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

This is, sadly, a lost art; now everything is an elaborate ballet of calling, texting, and planning, with little room for spontaneity. —Kara Nesvig, Parents, 12 Sep. 2025

SpaceX has been offering its own cellular Starlink service through T-Mobile, which not only offers texting but is starting to support satellite data transmission to mobile apps, with plans to eventually add voice and video calling. —PC Magazine, 11 Sep. 2025

Red Robin Those who sign up for the Red Robin Royalty Program, opt in for promotional texting and earn at least 10 points in the prior year can get a free burger on their birthday. —Cheryl V. Jackson, IndyStar, 9 Sep. 2025

Due to the Covid lockdowns, Gen Z missed out on key socialization time, spending days communicating via Zoom calls and texting. —Cortney Harding, Forbes.com, 8 Sep. 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