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
Cite this Entry
“Hashtag.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/hashtag. Accessed 1 Aug. 2026.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
