verb (used with object)
verb (used without object)
noun
verb
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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:
In addition to being fined, Google has also been ordered to bring its data processing into compliance within six months.
From BBC ● Sep. 21, 2026
Google compared the model’s actions to those of ethical hackers who help companies find their vulnerabilities through bug-bounty programs.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 20, 2026
It’s outperforming huge companies like Nvidia and Google on some metrics, while besting gold and the world’s dominant currencies on others.
From Slate ● Sep. 20, 2026
Google, Amazon and Microsoft “kind of came out of nowhere” he said, and they “started building out these massive, massive data centers for cloud.”
From MarketWatch ● Sep. 19, 2026
“Why not? The guy’s a moron. He didn’t tell me anything about how to open the front door, which is what my Google search said this magazine would do!”
From "Escape from Mr. Lemoncello's Library" by Chris Grabenstein
The sentiment struck me as both suspiciously sensible and succinct enough to survive its surroundings, so I Googled it.
From Salon ● Sep. 15, 2026
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
I Googled “Philadelphia public radio” and found WXPN, now my gold standard.
From Slate ● Apr. 12, 2026
"Googled u after last email," she wrote in October 2011.
From BBC ● Mar. 19, 2026
Okay, I am also very impressed that you Googled your way to Elliott Smith, who was quite possibly the greatest songwriter since Lennon and McCartney.
From "Simon vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda" by Becky Albertalli
“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
Barrios Gracián’s training consisted of a free entrepreneur course through the city of Anaheim, a video by the American Booksellers Assn., talking to other bookstore owners and Googling “how to open a bookstore.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 1, 2025
Often, now, she said, when she experiences side effects she ends up Googling them herself.
From Salon ● May 23, 2025
While Miele was still in the hospital, she was on the Internet, Googling stents.
From "Class Matters" by The New York Times
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.
