RT

¹

or rt

[ ahr-tee ]

noun

, plural RTs, RT's.

1. retweet ( def 2 ):

   Thanks for all of the likes and RTs.

verb (used with or without object)

, RTd or RT'd or RTed, RTing or RT'ing.

1. retweet ( def 1 ): I don’t like to RT blindly.

   Please RT this important petition.

   I don’t like to RT blindly.

RT

²

abbreviation for

1. radiotelegraphy.
2. radiotelephone.
3. radiotelephony.
4. respiratory therapist.
5. respiratory therapy.
6. retweet ( def ).

rt.

³

abbreviation for

1. right.

r.t.

⁴

abbreviation for

, Football.

1. right tackle.

RT

¹

abbreviation for

1. radio telegraphy
2. radio telephony

rt

²

abbreviation for

1. right

Word History and Origins

Origin of RT¹

First recorded in 2008

Example Sentences

Thus the report on the Guy Fawkes effigies, which also was picked up by RT, the English-language Russian satellite channel.

From The Daily Beast

RT also reported that former Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev has advised Kiev against building a wall with Russia.

From The Daily Beast

And RT is a delightful way (as geo-politics and professional wrestling are not) to bond with your teenage daughter.

From The Daily Beast

She jumped at the chance to watch RT, or jumped at the chance to skip calculus homework.

From The Daily Beast

Obama did authorize sending kits for a diagnostic Ebola test called the EZ1 Real-Time RT-PCR Assay.

From The Daily Beast

Suppose we'd croak this man in th' hot par-rt av th' p'litical fight; what happens?

From Project Gutenberg

"Well, tha'rt a plucky one at ony rate," he growled, discomfited.

From Project Gutenberg

Nay, lass; tha'rt as safe as th' choild is, when I hold it i' my breast.

From Project Gutenberg

Richard, thou'rt a brave lad, and thou must come and kiss me, too.

From Project Gutenberg

Thou'rt looking a sight better already for a little stir and change.

From Project Gutenberg

About This Word

What else does RT mean?

RT is short for retweet, which is the act of sharing another user’s post on the social media platform Twitter.

How is RT pronounced?

[ ahr-tee ]

What are some other forms of RT?

rt

What are some other words related to RT?

• tweet
• subtweet
• Twitterstorm

Where does RT come from?

In the early days of Twitter (circa 2006), the term retweet was used by users when they wanted to tweet an identical message that they had tweeted earlier. However, the term quickly began to change meaning as users began wanting to share other people’s tweets. In order to do this, users would copy and paste another user’s tweet, then preface it with retweet, followed by the Twitter handle of the original author.

However, in 2008 one particular user, @TDavid, decided that he didn’t want to write retweet, and instead, used RT, particularly useful for a platform where space is at a premium. Since then, the acronym has steadily gained in popularity to the point where it is now commonplace on Twitter.

Twitter thought the manual retweet process was a bit cumbersome, so in 2009 it created a retweet feature, which allowed users to share other user’s tweets with the click of a button. Just months after Twitter implemented this new function, RT was entered into Urban Dictionary and Twittonary, a lexicon of Twitter jargon.

How is RT used in real life?

RT can be a noun (a/an RT) or verb (to RT). It can be written as an uppercase RT or lowercase rt.

On Twitter, RT can be often issued as a request for others to give them a signal boost.

new twitter.. pls rt and follow❤️ pic.twitter.com/eTBNlhjjBr

— Ty’Daja A. Rodriguez (@__dajathedolll) September 5, 2018

The acronym is also particularly popular among organizations implementing marketing campaigns.

A massive thank you to everybody who is supporting the Peoples Walk for Wildlife . If you would like contribute please visit: https://t.co/nBKygydVxG #PeoplesWalkForWildlife And please RT . pic.twitter.com/fwvtxiIy7h

— Chris Packham (@ChrisGPackham) September 5, 2018

While less common, some people occasionally say retweet in everyday speech in order to express support for something someone else has said, such is the influence of Twitter on our everyday language.