If you’re bemoaning the idea that online dictionaries could replace their paper counterparts, you’re already one step behind. Some experts are already predicting that online dictionaries could meet their demise as search engines start to provide dictionary functions.
In an in-depth article written by Chadwick Matlin for msnbc.com, we learn that Bing, Microsoft’s new search engine, takes a totally different approach to searches for word definitions compared to Google – and there is every reason to think the Bing system will prevail.
If you type “a word you don’t know” plus “definition” on Google, it links you to dictionary sites, but the two lines that come up on the Google search page will not actually define the word for you. To get the definition, you have to click again, and go to one of the many dictionary sites now available.
Bing takes a totally different tack, bypassing the “traditional” online dictionaries altogether. As Matlin explains, “Bing has figured out a cheap and effective way to harness dictionary sites’ information that heightens the user experience. Go ahead and plug loquacious into Bing. You’ll see an in-line definition…”
Of course, if words are defined directly on the search engine, use of online dictionaries could take a nosedive. Expect those sites to react with new features and innovations over the coming months…
Betty Carlson | 
