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

Investigators also said that Butler ran several Google searches on his phone, apparently frustrated that FSD wasn’t “aggressive” enough, the affidavit said.

From The Wall Street Journal • Jul. 2, 2026

Since 2018 that idea has catalysed a significant amount of research into world models, including the Dreamer World Model, external from Google.

From BBC • Jul. 2, 2026

A24 is still staring down floods of digital rage from filmgoers upset by its $75 million initiative with Google DeepMind to research the utility of A.I. tools for filmmakers.

From Slate • Jul. 2, 2026

Google Glass, the first to step forward and one of the company’s slate of “moonshot” projects, came out in 2013.

From Salon • Jul. 2, 2026

“Yeah. Unless the Google gods have steered us wrong.”

From "From Twinkle, with Love" by Sandhya Menon