HTTP Status Codes

OK

Success!

Bad Request

The request was invalid or cannot be otherwise served. An accompanying error message will explain further.

For example, when the filters provided are unknown, the source and target languages in the translation endpoint are the same.

Authentication failed

The request failed due to invalid credentials, or you have reached your Application allowance.

Please check that the app_id and app_key are correct, and that the URL you are trying to access is correct. You can manage your account at API Credentials, where you can also view your usage statistics.

Not Found

In Sandbox Only: first alphabet letter or equivalent has not been used. For example, using a headword beginning with Z and not A for languages that use a Latin Alphabet.

Otherwise: No information available or the requested URL was not found on the server.

For example, when the headword could not be found, a region or domain identifier do not exist, or the headword does not contain any attribute that match the filters in the request. It may also be the case that the URL is misspelled or incomplete.

Request URI Too Long

Request failed because application plan limit has been reached.

Usage Limit Exceeded

Your word_id exceeds the maximum 128 characters. Reduce the string that is passed to the API by calling only individual words.

For example, while trialing the OD API via the Sandbox, this would occur after attempting more than 500 calls.

Internal Server Error

Something is broken. Please contact us so the Oxford Dictionaries API team can investigate.

Bad Gateway

Oxford Dictionaries API is down or being upgraded.

Service Unavailable

The Oxford Dictionaries API servers are up, but overloaded with requests. Please try again later.

Gateway timeout

The Oxford Dictionaries API servers are up, but the request couldn’t be serviced due to some failure within our stack. Please try again later.