scraping-urban-dictionary-definitions

Scraping Urban Dictionary Definitions

Raw data collection. No assumed use case — returns the full dataset for downstream analysis.

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Inputs

Parameter	Type	Required	Default	Notes
startUrls	array	Optional	[]	Urban Dictionary search URLs
keywords	array	Optional	[]	Keywords/slang terms to search
maxItems	number	Optional	Unlimited	Maximum definitions to return
customMapFunction	string	Optional	—	JavaScript function to transform each output object

How to Run

Using run_actor.js (recommended)

# Quick answer (table)
node scripts/run_actor.js --actor "apidojo~urbandictionary-scraper" --input '{"keywords": ["slay", "lowkey"], "maxItems": 10}'

# Save as CSV
node scripts/run_actor.js --actor "apidojo~urbandictionary-scraper" --input '{"keywords": ["slay", "lowkey"], "maxItems": 10}' --output results.csv --format csv

# Save as JSON
node scripts/run_actor.js --actor "apidojo~urbandictionary-scraper" --input '{"keywords": ["slay", "lowkey"], "maxItems": 10}' --output results.json --format json

REST API fallback

curl -X POST "https://api.apify.com/v2/acts/apidojo~urbandictionary-scraper/runs" \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $APIFY_TOKEN" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{"keywords": ["slay", "lowkey"], "maxItems": 10}'

If Apify MCP is available: Use the Apify MCP call_actor tool with actor apidojo~urbandictionary-scraper and the input above.

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Output Fields

Field	Type	Description
word	string	The term being defined
definition	string	User-submitted definition
example	string	Example sentence
author	string	Definition author username
id	number	Definition ID
createdAt	string	Submission timestamp (ISO 8601)
numberOfThumbsUp	number	Upvotes
numberOfThumbsDown	number	Downvotes
url	string	Definition URL

Edge Cases

• No results: Term may not be in Urban Dictionary or spelled differently.
• NSFW content: Urban Dictionary contains explicit content by design — filter downstream if needed.
• Multiple definitions: A word may have 50+ entries. Use maxItems to cap.
• Community vote gap: High thumbs-up vs thumbs-down indicates consensus vs controversy.