Not all domain names are made of dictionary words, but many are, either singly or in combination. In this article I provide links to resources, mainly free, that can help you optimize using and combining words in domain names.
Look It Up In A Dictionary
Especially if dealing with a somewhat unfamiliar term, start by looking it up in a dictionary. Here are several English language dictionary options:
If you are considering using a term in a domain name, it is important to be familiar with all of the meanings of that word. Most dictionaries will number these, but may only show the first few unless you expand the text. Knowing all the meanings will alert you to possible negative or undesired connotations, as well as indicate additional ways a term might be used.
What Part of Speech?
Any dictionary will tell you if a term is a noun, verb, adverb, adjective, etc. That is important information for a couple of reasons. There are exceptions, but generally nouns have higher value as domain names, followed by verbs. Adjectives and adverbs find use in domain names, but generally are less desired. Prepositions are even less common in domain names.
It is also important to know the part of speech since it influences whether a word combination is correct. More on that in the next section.
Here is a useful guide to the main ideas of parts of speech.
Word Combination Basics
While there are exceptions, generally follow rules on how terms are normally combined. Adjective + Noun is generally the most valuable combination of words.
Consider the terms ‘red’ and ‘fox’. ‘Fox’ is a noun, and ‘red’ is most commonly an adjective. The combination RedFox is correct, since the adjective precedes the noun, the normal case. Of course red fox is a particular type of fox, making the combination even more widely used.
Generally speaking, two adjectives, two verbs, or two nouns would not be a proper combination. There are exceptions to this, and all, rules.
Surprisingly, there is only one 4-figure sale on NameBio including the term, but ‘RedFox’ is registered in 211 extensions and has a total domain count of 3109 according to dotDB.
Adverbs often qualify a verb, but they can also be applied to an adjective or even another adverb. Their placement relative to the term qualified can vary as well.
Validity Check Via OpenCorporates
You can use a listing of business names to see how frequently a combination is used. For example, when we check OpenCorporates there are more than 1400 active companies using ‘red fox’, although in a number of cases it is related to an address.
Validity Check Via Quotation Marks Google Search
Another way to get an idea of how common a word combination is, do a quotation mark search with Google, followed by pressing the Tools button. When I do that for “red fox,’ there are 21.4 million results. Reverse the order, ‘fox red’, and there are far fewer, only 1.7 million.
Don’t confuse number of search results with search volume, two entirely different things, but the results number can be a helpful indicator of a word combination familiarity.
Check Coherence of Across-The-Dot Matches
Paying attention to parts of speech is not only important for two-word .com domain names. For any extension pay attention to the different parts of speech the extension can represent. In general, the word + extension combination is strongest when it represents a proper combination, such as an an adjective SLD (second level domain) with a noun TLD (top level domain, or extension).
Some extensions can be a noun, verb, adjective or adverb, and that makes more combinations possible. I am not sure how good an extension .run is, but one advantage is that ‘run’ can be used as a noun, verb or adjective. Also, within verb and noun there are more than a dozen different possible meanings for ‘run’. Check out ‘run’ at Merriam-Webster to see what I mean.
Alliteration and Adjectives
Who doesn’t like an alliterative domain name? The repeated sound in names with alliteration helps the domain name feel catchy and probably helps it be remembered. But most great alliterative names are either already in use, or held by another investor.
One way to search for overlooked combinations is to find a desired adjective that starts the same letter as your noun base. There are many online lists of adjectives, but I prefer 250+ Adjectives for Everyday Use at BYJU’s. The adjectives are presented in lists by starting letter, and if you stick with their ‘most popular’ lists almost every entry is a great branding term.
Rhyming
Another way to make a domain name feel special, and be more easily remembered, is to use rhyming between the two words. Again, there are various online tools to help you find rhyming combinations. One good one is RhymeZone.
It is very easy to use RhymeZone, just enter a word like domain and it will tell you that it rhymes with gain, sane, reign, chain, train, vane, pain and many others. The site nicely divides them into 1 syllable and 2 syllable possibilities, and places in bold the more common terms.
Synonyms – Thesaurus
Let’s say you really want to own a single-word domain name, but even if you have a decent acquisition budget, that word is simply is not available in the extensions you would consider.
One approach is to find synonyms for the term. Most dictionaries have a synonym section, but my favorite tool for synonyms if Thesaurus.com. It’s simple to use, just enter the term, and it will provide synonyms dividing them into lists according to strength of similarity.
Slang and Trending Terms
When I interviewed Ken Lin for the NamePros Blog, he introduced me to the trending slang term ‘skibidi.’ Recently Merriam-Webster started a new segment for Slang & Trending terms, and ‘skibidi’ is the top entry. As Ken related, money can be made with the right trending terms, even if they are slang.
The Free Dictionary Words Containing Feature
I’m not normally much of a fan of The Free Dictionary for definitions, but the site has a feature that I use frequently. You can find words that contain some term.
Search for Domain Hacks Using Words That End With
I also use The Free Dictionary when searching for words that end with a certain term. This can be applied to searching for domain hacks, where you make the ends with term a domain extension. For example, there is a .red extension, and you can use The Free Dictionary search for words that end in 'red'. The search can be repeated with any of the 1000+ domain extensions. Unfortunately, I have found that with almost any extension, the good domain hacks have all been taken.
Merriam-Webster also provides a service for names ending in a certain word, for example, here is the Merriam-Webster list of words ending in red.
How Memorable Is That Word?
Memorable names are important, but it is sometimes hard to assess memorability. If looking for a second opinion, I mentioned last week that at symbolics.com you can get a free domain name quality report that includes a memorability score out of 20.
Word Use In Books
While use of a word in books is only one indicator, Google Ngram Viewer is an easy free tool to compare use of different terms in digitized books. It will not give the last few years, so is of limited use for recently trending terms. Here are three terms getting some attention from the domain community – do an Ngram Viewer analysis for agentive, metaverse, and agentic. I was somewhat surprised by the results.
I particularly pay attention to the trend in use plotted with Ngram Viewer, not just the overall trend numbers.
ProKiller Resource Site
Just as I was completing this article, James Kim released a new domain resource site called ProKiller.com. It is a multi-faceted set of resources related to domain names, for example listing marketplaces, registrars, domain sales sites, or dropcatch alternatives.
ProKiller also supports research and learning tools, and a number tie in nicely to this article. For example, if you click on Keyword from the main ProKiller.com menu, it will take you to resources including Grammar Rules, Confused Words, Keyword Dominator, etc. Then click on Grammar Rules, and you go to a nice set of documents about word use from GingerSoftware.
The WordFinder item I found with ProKiller directed me to an alternative way to find words that start with, contain or end with some term at WordFinder.
The ProKiller site is in early release, but it already contains a large number of helpful links and resources all in one place. James Kim, the developer, refers to it as “One-stop hub for domain investors.”
Please share in the comments below your own go-to tools and sites for aspects of words and word combinations.
When I was learning about parts of speech in grade 5 in a four-classroom rural school, I never imagined that I would be writing about parts of speech six decades later for a global community. Thank you Mrs. Layton for those classes.
A special thanks to all responsible for the various resources and sites mentioned in this article. We are indeed fortunate to have so many resources freely available.
Look It Up In A Dictionary
Especially if dealing with a somewhat unfamiliar term, start by looking it up in a dictionary. Here are several English language dictionary options:
- Merriam-Webster This is the go-to source for American spelling and meaning, and is free to use. This dictionary has roots back to 1832.
- Oxford English Dictionary The OED has been the scholarly English language reference for hundreds of years. While you can get some functionality without a subscription, you will need a personal subscription, or a subscription through an institution, to fully access the OED.
- Collins Dictionary is free to use, and is a British-based complement to Merriam-Webster. It also has deep historical roots, and is a well-respected resource.
- There are many online dictionaries, perhaps the best known Dictionary.com.
If you are considering using a term in a domain name, it is important to be familiar with all of the meanings of that word. Most dictionaries will number these, but may only show the first few unless you expand the text. Knowing all the meanings will alert you to possible negative or undesired connotations, as well as indicate additional ways a term might be used.
What Part of Speech?
Any dictionary will tell you if a term is a noun, verb, adverb, adjective, etc. That is important information for a couple of reasons. There are exceptions, but generally nouns have higher value as domain names, followed by verbs. Adjectives and adverbs find use in domain names, but generally are less desired. Prepositions are even less common in domain names.
It is also important to know the part of speech since it influences whether a word combination is correct. More on that in the next section.
Here is a useful guide to the main ideas of parts of speech.
Word Combination Basics
While there are exceptions, generally follow rules on how terms are normally combined. Adjective + Noun is generally the most valuable combination of words.
Consider the terms ‘red’ and ‘fox’. ‘Fox’ is a noun, and ‘red’ is most commonly an adjective. The combination RedFox is correct, since the adjective precedes the noun, the normal case. Of course red fox is a particular type of fox, making the combination even more widely used.
Generally speaking, two adjectives, two verbs, or two nouns would not be a proper combination. There are exceptions to this, and all, rules.
Surprisingly, there is only one 4-figure sale on NameBio including the term, but ‘RedFox’ is registered in 211 extensions and has a total domain count of 3109 according to dotDB.
Adverbs often qualify a verb, but they can also be applied to an adjective or even another adverb. Their placement relative to the term qualified can vary as well.
Validity Check Via OpenCorporates
You can use a listing of business names to see how frequently a combination is used. For example, when we check OpenCorporates there are more than 1400 active companies using ‘red fox’, although in a number of cases it is related to an address.
Validity Check Via Quotation Marks Google Search
Another way to get an idea of how common a word combination is, do a quotation mark search with Google, followed by pressing the Tools button. When I do that for “red fox,’ there are 21.4 million results. Reverse the order, ‘fox red’, and there are far fewer, only 1.7 million.
Don’t confuse number of search results with search volume, two entirely different things, but the results number can be a helpful indicator of a word combination familiarity.
Check Coherence of Across-The-Dot Matches
Paying attention to parts of speech is not only important for two-word .com domain names. For any extension pay attention to the different parts of speech the extension can represent. In general, the word + extension combination is strongest when it represents a proper combination, such as an an adjective SLD (second level domain) with a noun TLD (top level domain, or extension).
Some extensions can be a noun, verb, adjective or adverb, and that makes more combinations possible. I am not sure how good an extension .run is, but one advantage is that ‘run’ can be used as a noun, verb or adjective. Also, within verb and noun there are more than a dozen different possible meanings for ‘run’. Check out ‘run’ at Merriam-Webster to see what I mean.
Alliteration and Adjectives
Who doesn’t like an alliterative domain name? The repeated sound in names with alliteration helps the domain name feel catchy and probably helps it be remembered. But most great alliterative names are either already in use, or held by another investor.
One way to search for overlooked combinations is to find a desired adjective that starts the same letter as your noun base. There are many online lists of adjectives, but I prefer 250+ Adjectives for Everyday Use at BYJU’s. The adjectives are presented in lists by starting letter, and if you stick with their ‘most popular’ lists almost every entry is a great branding term.
Rhyming
Another way to make a domain name feel special, and be more easily remembered, is to use rhyming between the two words. Again, there are various online tools to help you find rhyming combinations. One good one is RhymeZone.
It is very easy to use RhymeZone, just enter a word like domain and it will tell you that it rhymes with gain, sane, reign, chain, train, vane, pain and many others. The site nicely divides them into 1 syllable and 2 syllable possibilities, and places in bold the more common terms.
Synonyms – Thesaurus
Let’s say you really want to own a single-word domain name, but even if you have a decent acquisition budget, that word is simply is not available in the extensions you would consider.
One approach is to find synonyms for the term. Most dictionaries have a synonym section, but my favorite tool for synonyms if Thesaurus.com. It’s simple to use, just enter the term, and it will provide synonyms dividing them into lists according to strength of similarity.
Slang and Trending Terms
When I interviewed Ken Lin for the NamePros Blog, he introduced me to the trending slang term ‘skibidi.’ Recently Merriam-Webster started a new segment for Slang & Trending terms, and ‘skibidi’ is the top entry. As Ken related, money can be made with the right trending terms, even if they are slang.
The Free Dictionary Words Containing Feature
I’m not normally much of a fan of The Free Dictionary for definitions, but the site has a feature that I use frequently. You can find words that contain some term.
Search for Domain Hacks Using Words That End With
I also use The Free Dictionary when searching for words that end with a certain term. This can be applied to searching for domain hacks, where you make the ends with term a domain extension. For example, there is a .red extension, and you can use The Free Dictionary search for words that end in 'red'. The search can be repeated with any of the 1000+ domain extensions. Unfortunately, I have found that with almost any extension, the good domain hacks have all been taken.
Merriam-Webster also provides a service for names ending in a certain word, for example, here is the Merriam-Webster list of words ending in red.
How Memorable Is That Word?
Memorable names are important, but it is sometimes hard to assess memorability. If looking for a second opinion, I mentioned last week that at symbolics.com you can get a free domain name quality report that includes a memorability score out of 20.
Word Use In Books
While use of a word in books is only one indicator, Google Ngram Viewer is an easy free tool to compare use of different terms in digitized books. It will not give the last few years, so is of limited use for recently trending terms. Here are three terms getting some attention from the domain community – do an Ngram Viewer analysis for agentive, metaverse, and agentic. I was somewhat surprised by the results.
I particularly pay attention to the trend in use plotted with Ngram Viewer, not just the overall trend numbers.
ProKiller Resource Site
Just as I was completing this article, James Kim released a new domain resource site called ProKiller.com. It is a multi-faceted set of resources related to domain names, for example listing marketplaces, registrars, domain sales sites, or dropcatch alternatives.
ProKiller also supports research and learning tools, and a number tie in nicely to this article. For example, if you click on Keyword from the main ProKiller.com menu, it will take you to resources including Grammar Rules, Confused Words, Keyword Dominator, etc. Then click on Grammar Rules, and you go to a nice set of documents about word use from GingerSoftware.
The WordFinder item I found with ProKiller directed me to an alternative way to find words that start with, contain or end with some term at WordFinder.
The ProKiller site is in early release, but it already contains a large number of helpful links and resources all in one place. James Kim, the developer, refers to it as “One-stop hub for domain investors.”
Please share in the comments below your own go-to tools and sites for aspects of words and word combinations.
When I was learning about parts of speech in grade 5 in a four-classroom rural school, I never imagined that I would be writing about parts of speech six decades later for a global community. Thank you Mrs. Layton for those classes.
A special thanks to all responsible for the various resources and sites mentioned in this article. We are indeed fortunate to have so many resources freely available.
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