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:
You can say, “I don’t really want to look at this Google Doc, and pound through another revision of this memo that I’m writing,” but you can force yourself to do it.
From Slate ● Oct. 17, 2026
The leading contributor, as my colleague Queenie Wong has reported, is Google co-founder Sergey Brin, who claims to have moved out of the state, which might enable him to avoid the tax.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 16, 2026
Walmart WMT 1.47%increase; up pointing triangle has actively worked with OpenAI and Google to try to boost traffic via AI tools, which the retailer’s U.S.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 16, 2026
Meta, Snap, TikTok, X and Google, which owns YouTube, have all declined BBC requests for comment, and have not made public statements about the legislation.
From BBC ● Oct. 16, 2026
Google also know where he is and what he’s doing if he were still alive?”
From "Odd One Out" by Nic Stone
The sentiment struck me as both suspiciously sensible and succinct enough to survive its surroundings, so I Googled it.
From Salon ● Sep. 15, 2026
Every time I Googled anything about the disorder, RFK Jr.’s name popped up.
From Slate ● Apr. 18, 2026
He Googled and called around to see how best to join others and resist.
From Los Angeles Times ● Feb. 12, 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
That night he Googled Jane Goodall and found out she was the world’s foremost expert on chimpanzees.
From "Hello, Universe" by Erin Entrada Kelly
“I started Googling it–that’s when I discovered the bad news,” he says.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 3, 2026
Still, I haven’t stopped Googling things or ditched my Gmail, because that would be an epic pain.
From Slate ● Aug. 4, 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
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
Random Word
Spin the wheel and learn a new word!
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.
