Google Dictionary

Google Dictionary

Logo of Google Search
Screenshot Google Dictionary service on Google Search
Type of site	Online dictionary
Available in	Multiple languages
Owner	Google
Created by	Google
URL	www.google.com/search?q=Dictionary
Launched	December 2009; 14 years ago (2009-12)

Google Dictionary is an online dictionary service of Google that can be accessed with the "define" operator and other similar phrases^{[note 1]} in Google Search.^[2] It is also available in Google Translate and as a Google Chrome extension. The dictionary content is licensed from Oxford University Press's Oxford Languages.^[3] It is available in different languages, such as English, Spanish and French. The service also contains pronunciation audio, Google Translate, a word origin chart, Ngram Viewer, and word games, among other features for the English-language version.^[4][5] Originally available as a standalone service, it was integrated into Google Search, with the separate service discontinued in August 2011.

Microsoft's Bing provides a similar dictionary service that also licenses dictionary data from Oxford Languages.^[6] Apple also licenses dictionary data from Oxford for its iOS and macOS products.^[7]

History

The service originated in Google Translate, and was launched as a standalone service (google.com/dictionary) in December 2009.^[8][9][10] Google displayed definitions from Collins COBUILD Advanced Learner's English Dictionary for English until August 2010,^[9][11] when it switched to the Oxford American College Dictionary.^[12]

After being integrated into Google Search, the dictionary was discontinued as a separate service on August 5, 2011,^[10][13] and can now be accessed with the "define" operator or by simply searching for a word.^[2][13] The dictionary service is also still available in Google Translate and can be accessed by selecting a single word.^[13] Google has also released the service as an extension for Chrome.^[14]

As of 2023^[update], Google licenses dictionary data from Oxford Languages for multiple languages, including British/American English,^[3] Spanish,^[15] and German.^[16]

On Arabic Language Day (December 18) in 2015, Google added an Arabic-language dictionary, available globally, to the service that showed definitions, translations, and example usages of the word in a sentence.^[17]

In February 2017, online news website Daily Caller accused Google of changing the definition of the word "fascism" in Google Dictionary. It was later found that the definition was exactly from an external source and was not written by Google.^[18]

Google added a Hindi dictionary from Rajpal & Sons licensed via Oxford Dictionaries which also supported transliteration and translation to the service in April 2017.^[19]

In July 2017, the dictionary was made directly available by typing "dictionary" in Google Search and additional features such as a search box, autocomplete and search history were also added.^[2]

In January 2018, a "Similar-sounding words" feature was added to the English dictionary which highlights words that sound similar such as "aesthetic" and "ascetic", "pray" and "prey", "conscientious" and "conscious" etc.^[20] "Google Word Coach" vocabulary game was made available along with dictionary searches and as a separate game on mobile devices in February 2018.^[21] In August 2018, Google Search added an English and Hindi dictionary for mobile users in India with an option to switch to the English only dictionary.^[22]

A "learn to pronounce" option was added to the English dictionary in December 2018 which shows how a word is pronounced with its non-phonemic pronunciation respelling and audio in different accents (such as British and American) along with an option to slow the audio down, visemes for pronunciations were also added in April 2019.^[23]

Languages

Google displays dictionaries for the following languages^[14] licensed from Oxford Dictionaries^[24] which provides data from its own and other published dictionaries.

Language	Dictionary	Publisher	Notes	Example search[note 2]	Refs.
Arabic			Available worldwide Search operator: "ما معنى"	ما معنى أيان	[17]
Chinese (Simplified)	现代汉语规范词典 [Xiandai Hanyu Guifan Cidian] (The Standard Dictionary of Contemporary Chinese)	Oxford University Press Foreign Language Teaching and Research Press	Available worldwide	define 船	[a]
English (UK)	Oxford Dictionary of English Oxford Thesaurus of English	Oxford University Press	Shown worldwide (except North America)	define apple	[25] [b]
English (US)	New Oxford American Dictionary Oxford Thesaurus of English Oxford American Writer's Thesaurus	Oxford University Press, Inc.	Shown in North America	define apple	[25] [26][c]
English-Indic (Hindi/Marathi/Tamil)	Oxford Wordpower Dictionary	Oxford University Press	Shown in India (only on mobile devices)	define apple	[22] [d]
French	Le Petit Robert Google Translate: Multidictionnaire de la langue française[e][f]	Dictionnaires Le Robert Google Translate: Les Éditions Québec Amérique Inc.[f]	Available worldwide	define légende	[g]
German	Duden	Bibliographisches Institut GmbH	Available worldwide	define Kraus	[h] [i]
Hindi	राजपाल हिन्दी शब्दकोश [Rajpal Hindi Shabdkosh] (Rajpal Hindi Dictionary)	Rajpal & Sons	Available worldwide Supports transliteration Search operator: "का अर्थ"	शब्द का अर्थ	[19][31] [j]
Italian	Il Devoto–Oli	Mondadori Education S.p.A.	Available worldwide	define attrezzo	[k] [l]
Japanese			Available worldwide	define こんにちは
Korean	뉴에이스 국어사전 [Nyueiseu Gug-eosajeon] New Ace Korean Language Dictionary	DIOTEK	Available worldwide	define 한국어	[m]
Portuguese (Brazil)	Houaiss Dictionary of the Portuguese Language	Editora Objetiva	Available worldwide	define alho	[n] [o]
Russian	Dictionary of the Russian Language (Ozhegov)	"Universe and Education" Publishing House Ltd.	Available worldwide	define ресторан	[p] [q]
Spanish	Diccionario General de la Lengua Española Vox	Larousse Editorial SL	Available worldwide	define trastienda	[r]
Thai	พจนานุกรมไทย ฉบับทันสมัยและสมบูรณ์ [Phcnanukrm Thiy Chbab Thansmay Laea Smburn] (Complete Thai Dictionary)	SE-Education Public Company Limited	Available worldwide	define ด	[s]
Turkish	Arkadaş Türkçe Sözlük	Arkadaş Publishing Ltd	Available worldwide	define iltifat	[t]

See details for Oxford Dictionaries datasets licensing for other languages here.^[35]

See also

• Google
• List of Google products

Notes

1. Such as "meaning of [word]"; "spelling of [word]" etc. or simply "dictionary" for the English dictionary.^[1][2]
2. Google Search settings may need to be changed for some dictionaries to appear. Such as country change to a North American country for the American English dictionary or language change for French and Spanish dictionaries.

1. Compare with the Chinese language dictionary included in Apple's OS' (which licenses dictionaries from Oxford as well): "现代汉语规范词典 / The Standard Dictionary of Contemporary Chinese. Copyright © 2010, 2013 Oxford University Press and Foreign Language Teaching and Research Publishing, Co., Ltd."^[7]
2. Compare with the British English dictionary included in Apple's OS' (which licenses dictionaries from Oxford as well): "Oxford Dictionary of English. Copyright © 2010, 2016 by Oxford University Press."^[7]
3. Compare with the American English dictionary included in Apple's OS' (which licenses dictionaries from Oxford as well): "New Oxford American Dictionary. Copyright © 2010, 2016 by Oxford University Press, Inc."^[7]
4. Compare Google definition for "apple" to Oxford Wordpower: "a hard, round fruit with a smooth green, red or yellow skin "^[27]
5. Compare Google definition for "dictionnaire" to Multi: "Recueil des mots d'une ou de plusieurs langues et des informations s'y rapportant, présentés selon un certain ordre (alphabétique, thématique, systématique, etc.)."^[28]
6. Compare with the French language dictionary included in Apple's OS' (which licenses dictionaries from Oxford as well): "Multidictionnaire de la langue française. Copyright © 2012, 2014 Les Éditions Québec Amérique Inc., under licence to Oxford University Press."^[7]
7. Compare Google definition for "légende" to Petit Robert: "Récit populaire traditionnel, plus ou moins fabuleux"^[29]
8. Compare Google definition for "kraus" to Duden: "(von kürzerem Haar) sehr stark, in widerspenstig-spröder Weise gelockt, geringelt"^[30]
9. Compare with the German language dictionary included in Apple's OS' (which licenses dictionaries from Oxford as well): "Wörterbuchsubstanz aus: Duden - Wissensnetz deutsche Sprache. Copyright © 2011, 2013 Bibliographisches Institut GmbH, under licence to Oxford University Press."^[7]
10. Compare with the Hindi language dictionary included in Apple's OS' (which licenses dictionaries from Oxford as well): "राजपाल हिन्दी शब्दकोश / Rajpal Hindi Dictionary. Copyright © 2011 Rajpal & Sons, under licence to Oxford University Press."^[7]
11. Compare Google definition for "attrezzo" to Devoto–Oli: "Ciascuno degli utensili o strumenti occorrenti a una determinata attività"^[32]
12. Compare with the Italian language dictionary included in Apple's OS' (which licenses dictionaries from Oxford as well): "Un dizionario italiano da un affiliato di Oxford University Press. Copyright © 2005, 2013 Mondadori Education S.p.A., under licence to Oxford University Press. ... DictionaryIdentifier: com.apple.dictionary.it.Devoto-Oli"^[7]
13. Compare with the Korean language dictionary included in Apple's OS' (which licenses dictionaries from Oxford as well): 뉴에이스 국어사전 / New Ace Korean Language Dictionary. Copyright © 2012 DIOTEK, under licence to Oxford University Press.^[7]
14. Compare Google definition for "alho" to Houaiss Dictionary: "erva de até 60 cm (Allium sativum), com folhas lineares, flores brancas ou avermelhadas e cápsulas loculicidas"^[33]
15. Compare with the Portuguese language dictionary included in Apple's OS' (which licenses dictionaries from Oxford as well): Dicionário de Português licenciado para Oxford University Press. Copyright © 2012 Editora Objetiva, under licence to Oxford University Press.^[7]
16. Compare Google definition for "ресторан" to Explanatory Dictionary: "Род столовой (во 2 знач.) где подают кушанья, закуски, напитки, ви́на."^[34]
17. Compare with the Russian language dictionary included in Apple's OS' (which licenses dictionaries from Oxford as well): "С. И. Ожегов «Толковый словарь русского языка» / S.I. Ojegov: Explanatory Dictionary of the Russian Language. Copyright © 2012 "Universe and Education" Publishing House Ltd., under licence to Oxford University Press."^[7]
18. Compare with the Spanish language dictionary included in Apple's OS' (which licenses dictionaries from Oxford as well): "Diccionario General de la Lengua Española Vox. Copyright © 2012, 2013 Larousse Editorial, S.L., under licence to Oxford University Press."^[7]
19. Compare with the Thai language dictionary included in Apple's OS' (which licenses dictionaries from Oxford as well): พจนานุกรมไทย ฉบับทันสมัยและสมบูรณ์ / Complete Thai Dictionary. Copyright © 2009 Se-Education PLC, under licence to Oxford University Press.^[7]
20. Compare with the Turkish language dictionary included in Apple's OS' (which licenses dictionaries from Oxford as well): "Arkadaş Türkçe Sözlük. Copyright © 2012 Arkadaş Publishing LTD, under licence to Oxford University Press."^[7]

References

1. "Facts & info, dictionary, unit conversions, & more - Google Home Help". support.google.com. Retrieved 29 August 2018.
2. "Google Search upgrades its dictionary card with a separate search box, autocomplete, and history". Android Police. 2017-07-21. Retrieved 2018-08-29.
3. "Oxford Languages and Google - English | Oxford Languages". languages.oup.com. Retrieved 2023-08-23.
4. "define apple - Google Search". Google.com. Retrieved 2018-08-29.
5. Dickson, Andrew (2018-02-23). "Inside the OED: can the world's biggest dictionary survive the internet?". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 2018-08-29. Google, which – through a deal with Oxford Dictionaries – offers thumbnail definitions, audio recordings of pronunciations, etymology, a graph of usage over time and translation facilities.
6. "define apple". bing.com. Retrieved 29 August 2018.
7. "Dictionaries available on OSX" (XML). mesu.apple.com. Retrieved 29 August 2018.
8. "Google quietly rolls out Dictionary [Updated]". LA Times Blogs - Technology. 2009-12-03. Retrieved 2018-09-02.
9. Brett Reynolds (5 December 2009). "English, Jack". English-jack.blogspot.com. Retrieved 23 November 2014.
10. "Google Dictionary Online". googledictionary.freecollocation.com. Retrieved 2018-08-29.
11. Alex Chitu (5 August 2010). "Google Dictionary Has a New Content Provider". Google Operating System. Retrieved 23 November 2014.
12. Lew, Robert (17 December 2010). "Online dictionaries of English". Uniwersytet im. Adama Mickiewicza (Preprint). hdl:10593/742.
13. Chitu, Alex (5 August 2011). "No More Standalone Google Dictionary". googlesystem.blogspot.com. Retrieved 1 September 2018.
14. "Google Dictionary (by Google)". Chrome Web Store. July 23, 2017. Retrieved 2018-09-03.
15. "Oxford Languages and Google - Spanish | Oxford Languages". languages.oup.com. Retrieved 2023-08-23.
16. "Oxford Languages and Google - German | Oxford Languages". languages.oup.com. Retrieved 2023-08-24.
17. Masri, Zain (December 18, 2015). "يوم سعيد لليوم العالمي للغة العربية!" [Happy Arabic Language Day!]. Google Arabia Blog. Retrieved 2018-08-30. Starting today you can type in the words "ما معنى" followed by the word you want to define and access Arabic dictionary OneBox results. We expanded our dictionary search feature to all global Arabic users
18. Michael Edison, Hayden (December 18, 2017). "TRUMP SUPPORTERS CLAIM GOOGLE IS CALLING THEM 'FASCIST,' BUT THEY ARE WRONG". Newsweek. Retrieved 11 January 2019.
19. "Bringing down the language barriers - making the internet more inclusive". Official Google India Blog. April 25, 2017. Retrieved 2018-08-29.
20. "Google Adds 'Similar Sounding Words' to Dictionary Search Cards". Search Engine Journal. 2018-01-22. Retrieved 2018-09-02.
21. "Google Word Coach tests your vocabulary knowledge in bite-sized questions". Android Police. 2018-02-26. Retrieved 2018-08-29.
22. "Google Search in India starts showing dictionary definitions in both English and Hindi". Android Police. 2018-08-28. Retrieved 2018-08-29.
23. "[Update: Now with visemes] Tip: Google teaches you how to pronounce a word slowly and in different accents". Android Police. 2019-04-02. Retrieved 2019-07-20.
24. "Case study: Google". Oxford Dictionaries. Archived from the original on December 21, 2016. Retrieved 2018-08-29.
25. "Help | Oxford Dictionaries". Oxford Dictionaries | English. Archived from the original on September 25, 2016. Retrieved 2018-08-29.
26. "Oxford Dictionaries content help - Oxford Dictionaries". oxforddictionaries.com. 2016-08-27. Archived from the original on August 27, 2016. Retrieved 2018-08-29.
27. Wehmeier, Sally, ed. (1993). Oxford Wordpower Dictionary. Oxford University Press. p. 26. ISBN 978-0-19-431138-0.
28. "Pratique iOS 7: Utiliser le dictionnaire en français et plus encore sur iPhone et iPad". iphon.fr (in French). Retrieved 2 September 2018.
29. "Grèce: Les secrets du passé- La mythologie". museedelhistoire.ca. Archived from the original on 2018-08-30. Retrieved 2018-08-29.
30. "Duden | kraus | Rechtschreibung, Bedeutung, Definition, Synonyme, Herkunft". duden.de (in German). Bibliographisches Institut GmbH. Retrieved 30 August 2018.
31. "Oxford Global Languages - के बारे में". Oxford Dictionaries | हिंदी. Archived from the original on July 9, 2019. Retrieved 2018-08-29.
32. "attrezzo - Dizionario italiano". WordReference.com (in Italian). 2012. Retrieved 30 August 2018.
33. "Matizes Escondidos - UOL Blog". matizes.escondidos.zip.net. July 6, 2008. Retrieved 30 August 2018.
34. "Детские перлы, которые заставили родителей замешкаться [comment the blog]". umoritelno.com (in Russian). March 12, 2018. Archived from the original on 30 August 2018. Retrieved 30 August 2018.
35. "Licensing". Oxford Dictionaries. Archived from the original on December 19, 2016. Retrieved 29 August 2018.

External links

• No URL found. Please specify a URL here or add one to Wikidata.
• Google Dictionary Extension for Google Chrome
• Google Dictionary Online — Provides a service via its JSON API
• "Is Google Dictionary a valid definition reference (in particular in answers)?". English Language & Usage Meta Stack Exchange. Stack Exchange Inc. August 11, 2015. - Discussion about Google Dictionary and its sources on Stackexchange