01 · Error 404 · Not found
404: the page that isn't there
404 noun — the HTTP status code for “Not Found.” The message a server returns when the page you asked for doesn't exist at that address.
Say it /ˌfɔːr oʊ ˈfɔːr/ · four-oh-FOUR · The full entry — history, the CERN myth, 404 vs 410 →
A 404 is also a feeling: the thing you can't name. This dictionary is for the un-findable words. Describe the feeling, and we'll hand you its word.
The codes either side of it
Seven replies a server can give you. Only one of them says the page isn't there and nothing more.
- 400Bad RequestThe request itself was faulty — usually malformed — so the server would not process it.
- 401UnauthorizedNo valid credentials arrived. Despite the name, this is about proving who you are.
- 403ForbiddenIt exists, and you are refused. Signing in will not always help.
- 404Not FoundNothing found at this address, or nothing the server will admit to — and no claim about whether anything ever was.
- 410GoneRemoved deliberately, and unlikely to return.
- 451Unavailable For Legal ReasonsAccess denied as a consequence of a legal demand.
- 500Internal Server ErrorThe server broke. This one genuinely is not you.
451 is the strange one: it reports a legal obstacle rather than a technical one, and was standardised in RFC 7725 in February 2016. Its acknowledgements thank Terence Eden for noticing that 403 would not do — and then, without further comment, “Thanks also to Ray Bradbury.”
The full entry on 404 — the spec, the myth, the soft 404 →Asked often
How do you fix a 404 error as a visitor?
Usually by correcting the address or finding the page another way — a 404 is almost never something you can repair from your side. Check the URL for a typo or a stray character, strip it back to the site's home page and navigate in, or search the site for the title you wanted. If a link brought you here, the page it pointed at has most likely moved or been deleted, and only the site's owner can fix that.
Do 404 errors hurt your SEO?
No. Google's own guidance is explicit: “404 errors are a perfectly normal part of the web” (Search Central blog, 2011), and it adds that when you remove a page it prefers a proper 404 or 410 over a soft 404 that returns a success code. What does cost you is a broken internal link a visitor follows, or a deleted page that still has links pointing at it from elsewhere — that is lost traffic rather than a ranking penalty.
What makes a good 404 page?
One that returns a real 404 status code, then helps. The code matters most: a page that says “not found” while returning 200 OK is a soft 404, and it tells search engines a genuine page lives at a dead address. Beyond that, a good one says plainly what happened, offers a search box and a route back into the site, and keeps the site's own navigation — so a dead end becomes a doorway.
What is the difference between a 404 and a 500 error?
404 means the server is fine and the page is not there; 500 means the server itself broke. A 404 sits in the 4xx block, where the specification treats the request as the problem — the address you asked for has nothing behind it. A 500 is in the 5xx block, which is the server admitting the fault is its own. If you are seeing 500s, refreshing later is reasonable; with a 404 the page is genuinely not at that address.
The ranking answer quotes Google Search Central, “Do 404 errors hurt my site?”
Today, and the one you can't name
A velleity is a wish so faint it never turns into any attempt to act on it.
nounSay vel-EE-i-teeRare & Beautiful EnglishOpen the entry →
My wordsMy 404 · every streakReal or 404? · daily gameRSS · word of the day
Find
Describe a feeling. We'll find its word.
- 01Describe the feelingIn your own words, the way you would say it to a friend.
- 02We match the descriptionAgainst 2473 descriptions recorded on the entries themselves.
- 03Read the entryDefinition, origin, sources, and the words either side of it.
Words people couldn't find
Filter by genre. Every card opens a full entry with its sources.
- HiraethnounHiraeth is a Welsh word for a deep, grief-tinged longing for a home, a time, or Wales itself — a home that may be lost, idealised, or that never quite existed.Described as“longing for a home I can't return to, or that never was”Untranslatable↗
- KilignounKilig is the physical rush — shivers, weak knees, butterflies — that a romantic thrill sets off in the body.Described as“kilig to the bones”Untranslatable↗
- KomorebinounKomorebi is the Japanese word for sunlight filtering through the leaves of trees — the dappled, shifting play of light and shadow that falls beneath a canopy.Described as“that dappled light under the trees on a bright day”Untranslatable↗
- SaudadenounSaudade is a Portuguese word for the bittersweet ache of missing someone or something absent — a longing so warm it is almost a form of love.Described as“a sweet sadness, missing someone or something deeply”Untranslatable↗
- LimerencenounLimerence is an involuntary state of intense romantic obsession, in which your mind fixes on one person and aches for a sign that they feel the same.Described as“obsessive infatuation I can't switch off”Psychology↗
- DoomscrollingnounDoomscrolling is the compulsive habit of scrolling through a bottomless feed of bad news, unable to stop even though it keeps making you feel worse.Described as“I can't stop reading bad news even though it makes me feel worse”Psychology↗
- SituationshipnounA situationship is a romantic or sexual relationship that's been left undefined — you're involved, but without any agreed commitment, exclusivity, or label.Described as“more than friends but not officially together”Dating↗
- ApophenianounApophenia is the tendency to perceive meaningful patterns, connections or significance in things that are actually random or unrelated.Described as“why do I see patterns everywhere”Cognitive Biases↗
Six drawn maps
Families of words, placed by what they share, so you can see the ground between them. Or skip the map: describe the feeling, and the reverse dictionary finds the word.
- Map · 51 wordsUntranslatable words51 feelings English has no word for.
- Map · 20 wordsOld-fashioned insults20 old insults, and which of them are real.
- Map · 38 wordsCognitive biases38 ways a mind gets it wrong.
- Map · 38 wordsDating terms38 words for what dating does now.
- Map · 34 wordsInternet terms34 words the internet needed.
- Map · 36 wordsWorkplace terms36 words for what work does to people.
Eight worlds
Some words are places. Eight of them are built as worlds you can walk into, each with its own design and its own motion: 615 pages between them.