Using Google As Your Dictionary

A dictionary, along with a thesaurus, would perhaps be the writer’s best friend, next to his computer. But of course, these days there are applications that make life even simpler by letting you check up words and phrases for spelling and grammar correctness. Moreover, there are thesaurus softwares or plugins for word processors that let you look for words that mean the same or similar to another one you intend to use.

But let’s admit it. Not everyone has Microsoft Office or even an Office suite on his computer, for that matter. And not everyone is using a Mac (Macs have built-in dictionaries and many Mac applications take advantage of this). Many people are beginning to write online, using online collaborative tools, wikis, online word processors, and even blogs. So there must be something online that one can use to check up on spellings and meanings.

Fortunately, there’s Google! You can use the define operator to make Google search act as your dictionary.

How it works

Google gets results from third-party dictionary sites and collates these for your easy reference. For instance, if we do a “define” search on “precursor” here’s what we’ll get:

define:precursor

Google search will even give you alternatives or synonyms.

Of course, if you misspelled your query, Google will give you suggestions for the correct or more appropriate spelling. For instance, if we made this search:

define:precrsor

Google will give us a suggestion.

Google isn’t just your dictionary, but it can also help you check if you’ve been spelling that difficult word right!