When Google introduced a new format last month for the definitions it sometimes shows at the top of its search results, something was missing. The source URL wasn’t a clickable link. That’s now been fixed.
Here’s an example, the definition box that Google shows for a “define speed of light” search:
The URL shown under the definition previously wasn’t clickable. Instead, the only way to click through to the source of the definition was to use the smaller “Source” link at the very bottom of the box.
Reader Martin Panayotov pointed this out to us at the end of December. We checked with Google about it and were told that the URL should be clickable and that this would be fixed. Now it is.
In cases where Google is drawing a definition from multiple sources, rather than from one in particular, no URL is shown, but the sources are cited below the definition box and are clickable links:
To see definitions like those above, put “define” in front of the word you want defined, such as:
- define red
- define matt cuttts
- define gangnam
Alternatively, using “what is” often works.