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

Chat, email, and live texting are all ways the user experience can help students easily navigate the exchange with a writer. —Rowan Briggs, The Mercury News, 25 Feb. 2025

All were enjoyable to use in testing, especially for everyday calling, texting, and video conferencing either en masse or on a one-to-one basis. —John Brandon, PCMAG, 1 Feb. 2025

This includes data used for streaming, texting, sharing and calling during the 2024-2025 campaign. —Maxwell Millington, Axios, 10 Feb. 2025

Early reports from beta testers suggest the service usually does what T-Mobile claims—enabling texting in areas with no cellular access—but that users still can't get connections in some areas. —Ars Technica, 10 Feb. 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