 7 or 8 of 30, so scores near that level carry little information, and language background shapes any vocabulary score.
Is a vocabulary test an IQ test?
Not this one. Vocabulary items appear in many intelligence batteries, and word-based tests are sometimes used to estimate earlier ability, but this 30-word version has no norms and does not produce or estimate an IQ. It reports correct answers, accuracy and accuracy by difficulty group.
Can I take the vocabulary test on my phone?
Yes. The answers are large buttons stacked in a single column, easy to tap with a thumb. Nothing is timed, so a small screen does not cost you points.
Sources
- Horn and Cattell (1967): Age differences in fluid and crystallized intelligence
- Crawford et al. (2001): The NART as an index of prior intellectual functioning, a retrospective study over 66 years
- Lezak, Howieson, Bigler and Tranel (2012): Neuropsychological Assessment, 5th edition
- Strauss, Sherman and Spreen (2006): A Compendium of Neuropsychological Tests, 3rd edition