Cerco il significato di quella parola nel dizionario prima di scriverla.

Cerco is the present tense of cercare and means I look for / I search for. In Italian, the simple present is often used where English might use either I look up or I’m looking up, depending on context.

So Cerco il significato... can naturally mean:

• I look up the meaning...
• I’m looking for the meaning...

Sto cercando is also possible in some contexts, but it emphasizes the ongoing action more strongly: I am in the middle of looking for it. The simple present is usually the most normal choice here.

Yes, cercare literally means to look for / to search for, but in this kind of sentence it works very naturally for the idea of looking something up.

So Cerco il significato di quella parola nel dizionario is literally something like:

I search for the meaning of that word in the dictionary

In natural English, we would usually say I look up the meaning of that word in the dictionary. Italian often expresses this idea with cercare plus the thing you want to find.

Italian uses the definite article much more often than English does. Here, il significato means the meaning.

So:

• il significato = the meaning
• significato by itself would sound less natural here

Italian generally prefers the article in expressions like this, especially when talking about a specific thing.

Also, significato is a masculine singular noun, so it takes il.

Di here means of.

So:

• il significato di quella parola = the meaning of that word

This is a very common Italian structure:

• il nome di... = the name of...
• il colore di... = the color of...
• il significato di... = the meaning of...

So di quella parola simply tells you whose meaning you are looking for: the meaning of that word.

Because parola is a feminine singular noun.

The demonstrative that must agree with the noun:

• quel for many masculine singular nouns
• quella for feminine singular nouns

Examples:

• quel libro = that book
• quella parola = that word

Since parola is feminine, you need quella.

Nel is a contraction of:

• in + il = nel

So:

• nel dizionario = in the dictionary

Italian often combines prepositions and articles this way:

• a + il = al
• di + il = del
• in + il = nel
• su + il = sul

So nel dizionario is just the normal way to say in the dictionary.

Because Italian usually says in the dictionary, not just in dictionary.

So:

• nel dizionario = in the dictionary

Even when English sometimes sounds more flexible, Italian often keeps the article. Here it is completely normal and expected.

After prima when you mean before doing something, Italian uses:

prima di + infinitive

So:

• prima di scrivere = before writing
• prima di partire = before leaving
• prima di mangiare = before eating

In this sentence:

• prima di scriverla = before writing it

So the pattern is very important:

prima di + infinitive

Scriverla is made of two parts:

• scrivere = to write
• la = it

Together:

• scriverla = to write it

In Italian, object pronouns are often attached to the end of an infinitive:

• vederlo = to see it / him
• farla = to do it
• dirti = to tell you
• scriverla = to write it

So here la refers back to quella parola, because parola is feminine singular.

Because when an object pronoun goes with an infinitive, Italian often attaches it directly to the end.

So instead of:

• prima di la scrivere ❌

you say:

• prima di scriverla ✅

This is the normal rule with infinitives. A few more examples:

• voglio vederlo = I want to see it/him
• devo farlo = I have to do it
• prima di dirlo = before saying it

So scriverla is not unusual at all; it is the expected form.

Here la means it, because it refers to parola.

Italian object pronouns agree with the grammatical gender of the noun they replace:

• libro is masculine → lo
• parola is feminine → la

So:

• scrivere la parola = to write the word
• scriverla = to write it

Even though la can also mean her in other contexts, here the meaning is clearly it, referring to that word.

Yes, Italian word order is fairly flexible, but the given order is very natural.

The sentence is:

Cerco il significato di quella parola nel dizionario prima di scriverla.

Here nel dizionario is placed right after quella parola, and it clearly tells you where the speaker looks for the meaning.

You could also hear variations like:

• Prima di scriverla, cerco il significato di quella parola nel dizionario.

That changes the emphasis a bit, but not the basic meaning.

So the original order is normal and easy to understand.

Yes, but it would mean something different.

• Cerco il significato di quella parola nel dizionario = I look up the meaning of that word in the dictionary
• Cerco quella parola nel dizionario = I look for that word in the dictionary

The original sentence is specifically about finding the meaning, not just locating the word itself. So il significato is important.