by , 7:30 AM EDT, August 8th, 2007

Mac OS X hides a clever little way to double-check a word's spelling and definition at the same time. Instead of launching the Dictionary application, you can open a dictionary window with a simple keyboard shortcut.

Here's how:

• Select the word you want a definition for.
• Type Command-Control-D

You don't need to launch Dictionary to take advantage of it.

The dictionary window appears showing what the word means along with how to spell it. Click anywhere else in your document to close the dictionary window.

The downside is that this keyboard shortcut doesn't work in every application. Most Apple applications recognize the shortcut, but some third-party apps don't.

This Quick Tip was adapted from The Designer's Guide to Mac OS X.