three finger tap lookup not working

With MacBook air M1 2020 and Ventura 13.2.1 the 3 finger tap to open dictionary doesnot work. I have tried the solution in another thread to no avail (start in safe mode) I do have the option "look up with three finger tap" checked. With double tap 3 fingers I get a limited screen zoom back and forth even though that option doesnot exist in trackpad settings.

With one finger double clic appears a link to https://www.deepl.com/translator# which is a paid translator ! and again this gesture doesnot belong to trackpad settings.

I need help ! Thanks.

MacBook Air 13″, macOS 13.2

Posted on Feb 27, 2023 03:01 AM

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2 replies

Mar 3, 2023 03:42 AM in response to Vilas_S

Well, life is exciting. After several days of "3 finger tap to open dictionary not working", this morning it is back to what it should have been all along. It's working ! I didnt do anything, didn't re-install Ventura nor plant needles in my trackpad. But it works. May be that your post sent good vibes to my Mac ?

Thank you anyway !

Feb 28, 2023 05:59 PM in response to Montdor

Hello Montdor,


Thank you for using Apple Support Communities. Sounds like you’re trying to use the three finger tap gesture to use the “Look up and data detectors” feature with your Mac, but nothing happens. You also mentioned that this issue continues in safe mode. According to the following resource here: How to use safe mode on your Mac - Apple Support


It states the following:

If the issue continues in safe mode
If the issue continues while in safe mode, or your Mac restarts several times and then shuts down while starting up in safe mode, you should reinstall macOS and make sure that your Apple software and third-party apps are up to date.

The resource suggests for you to perform a macOS reinstall. Steps for that can be found here: How to reinstall macOS - Apple Support


Apple silicon
Turn on your Mac and continue to press and hold the power button until you see the startup options window. Click the gear icon labeled Options, then click Continue. If you're asked to select a user you know the password for, select the user, click Next, then enter their administrator password. 

Once you see these options, select Reinstall macOS Ventura.
Utilities window in macOS Recovery 



Feel free to keep us posted on your results. Thank you for using Apple Support Communities.




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three finger tap lookup not working

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