Google (verb)

The verb Google emerged shortly after the search engine was launched in 1998. The earliest known example appears in a Usenet post from July 1998, where the founder Larry Page wrote: 'Have fun and keep googling.'¹ The term quickly spread among internet users, and by 2002 it was used in mainstream media. Linguists note that the conversion of a proper noun to a verb – a process called verbification – is common in technology, but Google's case is notable for its rapid adoption and global reach.

The verb form has become a genericized trademark, meaning it is often used to refer to any web search, not just those using Google's service. Dictionaries such as the Oxford English Dictionary (2006) and Merriam-Webster (2006) officially added the verb definition.²³ This generic use has legal implications: companies risk losing trademark protection if a brand becomes too commonplace. Google has actively encouraged the verb's use but also defended its trademark in cases of alleged misuse, such as Google v. American Blind & Wallpaper Factory (2007).

Google's parent company, Alphabet Inc., has a long-standing policy of protecting its trademark from becoming generic. The company issues guidelines asking that the verb be capitalized and used only for searches on Google services.⁴ In 2007, a court ruled that the verb 'to google' could be used in a generic sense, but Google later won a similar case in 2012. The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office has accepted trademark registrations that include the word 'Google' as a verb, but the company continues to monitor usage to prevent dilution.

In 2003, a phenomenon called Googlebombing emerged, where users manipulated search results to rank a page for a specific query – a technique that later influenced the verb's meaning. The term Googlewhack (a search returning exactly one result) also became popular. Linguists have studied the verb's inflectional morphology: its past tense is 'googled', not 'googled' (though some use 'Google'd'). In 2013, the verb was added to the Oxford Learner's Dictionaries for English learners. A 2018 study found that the verb 'to google' is used in over 30 languages, often with localized spellings like 'guglować' in Polish.⁵

Googlebombing

The practice of manipulating search engine rankings to make a page appear first for a specific, often humorous, query.

Googlewhack

A search query that returns exactly one result, considered a rare achievement among search enthusiasts.

Verbification

The linguistic process of converting a noun into a verb, common in technology (e.g., 'to Google', 'to Facebook').