hashtag

[ hash-tag ]

noun

1. (on social media websites)
   1. a word or phrase preceded by a hash mark (#), used within a message to identify a keyword or topic of interest and facilitate a search for it:

      The hashtag #sandiegofire was used to help coordinate an emergency response to the fire.

   2. a hash mark used in this way.
2. 1. a word or phrase preceded by a hash mark (#) or by the word hashtag , used to add wit or emphasis to a spoken or written statement.
   2. a hash mark or the word hashtag used in this way, as in the sentence His goodbye was so hashtag awkward.

verb (used with or without object)

, hash·tagged, hash·tag·ging.

1. to add a hashtag to (a word, topic, or message):

   Someone on Twitter just hashtagged the film festival.

hashtag

/ ˈhæʃˌtæɡ /

noun

1. (on the Twitter website) a word or phrase preceded by a hash mark, used to denote the topic of a post

Word History and Origins

Origin of hashtag¹

First recorded in 2005–10; hash (mark) + tag ¹ (in the sense “a label or keyword”)

Example Sentences

Another popular hashtag they use is “address book,” a near homonym for “homosexual” in Chinese, which has also spawned the offshoot keywords “female notebook” or “male notebook.”

From Los Angeles Times

In April 2019, a community hashtag for the popular gay keyword “les” disappeared from Weibo, an X-like microblogging platform.

From Los Angeles Times

Another forum with the hashtag “le” popped up in its place, where lesbians share relationship problems and look for girlfriends.

From Los Angeles Times

Actors were sharing similar experiences on social media using the hashtag #BodhiGate.

From BBC

The sketch twisted the knife by asking Mulaney to remember the names of any of the people killed by police that his character had shared along with the hashtag #RememberTheirNames in 2020.

From Salon