Trivia Time

Which TV show is credited with being the first to use google as a verb?

Test Your Knowledge

Google

American  

[goo-guhl] / ˈgu gəl /

Trademark.

1. the brand name for a leading internet search engine, founded in 1998.

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verb (used with object)

Googled, Googling

1. (often lowercase) to search the internet for information about (a person, topic, etc.).

   We googled the new applicant to check her background.

verb (used without object)

Googled, Googling

1. (often lowercase) to use a search engine such as Google to find information, a website address, etc., on the internet.

Google British  

/ ˈɡuːɡəl /

noun

1. a popular search engine on the internet

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verb

1. to search for (something on the internet) using a search engine

2. to check (the credentials of someone) by searching for websites containing his or her name

Etymology

Origin of Google

First recorded in 1998; after mathematical term googol

Explanation

To google is to use an online search engine to find some piece of information. You might google your favorite author to find out what other books she's written. Searching the Internet for answers to questions, details about people, map directions, and other information is a common activity for most of us, and since the 1990s, most of us have come to use the verb google to describe it. The verb comes from the Google search engine, first active in 1997, although until about 2000 it was mostly used in the phrase "Do a google on."

Example Sentences

Apple has struggled to get its own AI innovation off the ground, and tapped Google to overhaul its Siri chatbot at the start of this year.

From The Wall Street Journal • Jun. 9, 2026

Many of the advances Apple announced on Monday have already been rolled out to individual users by Google, with AI-powered Gemini features added to Gmail, Maps and its Android operating system for smartphones and tablets.

From Barron's • Jun. 8, 2026

Earlier this year, the company partnered with Google to roll out Apple Foundation Models that will be based on Google's Gemini models and cloud technology.

From BBC • Jun. 8, 2026

Apple partnered with Google to help improve its AI features.

From Los Angeles Times • Jun. 8, 2026

Warren, Illinois, was a stagecoach stop in 1851, according to Grandpa Ed’s tireless Google research.

From "A Heart in a Body in the World" by Deb Caletti