Google (www.google.com) has a nice feature that may help save you time from thumbing through a print dictionary or searching a dictionary site when looking for the meaning of words. If you use a browser like Firefox extensively at work, the Google search box is right at hand. Simply type in
define: [your_word]
and search. Google will return a list of definitions from various online sources. If you spelled the word incorrectly or used an uncommon spelling, Google’s automatic spell checker will include “Did you mean: (common_spelling)?” as the output. For example, searching with
define: hippocampus
will result in a list, the first item of which is:
- a complex neural structure (shaped like a sea horse) consisting of grey matter and located on the floor of each lateral ventricle; intimately …
If I search for define: hypocampus though, Google will ask “Did you mean: define: hippocampus?”.
One nice aspect of this Google Search functionality is that, at a glance, you can see how people are using terms across the Web. In particular, this will help you spot sometimes subtle, but important, differences in how people may be using the same word or term.
With Google being a US company, will all the spelling be in American English, or can you choose English? Americans seem to enjoy adding the unnecessary ‘z’ into words that were perfectly fine in English already.