Trivia Time

Which TV show is credited with being the first to use google as a verb?

Test Your Knowledge

Google

American  

[goo-guhl] / ˈgu gəl /

Trademark.

1. the brand name for a leading internet search engine, founded in 1998.

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verb (used with object)

Googled, Googling

1. (often lowercase) to search the internet for information about (a person, topic, etc.).

   We googled the new applicant to check her background.

verb (used without object)

Googled, Googling

1. (often lowercase) to use a search engine such as Google to find information, a website address, etc., on the internet.

Google British  

/ ˈɡuːɡəl /

noun

1. a popular search engine on the internet

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verb

1. to search for (something on the internet) using a search engine

2. 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

Fervo, founded in 2017, has drawn backers including Bill Gates’s Breakthrough Energy Ventures, billionaire and former energy trader John Arnold, and Alphabet unit Google.

From The Wall Street Journal • May 13, 2026

Google and SpaceX are reportedly in talks to launch Google’s orbital data centers, according to The Wall Street Journal.

From Barron's • May 13, 2026

Last September, Google launched an app that allows users to create personalised versions of the robot.

From BBC • May 13, 2026

Avid Technology, the editing software company behind industry-standard platforms like Media Composer and Pro Tools, inked a multiyear AI deal with Google Cloud.

From Los Angeles Times • May 13, 2026

I wish she’d just go hang by Albert, the walking Google page who’d get a better grade than me if he just blew his nose into the paper.

From "Fish in a Tree" by Lynda Mullaly Hunt