sext

1 of 3

verb

sexted; sexting; sexts

transitive + intransitive

: to send someone a sexually explicit message or image by cell phone : to engage in sexting
He feigns deep concern and sympathy for a young woman who sexted a selfie to a boyfriend who, in turn, broke up with her and distributed the photo on the Internet.David Wiegand
Some kids use their phones to bully students or to sext or make inappropriate phone calls.Daniel Domenech

sext

2 of 3

noun (1)

plural sexts
: a sexually explicit message or image sent by cell phone
Many kids who send sexts say they meant to play a joke, and often the kid in the photo was in on it.Emily Bazelon

sext

3 of 3

noun (2)

often capitalized
: the fourth of the canonical hours

Examples of sext in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web
Verb
Is there a way to safely sext? Leah Campano, Seventeen, 7 Apr. 2023 Don’t sext! WIRED, 22 Aug. 2022 Tries to sext with a Garmin InReach. Abigail Barronian, Outside Online, 11 Aug. 2022 Turns out Erica can sext. Mike Postalakis, SPIN, 8 Aug. 2022 Most importantly, though, the ending raises a key question: Is Keith willing to sext his own dad, for cOmEdY? Sean Malin, Vulture, 13 Aug. 2021

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'sext.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

Etymology

Noun (2)

Middle English sexte, from Late Latin sexta, from Latin, sixth hour of the day, from feminine of sextus sixth, from sex six

First Known Use

Verb

2007, in the meaning defined above

Noun (1)

2001, in the meaning defined above

Noun (2)

15th century, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of sext was in the 15th century

Dictionary Entries Near sext

Cite this Entry

“Sext.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/sext. Accessed 19 Mar. 2024.

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