keysmash

[ kee-smash ]

noun

1. a random string of letters and symbols typed out on a keyboard or touchscreen, used to signal intense emotion in written communication:

   The photo of the actor was accompanied by a heartfelt keysmash.

2. the action of typing out such a random string of letters or symbols:

   Keysmash was the only appropriate response.

verb (used without object)

1. to use keysmashes to signal intense emotion in written communication:

   I was so excited I couldn’t stop keysmashing.

Word History and Origins

Origin of keysmash¹

First recorded in 1995–2000; key ¹ (on a computer) + smash ( def )

Example Sentences

The inhabitants of Dat’s new town are gray cartoonish monsters whose language, transliterated onto the page, is a keysmash of Wingdings; Dat and his mother, by contrast, are full-color and human.

From New York Times

And it’s more pronounceable than a traditional keysmash — “as;ldfkjls” — so it can be said out loud.

From Salon

The first, “sksksk,” is a popular keysmash, representing someone furiously hitting the “S” and “K” keys back and forth.

From Salon

McCulloch shows how even the keysmash — pounding the keyboard when you just can’t even — has been regularized.

From New York Times

More About Keysmash

What does keysmash mean?

A keysmash is a random string of characters sent as a message to indicate intense emotion, such as excitement or anger.

A keysmash is a collection of random keyboard characters typed by literally smashing a keyboard repeatedly. You might type a keysmash when you’re very excited or upset about something and want to share that in a message. Keysmashes can also be created when a pet walks across a keyboard or when something is dropped onto it. (Pro tip: Putting your computer to sleep before you walk away from it can help prevent unintentional keysmashes.)

To keysmash is to randomly type characters on your keyboard with the intention of creating a keysmash.

Example: Martina was so frustrated with the situation that she just texted me a long keysmash.

Where does keysmash come from?

The first records of the term keysmash come from around the late 1990s. It combines the terms key, referring to a key on a keyboard, and smash, meaning “to hit or strike with force.” 

 Two of the most frequently used keysmashes are “qwertyuiop” and “asdfghjkl,” which are the top and middle rows of the QWERTY keyboard. You can create either of these by dragging one of your fingers across the whole row. Keysmashes have become so popular that linguists have begun studying the most common trends in keysmashing. For example, they’ve found that most keysmashes follow a pattern based on how the smasher is feeling and what device they are using.

Did you know … ?

What are some words that share a root or word element with keysmash? 

• key
• smash

What are some words that often get used in discussing keysmash?

• anger
• gibberish
• message
• text

How is keysmash used in real life?

Keysmash is used informally to describe a long string of characters typed with the intention of being meaningless.

im walking to target to buy a hamper because i am an ADULT an adult who cries if somebody texts me lol instead of a keysmash and refuses to eat salads but an ADULT nonetheless

— catie turner (@hashtagcatie) April 30, 2019

Linguistics: here's a phonetics course! it will teach you how to pronounce sounds even when they don't correspond to English words!

Me, many years later, reading keysmash in the #BecauseInternet audiobook: literally asdgjfsdjklglhj

— Gretchen McCulloch (@GretchenAMcC) July 25, 2019

A new addition to the "kitten on keyboard" pantheon: dropped a Pony on my keyboard, and got, functionally, a kitten keysmash.

— Seanan McGuire (@seananmcguire) November 4, 2020

Updated on February 27, 2023

Try using keysmash!

True or False?

Keysmashing is often done to represent a strong emotion in text.