Lexpad
The word and its meanings
Part of speech, level, pronunciation and up to three meanings with examples, written by AI with your sentence as context. You can edit them later.
PDFs and e-booksSave words from PDFs and e-books
on Mac or Windows
Install the free Lexpad desktop app, select a word in the PDF or e-book app you are reading, and press ⌘⇧L on a Mac or Ctrl+Shift+L on Windows. A card shows the word’s meanings; press Enter and it goes into your notebook with a note of the app it came from, and with its sentence when the app lets Lexpad read the text around your selection.
By Reza Pirighadim, who makes Lexpad. Checked against the app on 13 October 2026.
- Shortcut
- ⌘⇧L or Ctrl+Shift+L
- Keeps
- Word, meanings, sentence when shared, app name
- Systems
- macOS 11+, Windows 10 and 11
- Price
- Free
In short
On a Mac or a Windows PC
- Install Lexpad for Mac or Windows and choose Connect to Lexpad; you allow it in your browser.
- Open the PDF or the e-book in the app you always use.
- Select a word or a short phrase and press ⌘ ⇧ L on a Mac or Ctrl Shift L on Windows.
- Read the card and press Enter to add the word, or Esc to close it.
The word is in your notebook, ready to practise today.
Set it up once
- Mac: macOS 11 or later, one download for Apple silicon and Intel. macOS lets an app read another app’s selection only with the Accessibility permission: Lexpad explains it and opens the pane (System Settings, Privacy & Security, Accessibility). Without it you can still type a word.
- Windows: Windows 10 or 11, 64-bit. No permission is needed. The Microsoft Store copy is signed and updates itself.
- You sign in through your browser; no password is typed into the app. The shortcut can be changed in Settings, This computer.
The desktop app is free. Its meanings use the same daily AI allowance as the rest of Lexpad, which Pro raises.
What is saved
The sentence
The sentence the word was in becomes its first example, when the app let Lexpad read the text around your selection. When it did not, no sentence is kept, and none is made up.
Where you met it
A private note with the app’s name, such as “Seen in Preview”. Never the window title, so never the document’s or the book’s name.
Want to practise one book at a time? Give its words a topic, such as the book’s title, on each word’s page, then filter the notebook by that topic and choose Practise these.
When no sentence comes along
Lexpad first asks the system for your selection and the text around it (Accessibility on a Mac, UI Automation on Windows). Some apps do not share that. Then Lexpad copies the selection instead, with ⌘C or Ctrl+C, and puts your clipboard back exactly as it was. The word arrives, but without its sentence. Two ways to keep the sentence anyway:
- Select the whole sentence and press the shortcut. The card lets you pick the word out of it, and the sentence comes along.
- Copy a paragraph and paste it into Lexpad’s Words worth keeping (Pro). AI marks the words and expressions worth a card, and each keeps the sentence it came from. Free Paste a text lets you pick words from the same paragraph, but saves them without a sentence.
- A scanned PDF is a picture of a page, with no text to select. Type the word in the panel’s Add a word box instead (click the Lexpad icon in the menu bar or the tray).
- An e-book app that limits copying may give Lexpad nothing to read. Type the word in the same box.
We have not tested every PDF and e-book app, so we do not publish a list. If the card opens empty, the two steps above still work.
What Lexpad reads
- Only what you selected, only when you press the shortcut (or use Services, Add to Lexpad on a Mac).
- When you look a word up, it sends the word and its sentence, as a hint for the meaning. When you add it, it also sends the meaning and the “Seen in” note.
- Never the rest of the document, a window title or a password field.
More on the desktop app page.
Reading somewhere else
- On a Kindle: every word you look up is kept in Vocabulary Builder. Import that file, or your highlights, and the words become cards. Kindle words to flashcards.
- On a phone or a tablet: there is no shortcut there. Copy a passage and paste it into Lexpad with Paste a text.
- On a web page: the browser extension adds a + button beside the word and keeps the page’s address. Save words while reading online.
Then let them come back
A saved word starts in box 1 and is asked today. Answer it right and it waits longer each time: 1, 3, 7, then 21 days, and up to a year once it is mastered. Miss it and it comes back today. How to memorize vocabulary explains why this works.
Good to know
Questions
Does it work in Preview, Adobe Acrobat or the Kindle app?
It works in any app where you can select text: Lexpad reads the selection through the system, or copies it. Whether the sentence comes along depends on the app. We have not tested every reader, so if a sentence is missing, select the whole sentence and press the shortcut.
Can I import a whole PDF into Lexpad?
No. Lexpad does not import PDF or e-book files. Copy the text and use Paste a text, then pick the words you want.
Does Lexpad read my whole document?
No. It reads only what you selected, and the text around it to find the sentence; only that one sentence is sent. It never records the document’s name.
Does the browser extension work on PDFs?
The extension is made for web pages. For a PDF, use the desktop app’s shortcut, which works in any app, browsers included.
Is it free?
Yes. The desktop app is free. Meanings written by AI use the same daily allowance as the rest of Lexpad; Pro raises it.
Does it work offline?
Adding a word needs a connection, because the meaning is written online. Practice in the app’s window works offline.
Lexpad
Your next word is worth keeping.
Lexpad is free to start, on the web and on Android. Bring the words you meet.