hashtag
noun
Meghan OverdeepJoe SheehanMark Leibovich
Did you know?
Hashtags are an everyday part of Internet culture, thanks to social media. Originally designed for categorizing posts (i.e., tagging them) on Twitter, hashtags now commonly also supplement or comment on whatever text or image they accompany. The “hash” in hashtag is short for hash mark, a term for what we also call a pound sign or, if you want to apply the word-nerdiest designation, an octothorpe. Hash in this case is probably an alteration of hatch, a term for the lines artists sometimes use to add shading to a drawing. #WordNerdery
Examples of hashtag in a Sentence
Dani Di Placido, Forbes.com, 30 Jan. 2026
Fallon joked, adding the hashtag #FatherDaughterDay before diving into some of his snowy adventures in the city.
—Lara Walsh, InStyle, 28 Jan. 2026
Many online pointed a finger at TikTok's new ownership, rallying around the hashtag #TikTokCensorship on X.
—Bobby Allyn, NPR, 27 Jan. 2026
Aubreigh's name and photos began to spread after her death, and the hashtag #LLAW (Live Like Aubreigh Wyatt) started trending as well.
—Corin Cesaric, PEOPLE, 27 Jan. 2026
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Cite this Entry
“Hashtag.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/hashtag. Accessed 3 Feb. 2026.
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