Google: Finding Definitions of Words

Contributed by David Kirk

Tagged: Google

Google has a specific define function that allows users to easily find the definitions of words.

Today, we expect our search engines to not just provide searches but to interpret information as well. When I first crafted this tutorial in 2004, the idea of a search engine providing definitions for words was very unique. Now, thanks to google (and other search engines) dead tree versions of dictionaries are becoming more and more rare.

To get the definition of a word, many people just type that word into the google and hope that google realizes they want a dictionary result. However, those with stronger “google-fu” know to specifically tell google to look for definitions using the define function.

Preface your search term with “define:” and google will display appropriate definitions from multiple different sources. Here is how to google define “law.”

Google Search for the Following –

define: law