hashtag

noun

hash·​tag ˈhash-ˌtag 

plural hashtags

: a word or phrase preceded by the symbol # that classifies or categorizes the accompanying text (such as a tweet)

Using the hashtag #shedeservedthepurse, people are recording themselves hiding money and gift cards in baby staples like diaper boxes and formula containers for moms to find and use to treat themselves.

—Meghan Overdeep

You know a thing is really a thing these days when it has its own hashtag. And there it was last week, trending on Twitter alongside #cincodemayo and #happymothersday: #umpshow, which sprang up in the wake of some shockingly bad umpiring over the first six weeks of the major league season.

—Joe Sheehan

It's also true that a popular hashtag can benefit important and worthy subjects, such as the recently kidnapped Nigerian schoolgirls.

—Mark Leibovich

also : the symbol # as used in a hashtag

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

Recent Examples on the Web

Follow @indyindiebookcrawl on Instagram and make at least one social media post with the hashtag #IIBC2025 during the book crawl dates. —Katie Wiseman, IndyStar, 19 Mar. 2026

Those who want to enter can do so by posting their proposal video on Instagram or TikTok and tagging @dunkin and @verawanggang, and by using the hashtag #DunkinVeraWangcontest. —Saleen Martin, USA Today, 18 Mar. 2026

Look for hashtags or disclaimers. —Hanna Wickes, Miami Herald, 17 Mar. 2026

What started as a hashtag — #GivingTuesday — has since grown into a global movement. —Alexis Simmerman, Austin American Statesman, 17 Mar. 2026

Word History

First Known Use

2007, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for hashtag

• airbag
• handbag
• ragtag
• sandbag
• ag
• bag
• brag
• dag
• drag
• flag
• gag
• hag

Podcast

Get Word of the Day delivered to your inbox!

Kids Definition

hashtag

noun

hash·​tag

ˈhash-ˌtag

: a word or phrase preceded by the symbol # that classifies or categorizes the accompanying text (as a tweet)