hashtag
noun
Joe SheehanMark Leibovich
Did you know?
Hashtags are an everyday part of Internet culture, thanks to social media. Originally designed for categorizing posts (i.e., tagging them) on Twitter, hashtags now commonly also supplement or comment on whatever text or image they accompany. The “hash” in hashtag is short for hash mark, a term for what we also call a pound sign or, if you want to apply the word-nerdiest designation, an octothorpe. Hash in this case is probably an alteration of hatch, a term for the lines artists sometimes use to add shading to a drawing. #WordNerdery
Examples of hashtag in a Sentence
Paula Newton, CNN Money, 31 Oct. 2025
TERFs across the internet, including Rowling, began using the hashtag #IStandWithMaya to spout hateful anti-trans rhetoric.
—Quispe López, Them., 30 Oct. 2025
Use the hashtags #AmPav #IWFutureOfFilmmaking #Cannes2026 #CannesFilmFestival 4.
—Indiewire Staff, IndieWire, 27 Oct. 2025
On social media, please spread the word using the hashtag #cincySOTW.
—Caroline Ritzie, Cincinnati Enquirer, 27 Oct. 2025
See All Example Sentences for hashtag
Cite this Entry
“Hashtag.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/hashtag. Accessed 4 Nov. 2025.
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