Google expands word definition box, makes looking up ten-dollar words easier

Here's one for the logophiles and the voracious readers: searching for words on Google now returns more than their definitions. So, next time you look up a fancy term, the definition box will also contain its synonyms, sample sentences and a drop-down menu that can translate the word into another language. The new results even give you a glimpse of a word's origins and show a graph of how commonly it's used over time. While a relatively minor update, it's boosted by the addition of a new voice function: when you tap on the Search microphone and ask questions such as "What is the definition of / What are the synonyms of [a word]," a voice will read the first result out loud. All these features are now active on both desktops and Google's mobile Search apps in the US, ready to lend a hand during weekend Scrabble parties.

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Source: Google+

Name That Space Rock

Name-That-Space-Rock

With the news that a meteor caused around 1,000 injuries in Russia last Friday and in an extremely rare occurrence, the planet dodged a near-miss from a much larger rock on the very same day, everyone’s lips are on the topic of space rocks. So, is it an asteroid? A meteor? A meteorite? It turns out that words have precise meanings, and the above diagram should help you get your facts straight so you can pedantically correct your friends.

VIA [ LikeCool ]