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

The camera swings rapidly around the room, trying to capture the full scope of the event: dozens of people on their phones making calls or texting, their faces grim. —Kathryn Vanarendonk, Vulture, 20 June 2025

From that point, the anonymous texting evolved into a supportive dialogue for months. —Maria Morava, MSNBC Newsweek, 16 June 2025

Other funds were used for texting, phone calls, digital media and printing and postage. Democrats vs. Valadao Democrats have criticized Valadao this year on four fronts: ▪ DOGE Valadao saw merit in the Trump administration’s efforts to make the government run more smoothly. —David Lightman, Sacbee.com, 28 Apr. 2025

Episode Two: Carrie tries to interpret Aidan's texting style. —Billie Melissa, MSNBC Newsweek, 13 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