Using Dictionary to check definitions of words in Preview

Hi! I tried searching, but could not find anything pertaining to this issue:
I just switched from Windows four months ago, thus I'm sorry if this sounds stupid. Can the Dictionary application be launched to look up definitions of words while viewing PDFs in the Preview application, just as with TextEdit and Safari? I think, but cannot be sure, that I used to be able to do so.
Currently, if I need to look up words while in Safari or Mail (or Pages), I select the word, hold down the Control key as I click my mouse, and choose "Look Up in Dictionary" from the shortcut menu.
However, when I perform the same actions while reading PDFs in Preview, the shortcut menu that appears only contains "Actual Size", "Zoom In", "Zoom Out", and other options pertaining to viewing. "Look Up in Dictionary" is not in the shortcut menu, neither is "Copy" or "Search in Spotlight".
Thinking that I might have perhaps done something to cause this, I've tried thrashing the Preview plist, and even the Dictionary one. All to no avail, I still cannot look up definitions of words while reading PDFs in Preview. Is there a problem with my Preview? If so, how can I rectify it?
By the way, is Preview a Cocoa application?
Appreciate your input. Thank you in advance.
iBook G4   Mac OS X (10.4.5)   Recently switched from Windows four months ago

You can select/highlight any word ("tool mode >> text
tool") but the option to lookup in dicitionary is not
available.
Yes. (...is Preview a Cocoa application?)
Thank you, Macjack. You've been a great help.
How about "Copy"? Is it available from the shortcut menu that appears when you highlight/select the word, and press "Ctrl" and click the mouse in Preview?
Yup, I tried it in Acrobat Professional and it does lead me to dictionary.com. I'd rather use Preview for reading PDFs as it loads much faster than Acrobat Professional (or any of the Adobe applications in CS2, for that matter) on my ibook.
You can however run both programs simultaneously
and type in the word you want to check on manually.
Thank you, Sig. That's indeed helpful.

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