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

At the time, Pascale and Katzmann were trying to find their footing in New York City’s music scene while promoting themselves on TikTok with hashtags like #indieartist and #songofthesummer. —Emma Madden, Pitchfork, 11 June 2026

After reports began circulating on a popular DCC fan account that the cheerleader had been cut from the NFL cheerleading squad, the cheerleader took to her account seemingly confirming the news, reposting a video bearing the hashtag #JusticeForKarley on her Instagram Stories. —Tabitha Parent, PEOPLE, 10 June 2026

The hashtag #PureMichigan has been used more than 9 million times on Instagram. —Rachelle Graham, CBS News, 8 June 2026

The hashtag #unicornfrappuccino racked up more than 150,000 posts on Instagram in 2017, with more on other social media platforms, the Los Angeles Times reported. —Teresa Mull, FOXNews.com, 6 June 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

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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)