There may be a time when you need to find the definition of a word and a copy of the latest Webster’s dictionary is nowhere to be found. So, you turn to the Internet for the solution. Now the question is this: “Where do I go to look up definitions?” The answer is…

Google.

There are a few good dictionary sites, but they typically lack in performance. You get the definition you want, but it seems to take forever. You may also encounter a host of graphical ads on those sites, which adds to the performance issue. It can be distracting.

My solution for this is to simply search for the definition with a Google search. Now, this won’t be your typical type-in-the-word search. I’ll show you a slightly different way to look up a definition on Google, and get *only* definitions with the search.

Go to Google.com and type “define:word” (without the quotes) and press the Enter key. Viola! Now you have a list of definitions and nothing else.

That’s easy, but what if you’re not at an Internet connection? No worries. All you need is a cell phone. Simply send the same search query as above via SMS message to, 466453. That spells Google on a phone keypad. Within seconds (usually), the definition will be sent back to you. If you have trouble with the “:” colon on your phone’s keypad, you can simply substitute it with a space.

With the versatility of Google, the simple task of finding a definition is literally at your fingertips.

The Australian National Dictionary is now available free online. It has been published since 1908 but is now available at http://203.166.81.53/and/