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I have a problem using Merriam-Webster dictionary. I can't use it properly.

For example, if we search for Cramped in Google it says uncomfortably small or restricted.

But I can't find any meaning that matches the Google's translation in Merriam-Webster. Could you give me some tips and advice to use it correctly?

J.R.
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  • If you look up cramped in Merriam-Webster you will find it listed in the "verb" and "adjective" sections of the entry for cramp. If you look it up in Lexico (Oxford Dictionaries) you will find a specific entry. – Weather Vane Jun 10 '19 at 19:42
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    I'll offer an entirely different tip: Try using OneLook instead of M-W. It will give links to several dictionaries (including M-W, Macmillan, and Collins), and include links to dictionaries aimed at learners (like Cambridge). It also often includes a link to Wordnik, too, which actually lists meanings from four different dictionaries on one page. – J.R. Jun 10 '19 at 19:54

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It's there, but you need to know how to look for it.

First, since Google is displaying the adjectival definitions, we need to scroll down to the adjective definition in Merriam-Webster (the fourth of 4 definitions). There we find:

cramp (adjective)
: being cramped

Some might say that circular definition is not very descriptive, but we can look at another part of the M-W entry, where we find:

cramp (verb)
: confine, restrain

When we put those two together, the resulting phrase being confined or restrained seems pretty much synonymous with uncomfortably small or restricted. After all, Google displays this definition for confined:

confined (adjective) (of a space) restricted in area or volume; cramped.

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J.R.
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