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:
Could that help explain what’s happening at Uber, Google and elsewhere?
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 4, 2026
Google launched its own cloud gaming service Stadia in November 2019, positioning it as a "Netflix for games".
From BBC ● Sep. 4, 2026
The incident occurred days before Google announced its multi-year partnership with Beast Industries, a company founded by YouTube influencer Jimmy Donaldson, also known as his media personality MrBeast, who produces viral spectacles online.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 3, 2026
That sets them apart from the closed models offered by most of the AI sector's leading names, such as OpenAI, Anthropic and Google.
From Barron's ● Sep. 3, 2026
“I don’t know, Finn, maybe the Google pictures of the other street were taken so long ago, those fences weren’t built yet,” Natalie said.
From "The Strangers" by Margaret Peterson Haddix
So she Googled, we came up and she was blown away to see it, and we did such great jobs.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 6, 2026
Is there something you Googled in the process of making the show where you were like, “Did this really happen?”
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 4, 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
This small act of attention helps prevent the classic mid-recipe surprise: the unannounced overnight rest, the last-minute need for a tool you don’t own, the technique you wish you’d Googled earlier.
From Salon ● Dec. 20, 2025
Felix Googled expensive dog stuff and found puppy perfume that cost three thousand dollars.
From "Millionaires for the Month" by Stacey McAnulty
“I started Googling it–that’s when I discovered the bad news,” he says.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 3, 2026
She explained getting the stats of individual players' careers isn't as simple as Googling it - back in the day, clubs weren't so diligent about keeping records.
From BBC ● Nov. 1, 2025
I asked him: “Do you think Googling symptoms comes from a lack of trust in medical professionals?”
From Slate ● Jul. 26, 2025
Often, now, she said, when she experiences side effects she ends up Googling them herself.
From Salon ● May 23, 2025
We had started our search by simply Googling his name.
From "Auggie & Me" by R. J. Palacio
Definitions 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.
