Can "google" be used as a verb in an academic paper?

Question

I'm writing an essay for college, and I need to use the phrase "I understand how much easier it may be to google this topic"

Has google reached the point where it can be used as a verb?

I don't want to get dinged for grammar for not using google as a proper noun.

Answer 1

yes, i believe it has. but i don't think it has acquired that formal status yet for it to be used in scholarly papers since it could still be considered a neologism. why not try rephrasing your sentence? "I understand how much easier it may be to look this topic up on the web" or "I understand how much easier it may be to research on this topic on the internet" perhaps?

Answer 2

Yes you can, but you should not because an academic paper is a formal writing. If you use the word as a verb, your writing style won't be valued much as a well written academic writing.

Just because an expression is widely used, it does not mean that it is appropriate to use it on anywhere. For example, slang is not to be used for academic writings. Some idiomatic expressions are acceptable. To 'google' is being used as a verb, but it is grammatically incorrect (although some online dictionaries define it as a verb). It can be regarded as an expression for now. And it will be regarded an idiomatic expression or slang later on because the expression is not derived from a grammatical source, but from the casual culture.

Answer 3

I found it listed as a transitive verb in the Merriam-Webster on-line dictionary, which even included the past tense and gerund form. However, much depends on the preferences of your instructor. I would hesitate to use it in an academic paper without first checking with the instructor, especially since it is easy enough to say that you used the Goggle search engine to get the cited information.

Answer 4

Unless you're quoting King directly, you wouldn't want to use that term...Even if you do quote him, you'll want to make sure to use quotation marks as you did when you typed "black." I would go with African American as opposed to any of the other choices if I had to reference race simply because it's more acceptable in serious academic and political writing/conversation. "Black," is more of a casual reference it seems. Not to mention, it could refer to groups of people who may not be considered "black" in the united states.

Answer 5

I would avoid it if google is not listed as a verb in an up-to-date dictionary. Anyway, there are more formal ways of saying "google."

Answer 6

Haha. I wouldn't use it as a verb in a formal paper.

Answer 7

I understand how much easier it may be to search the internet for this topic.

Why risk it ?

Answer 8

initially i thought no. why not use the sentence, "i understand how much easier it may be to use Google to search this topic." then i saw this:

http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/google

based on that, i think i would.

Answer 9

Yes.
It is in movies, tv, pop culture.....The act of googling something or some one.

in fact, i googled this question.

http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&q=is+google+a+verb%3F

and google was declared a verb http://arstechnica.com/news.ars/post/20060706-7198.html

Answer 10

I think of google as a verb also, but you should ask your professor... Maybe, "I undestand how simple it would be to google-search this topic!?!" IDK!?! I graduated in 2001!