Our Google search history paints quite a picture of who we are, and tends to consist of queries we’re too timid to ask anyone about in person. A recent study from Word Unscrambler—which appears to be an online tool that helps you cheat at Scrabble and other word games—found the most searched for definitions in the county and by state. And they certainly paint an odd picture.
According to the study, the most sought-after definition in the country is the word “gaslighting,” and Texas, in its usual rebellious way, eschewed this by instead searching for the definition of “republic.” After “republic” it was “bias,” “infrastructure,” and then “ecosystem.” There’s plenty to unscramble here, but not in the way that website does.
“One of the most striking findings is that Americans’ top searched definitions in 2026 are dominated by abstract concepts rather than objects,” a spokesperson for the study said. Maybe so. After “gaslighting,” Americans searched most for definitions of “love” (like a robot trying to understand love would do), followed by “fascism” and then “empathy.”
And what were the other states looking for while Texans searched for “republic”? Our neighbor Arkansas searched for “economics,” New York opted for “equity,” Montana went the artistic route by looking up “Gouache” (a type of painting), and Delaware, somewhat depressingly, went with “sepsis.”
It begs the question: Why were Texans looking up the definition of republic so often? While one might think it’s the name of a new, popular barbecue chain, it’s clearly related to our history as a brief, separate republic. Who knows, some may be itching to separate from the rest of the country again.
As anyone who grew up here had hammered home to them in school, the Republic of Texas was a short-lived sovereign country of its own from 1836 to 1846. The gradual formation escalated with French and Spanish border bickering in the 1700s, and continued with the Battle of Gonzales in 1835, often considered the first military engagement of the Texas Revolution. On March 2, 1836, delegates declared the Texas Declaration of Independence.
That reign ultimately lasted nine years and spread across a territory much bigger than our signature belt buckle-appropriate shape now, encompassing parts of Oklahoma, Colorado and Wyoming. In 1845, the U.S. admitted Texas to the union as the 28th state, with the transfer of power officially taking place in February of the following year.
Of course, plenty of other historical events occurred in Texas between then and now, but clearly the most important is that in 2026, we’re still searching for the meaning of “republic.” Maybe one day we’ll find it.