Bokmålsordboka and Nynorskordboka are medium-sized online dictionaries. The original dictionary in Bokmål contained around 65,000 articles and the Nynorsk dictionary freatured almost 90,000. After the current dictionary revision, it is estimated that both dictionaries will contain around 100,000 articles. The dictionaries document the central vocabulary in Norwegian – basically the most commonly occurring words in the written languages Bokmål and Nynorsk in the last 50 years that have been included. Specialised terms and terminology are only included if also used outside the field in which they have arisen.
The most common way to make new words in Norwegian is to compound existing words in new ways – and there are countless combination possibilities. Therefore, many compounds will not have their own articles in Bokmålsordboka and Nynorskordboka. Thus, if you do not find the Norwegian term for ‘bicycle seat’ (sykkelsete) as an entry in the dictionaries, it does not mean that the word does not exist or is not allowed to use. Compound words are generally only included based on the following considerations:
Similarly, only a limited selection of derivatives (for example, verbal nouns in -ing) are included in the standard dictionaries. In Norwegian it is possible to form ing-forms from most verbs. Thus, you will be able to find the words organisere (to organise) and sitere (to quote, to cite) in Bokmålsordboka and Nynorskordboka, and form the derivations organisering (organisation) and sitering (quotation, citation) yourself. Note, however, that there are potential ing-_forms that are rarely used, such as _komming (coming) and væring (being).
The Bokmålsordboka and Nynorskordboka are not to be regarded as lists of words permitted to use in Norwegian. There are many acceptable words – old as well as new – that are not in the dicitonary. New words do not need official approval before they can be used. It is the language users who jointly decide which words are commonly used in Norwegian. Normally, new words do not enter the dictionaries until they have been in use for some time and are well-established in the language. The dictionary editors decide which words are to be included based on surveys of large text corpora, and the Norwegian Language Council decides how the words are to be spelled and inflected.
Read more about the word selection in e.g. Bokmålsordboka and Nynorskordboka.
If you do not find the word you are looking for, you can check the larger documentation dictionaries Norsk Ordbok (for Nynorsk and dialect words) and NAOB (for Bokmål).