Glossaries

Creating and managing a glossary in Smartcat

Zachary Ralston Updated July 24, 2026 3 min read

Overview

Use glossaries in Smartcat to ensure consistent terminology across your translation projects. You can create a glossary from scratch, add terms manually, or upload a file from another tool. This article explains how to set up and manage glossaries in Smartcat.

Requirements and limitations

You must have the appropriate workspace role (admin or PM) to create and manage glossaries. Freelancers can suggest terms for approval but cannot add them directly.
When importing from a MultiTerm XML file, only terms without additional attributes are uploaded. To upload terms with attributes, use the XLSX format.
You can have only one import option active at a time: either replace all existing terms or add new terms without replacing existing ones.

Create a glossary

In the left sidebar of your Smartcat homepage, go to Intelligence Fabric > Terminology.
Click Create glossary.
Fill in the glossary details:
Glossary Name — required
Languages — add as many as needed by clicking the plus button
Comments — optional description or notes
Clients — available if you are a vendor or language service provider serving clients on the platform
Project tags — associate the glossary with specific projects
Under Advanced instructions, add optional field-level structure. Available fields vary by level:
Position level: definition source, subject, example
Language level: definition, definition source, comments
Term level: source, gender, number, part of speech
Click Save.

Your glossary is created and ready to use. These fields let you build a detail-rich glossary with full context for your collaborators. For more on field types and structure, see How to set up glossary properties and structure.

Add terms manually

After creating a glossary, add entries one by one directly on the glossary page. You can include comments, a definition, and any other details based on the fields you enabled in Advanced instructions.

You can also use the search bar on the glossary page to find existing terms quickly.

Upload a glossary from a file

If you have an existing glossary saved elsewhere, you can upload it instead of adding terms manually.

On the glossary page, select Upload.
Select your file. Supported formats:
XLSX — supports terms with and without attributes
MultiTerm XML — terms without additional attributes only; use XLSX if you need attributes
Choose your import option:
Replace all terms — overwrites all existing entries
Add new terms — adds new entries without removing existing ones