Users need to use the advanced search parameter define followed by the phrase that they need to look up in a dictionary to display the definition on the Google search results page. The search define dictionary for instance returns the following definition on the search results page.

Looking up definitions on Google directly is not the most comfortable of options, especially not so if you need to look them up regularly. The core usability issue here is that you need to switch between tabs in the browser whenever you want to look up a word. This breaks the workflow and increases the reading time considerably.

The Google Dictionary extension for the Google Chrome web browser adds on-page definition look-ups to the Chrome web browser, which terminates those usability issues.

It adds two different look-up modes to the web browser. A left-click on the extension icon in the Chrome address bar opens a small form that can be used to look-up phrases in the browser. Definitions are displayed directly in the same window that expands automatically.

That’s better than using Google Search to display word definitions, but still not as comfortable as the second option the extension offers.

Users can get direct definitions of words by double-clicking them on a website. A double-click on individual words displays their meaning directly in an overlay. Definitions of phrases are not available by default. Users need to go into the extension options to enable the “Display pop-up when I select a word or phrase” option which is triggered by holding down the CTRL key while highlighted words on a web page.

Foreign language words or phrases are automatically translated by the Chrome extension. Non-English speaking users can change the language in the extension options to get definitions in their language if supported by Google.

Google Chrome users can install the Google Dictionary extension directly at the Chrome web store.

Like most of Google’s services Google Dictionary is a free online service that can be accessed by anyone with an Internet connection. Google would not be Google on the other hand if they would not make use of some of their other web services to make Google Dictionary more than just another dictionary on the Internet.

Google Translate and Web Definitions are the two services that have been integrated into Google Dictionary. This means that Google Dictionary offers dictionaries in dozens of languages and even comes with the option to translate a word or phrase from one language into the other to lockup a definition in a language understood by the user. (e.g. if you see a word or phrase in a language that you do not understand).

Google Dictionary uses a plain design that makes it ideal for mobile use and slow Internet connections.

One interesting feature is the ability of the online dictionary to recognize words. Users might sometimes think a word belongs to a specific language when in fact it belongs to another one. Google Dictionary will display that to the user if it is the case.

Interested users can visit the Google Dictionary website.

Update: Google has retired the frontend of the Google Dictionary service. Users can now get definitions right on Google Search with the help of the define parameter.

Here is how it works. The program is portable but requires the Microsoft .net Framework 2.0 to be installed on the computer system. Windows Vista and Windows 7 come with this Framework by default and most XP users should have it installed as well.

The dictionary software will display its interface which is set to be always on top by default. The user can now enter a word directly into the interface or use one of the shortcuts to feed the program from within other applications.

To look up a word in the Google Dictionary a user would simply select a word or phrase in the active application, for instance a web browser, Microsoft Word document or email client, and press the [Alt Z] shortcut to send that phrase to the dictionary software which will automatically display the requested information in its interface. The middle-mouse button is also configured to send the phrase or word to the dictionary application. This might interfere with other add-ons or functions in specific programs. Both the hotkey and mouse option can be edited in the options of the software to avoid conflicts.

Additional shortcuts become available if the interface of Dictionary.net is the active window. The hotkey [Alt T] will translate the selected text by trying to automatically identify the language and displaying the most likely result.

The hotkey [Alt W] will display definitions of the word or phrase in the program’s interface. The shortcut [Alt D] finally will display the Google Dictionary entry of the selected phrase in the program. Links that are displayed are opened in the default web browser. It is furthermore possible to save results as htm or txt files, open supported document formats for automatic translation and to configure a proxy server is that is necessary.

Dictionary.net is a lightweight software program that combines Google Dictionary, Google Translate, Google Suggest and word definitions in one interface. It can be downloaded from the developer’s website. It has a size of only 161 Kilobytes.