texting

noun

text·​ing ˈtek-stiŋ 

: the act or activity of sending text messages from one cell phone to another

When I moved to Chicago, I used a paper map that folded in your lap to navigate the city. There was no Internet, no e-mail, no texting … . A few people in the late eighties had giant cell phones that lived in tiny suitcases, and I saw some in movies.

—Amy Poehler

Texting freed a generation from the strictures and inconvenience (and awkwardness) of phone calls, while allowing people to be more loosely and constantly connected.

—Jenna Wortham

Examples of texting in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Having grown up in an environment where texting (or rather, TikToking, Snapchatting and Instagramming) is the default. —Brit Morse, Fortune, 6 July 2025

All but one state, Montana, has legally banned texting while behind the wheel for all drivers and, as of December, 35 states have illegalized all types of phone use among young drivers. —Mary Whitfill Roeloffs, Forbes.com, 3 July 2025

Among the 47 Plan’s offerings are access to telemedicine, roadside assistance, and unlimited texting to 100 countries, according to Trump Jr. —Addy Bink, The Hill, 17 June 2025

According to its website, Trump Mobile users would be able to receive telemedicine on their phone, roadside assistance and unlimited texting to at least 100 countries. —Rob Wile, NBC news, 16 June 2025

Word History

First Known Use

1999, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for texting

• bowstring
• coiling
• downswing
• drawstring
• forewing
• hamstring
• lapwing
• mainspring
• offspring
• plaything
• shoestring
• upswing