Is it acceptable to use "google" as a verb?

Question

With the popularity and ubiquity of Google, it has become a verb to describe "searching for something online" and it appears in conversations and informal writing. How can I know if it is acceptable to use "google" in more formal writing?

Answer 1

I've never explicitly learned that saying "to google" is unacceptable in formal writing, but I'd still advise against it because it is so casual. I think it would be safer to say "look up online," "look for online," "search for online," etc. instead. In case you don't know already, you can put the "online" part later in the sentence as well, e.g., "I searched for that online."