Using Google As A Dictionary

Written by: Tom · June 5, 2008 at 9:37 pm · Category: Using Google As... 

Aside from being a search engine, Google has a lot of hidden features that very few people know about. Today, we will discuss how to use Google as a dictionary. If you ever come across a word that you want defined, all you have to do is type define: [word to be defined] in the Google search box.

For example, if you want to know what a typewriter is, you would simply type the following into the Google search box:

define: typewriter

Then, when you click on “Search”, you will see a good list of definitions come up, akin to the one below:

Dictionary Search for Typewriter

Not only does Google show you a medley of definitions for the desired word, it will also link you to the page, so you can read more. For example, you may notice that the first definition that Google returned doesn’t exactly define what a typewriter is, however by clicking the link, you can be taken to that page and manually find the definition.

Good luck finding a new home for that old dictionary sitting on the bookshelf!

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Comments

4 Responses to “Using Google As A Dictionary”

  1. Bony Delicious on June 6th, 2008 9:38 pm

    I think it is cool that a person can search for pages only within one domain by typing in site:[domain name] (without any spaces). For example, so see everything listed at this site, one would type in “site:easygoogler.com”. It is particularly helpful in finding out if a domain has any subdomains (if someone were nerdy enough to want to know that). It also helps to limit your search to a site that you remember information being at, but you just can’t find the page you once were at. For example, if you wanted to find out what The Detroit News had to say about the Detroit Red Wings, you could type “Red Wings site:detnews.com” into your search bar. Maybe easygoogler.com could do a post on this topic to teach more people about it.

  2. Tom on June 8th, 2008 1:38 am

    Hi Bony Delicious, thanks for your comment! Yes, using the site search is a very convenient way of finding pages on a specific site. I will write a post about this in the coming days, as this is a search technique that many Googlers could benefit from.

  3. ThirstyNellan on June 11th, 2008 7:54 am

    One of my favorite features of Google is that you can use it as a calculator. You might consider writing an article on that, too.

  4. Tom on June 11th, 2008 2:56 pm

    Thanks for the comment, ThirstyNellan! I am a huge fan of Google’s built-in calculator. To be honest, there are so many things I love about Google that it’s hard to write it all, but maybe someday I’ll get there.

    We will be posting an introductory article to Google’s calculator shortly. Thanks!

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