The US-based Merriam-Webster Dictionary has added “Google” to the new update of its Collegiate Dictionary. The dictionary classifies it as a Verb as well as a noun, along with other English-language dictionaries.

So what’s new? Haven’t we been googling things for ages? Merriam-Webster defines google as “to use the Google search engine to obtain information about (as a person) on the World Wide Web”.

According to TechTree: “Google says that Merriam-Webster is in fact defining the term for people, using Google specifically rather than other Internet search engines. The search giant is aware of the potential damage such everyday use might bring upon its trademark name.”

The company fears that the word “google” might end-up being so commonly used that it becomes synonymous with the word “search”. If this happens, Google could lose protection for this trademark, which could result in other people using the word “google” to refer to their own products, thus diminishing brand Google.

On the bright side, Google now joins the ranks of well-known brand names like “Xerox,” used by many to refer to the act of making a photocopy on any machine, and “Walkman,” a Sony-branded name that is oft used to describe portable audio players that don’t actually bear that name.