# Google as a spell checker **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [January 27, 2003, 6:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/google-as-a-spell-checker/151186 "2003-01-27T06:31:17Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 18\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Obvious\_Guy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/e9c0ed/32.png) [@Obvious\_Guy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Obvious_Guy)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2003, 6:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/google-as-a-spell-checker/151186/1 "2003-01-27T06:31:17Z")
Does anyone else use Google to check there spelling for other things too? It comes in pretty handy when, for instance, you want to check your spelling so you dont look stupid misspelling a word in chat. Or if your typing up a document, beats looking it up in the dictionary. Its a darn good spell checker too! I love my G o o g l e. Now, if it would just check my grammer too. ---
**Author:** ![Seven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/3d9bf3/32.png) [@Seven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Seven)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2003, 6:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/google-as-a-spell-checker/151186/2 "2003-01-27T06:43:10Z")
HA. I do that as well. šŸ˜ƒ ---
**Author:** ![Achernar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e274bd/32.png) [@Achernar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Achernar)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2003, 7:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/google-as-a-spell-checker/151186/3 "2003-01-27T07:02:11Z")
Yeah I do that. And sometimes when Iā€™m not sure Iā€™m using the right word, Iā€™ll run it through Google first as a spell check, then click on the link to give me dictionary definition, instead of going straight to [dictionary.reference.com](http://dictionary.reference.com). ---
**Author:** ![kniz](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/c37758/32.png) [@kniz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kniz)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2003, 7:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/google-as-a-spell-checker/151186/4 "2003-01-27T07:10:18Z")
Well, I donā€™t use it as a spelling check, but Iā€™ve gotten so I donā€™t worry about getting the spelling correct in a search. ---
**Author:** ![Ice\_Wolf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/dfb087/32.png) [@Ice\_Wolf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ice_Wolf)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2003, 7:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/google-as-a-spell-checker/151186/5 "2003-01-27T07:30:38Z")
Weird. I hadnā€™t thought of doing that, until this morning, and then I see this thread. The Fates do laugh. Yeah, I do it. šŸ™‚ ---
**Author:** ![iamthewalrus\_3](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/258eb7/32.png) [@iamthewalrus\_3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/iamthewalrus_3)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2003, 8:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/google-as-a-spell-checker/151186/6 "2003-01-27T08:24:35Z")
Itā€™s especially helpful for slang that wouldnā€™t be in dictionaries. I usually go with whichever spelling has the highest page count. ---
**Author:** ![GIGObuster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gigobuster/32/421_2.png) [@GIGObuster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GIGObuster)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2003, 9:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/google-as-a-spell-checker/151186/7 "2003-01-27T09:25:15Z")
It is very useful also for checking the spelling of foreign words. The only catch is that you need to have some knowledge of the other language and to interpret the quantity and quality of the hits. ---
**Author:** ![Mycroft\_Holmes](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/a5b964/32.png) [@Mycroft\_Holmes](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mycroft_Holmes)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2003, 11:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/google-as-a-spell-checker/151186/8 "2003-01-27T11:47:15Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Obvious Guy \* > \*\*Does anyone else use Google to check there spelling for other things too? It comes in pretty handy when, for instance, you want to check your spelling so you dont look stupid misspelling a word in chat. Or if your typing up a document, beats looking it up in the dictionary. Its a darn good spell checker too! I love my G o o g l e. Now, if it would just check my grammer too. \*\* Did you use Google to spellcheck this post? If you did, consider changing brands, because the correct spelling is **grammar**. ---
**Author:** ![Mycroft\_Holmes](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/a5b964/32.png) [@Mycroft\_Holmes](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mycroft_Holmes)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2003, 11:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/google-as-a-spell-checker/151186/9 "2003-01-27T11:49:16Z")
Oh man, was I ever wooshedā€¦ I think I can still hear the echo. No actually, I wooshed everyone elseā€¦ Yeah, thatā€™s itā€¦ **grammar** is actually the only word misspelled in the whole postā€¦ Iā€™m going to be hiding under this desk for a while, OK? ---
**Author:** ![Achernar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e274bd/32.png) [@Achernar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Achernar)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2003, 11:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/google-as-a-spell-checker/151186/10 "2003-01-27T11:54:06Z")
I do wish it wouldnā€™t try to correct the spelling on my own name, especially since the real spelling returns 24 hits, and the ā€œcorrectedā€ spelling returns 0. ---
**Author:** ![elfoldo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/e47c2d/32.png) [@elfoldo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elfoldo)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2003, 4:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/google-as-a-spell-checker/151186/11 "2003-01-27T16:55:25Z")
I too use it for a spell checker. Itā€™s word recognition is better than most of the online dictionaries so itā€™s much more convenient for me. And does everyone know that Google can be used as a dictionary too? When you do a search and it says ā€œSearched the web for ā€¦ā€ just below the tabs, you can click on the search words and it links to [dictionary.com](http://dictionary.com). Iā€™ve used Google forever and just now found out about that. ---
**Author:** ![NurseCarmen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/5daacb/32.png) [@NurseCarmen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NurseCarmen)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2003, 5:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/google-as-a-spell-checker/151186/12 "2003-01-27T17:00:49Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by elfoldo \* > \*\*[dictionary.com](http://dictionary.com). \*\* IMHO [Merriam-Webster](http://www.m-w.com) is the better choice. just my 2 cents ---
**Author:** ![Obvious\_Guy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/e9c0ed/32.png) [@Obvious\_Guy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Obvious_Guy)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2003, 7:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/google-as-a-spell-checker/151186/13 "2003-01-27T19:24:21Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Mycroft Holmes \* > \*\*Did you use Google to spellcheck this post? If you did, consider changing brands, because the correct spelling is **grammar**. \*\* What can I say, I thought it was ā€œspeltā€ right. šŸ˜ƒ šŸ˜› ---
**Author:** ![Mycroft\_Holmes](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/a5b964/32.png) [@Mycroft\_Holmes](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mycroft_Holmes)\ **Post date:** [January 28, 2003, 7:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/google-as-a-spell-checker/151186/14 "2003-01-28T07:55:28Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Obvious Guy \* > \*\*What can I say, I thought it was ā€œspeltā€ right. šŸ˜ƒ šŸ˜› \*\* Am I missing something or has everyone here been wooshed? Let me point out the mistakes in the OP (supposedly spell-checked by Google) to make this clear (I bolded all the mistakes I could find): Does anyone else use Google to check **there** spelling for other things too? It comes in pretty handy when, for instance, you want to check your spelling so you **dont** look stupid misspelling a word in chat. Or if **your** typing up a document, beats looking it up in the dictionary. **Its** a darn good spell checker too! I love my G o o g l e. Now, if it would just check my **grammer** too. WOOOOOOOOSSSSSSSHHHHHH šŸ˜ƒ ---
**Author:** ![Achernar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e274bd/32.png) [@Achernar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Achernar)\ **Post date:** [January 28, 2003, 11:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/google-as-a-spell-checker/151186/15 "2003-01-28T11:25:02Z")
It would be a pain to check an entire post. You can only input 10 words at once. ---
**Author:** ![Shade](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/2bfe46/32.png) [@Shade](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shade)\ **Post date:** [January 28, 2003, 1:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/google-as-a-spell-checker/151186/16 "2003-01-28T13:24:37Z")
Iā€™m amazed how good google is when I mis-type a word Iā€™m searching for. But the irony of [google](http://dictionary.reference.com/search?q=googol) being a good speller is just too muchā€¦ ---
**Author:** ![Q.E.D](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/51bf81/32.png) [@Q.E.D](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Q.E.D)\ **Post date:** [January 28, 2003, 1:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/google-as-a-spell-checker/151186/17 "2003-01-28T13:43:28Z")
**There** , **your** and **its** are all spelled correctly, merely misused. Google isnā€™t going to catch that. **Dont** is the only other misspelling that should have been caught. ---
**Author:** ![ShadowWarrior](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/7993a0/32.png) [@ShadowWarrior](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ShadowWarrior)\ **Post date:** [January 28, 2003, 2:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/google-as-a-spell-checker/151186/18 "2003-01-28T14:43:07Z")
I think Mycroft is trying to point out that there are NO spelling mistakes in the post - except ā€˜grammarā€™ - all of the other mistakes, are in fact grammaticalā€¦ if this was done deliberately, it is undoubtedly one of the most subtle bits of whooshing Iā€™ve seen in a long time.