verb (used with object)
verb (used without object)
noun
verb
-
to search for (something on the internet) using a search engine
-
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
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
“Lines go quickly since all cashiers are efficient and they never let guests wait unduly,” one customer wrote in a quick Google review.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 22, 2026
“OpenAI was disrupted by DeepSeek; Google was disrupted by OpenAI,” he said.
From MarketWatch ● Oct. 22, 2026
A Google spokesperson said the company builds its products in partnership with educators and has specific protections for users under 18.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 21, 2026
Amazon sued Perplexity in November 2025, accusing the startup of using its Comet browser agent to covertly make purchases on its marketplace, and has also moved to restrict agents from Google and OpenAI.
From Barron's ● Oct. 21, 2026
“Don’t tell me you don’t know what Google is.”
From "The Wrong Way Home" by Kate O’Shaughnessy
Anyone who has Googled a disturbing symptom and plunged down a rabbit hole of anxiety might fancifully imagine that hypochondria is an internet-spawned phenomenon.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 23, 2026
The sentiment struck me as both suspiciously sensible and succinct enough to survive its surroundings, so I Googled it.
From Salon ● Sep. 15, 2026
He told me the name, and I Googled it.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 22, 2026
It listed the names of the people at this meeting, high-profile executives and lower-level staffers - and when Adam Googled the names, he saw they were real people.
From BBC ● May 2, 2026
Or, maybe it’s something I should’ve Googled to find out the answer myself—but it’s too late to backtrack now.
From "King and the Dragonflies" by Kacen Callender
"I was constantly Googling and using ChatGPT, every source I could get that could tell me what was wrong," she says.
From BBC ● Oct. 22, 2026
“I started Googling it–that’s when I discovered the bad news,” he says.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 3, 2026
I asked him: “Do you think Googling symptoms comes from a lack of trust in medical professionals?”
From Slate ● Jul. 26, 2025
He was so forgotten that I didn’t even realize he was dead until Googling his name recently, after enduring another Miller rant.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 17, 2025
“I was Googling us again this morning, and all these blogs and posts started popping up. None of them are very nice.”
From "Mr. Lemoncello's Library Olympics" by Chris Grabenstein
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Get a wordDefinitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
