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:
Anthropic also relies heavily on a few partners, including Microsoft and Google, for nearly half its sales.
From MarketWatch ● Nov. 3, 2026
If school districts offer Google Search, they still cannot fully turn off the accompanying AI Overview and AI Mode chatbot.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 3, 2026
Google itself has faced questions about what might become of its traditional search-engine business if more people feed their questions into AI.
From MarketWatch ● Nov. 3, 2026
Yes, Google is facing search-ad competition from AI agents and chatbots.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 3, 2026
That week, I spend hours talking with Rabia on Google Hangouts.
From "A Place at the Table" by Saadia Faruqi and Laura Shovan
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
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
He Googled Danny Devon’s appearances on his phone.
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
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
After Googling “Eric” and “Dominion,” Oltmann concluded that the speaker was Eric Coomer.
From Slate ● Jun. 25, 2025
As in: The doctor sees me Googling the symptoms — coughing, sweating, vomiting, nosebleeds — and he says, You know we cant be sure what causes a myocardial infarction.
From "The Crossover" by Kwame Alexander
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.
