hashtag

H4A1S1H4T1A1G2
US/ˈhæʃˌtæɡ/

noun

A metadata tag, signaled by a preceding hash sign (#), used to label content.

First used 2007Scrabble 14

Meanings

nounhashtag (plural hashtags)

plural hashtags

  1. InternetA metadata tag, signaled by a preceding hash sign (#), used to label content.First known use 2007

    I support the hash tag convention: http://tinyurl.com/2qttlb #hashtag #factoryjoe #twitter

    2007 Aug 25, Stowe Boyd, tweet, https://twitter.com/stoweboyd/status/226570552
    3 more examples

    You can also search for a hashtag by typing a topic (without the #) in the search box and clicking Search.

    2009, Paul McFedries, Pete Cashmore, Twitter Tips, Tricks, and Tweets

    While hashtags aren't formally part of Twitter, some clients, such as Tweetdeck, will persist hashtags across replies to create a sort of message threading.

    2009, Alistair Croll, Sean Power, Complete Web Monitoring

    The planes are moving into position. The foreign ministers of minor Arab states are taking calls on their cell-phones from Western politicians. Twitter accounts explode around the Libyan hash-tag.

    2011, Rory Stewart, “Here we go again”, in London Review of Books, 33.VII
  2. InternetinformalmetonymicallyThe hash sign itself, especially when used as part of a hashtag.

    You're perpetually stoned, aren't you? Hashtag four twenty four seven.

    2018, John Allison, By Night, volume 1, Los Angeles, CA: Boom! Box, →ISBN, page n.p.
    2 more examples

    I sound like a shitty mother and wife. Or at the very least an inadequate wife and ungrateful mother–which is in stark contrast to the image I try to portray on Instagram. Hashtag happy life. Hashtag beautiful family. Hashtag blessed.

    2016, Emily Giffin, First Comes Love: A Novel, New York City: Ballantine Books, →ISBN, page 40

    The Occam’s razor explanation is that he’s just hashtag-blessed with the kind of lustrous lashes that many people spend a lot of money (and rack up a lot of Sephora Beauty Insider points) trying to get.

    2024 July 31, Heather Schwedel, Is J.D. Vance Wearing Eyeliner?
verbhashtag (third-person singular simple present hashtags, present participle hashtagging, simple past and past participle hashtagged)

present singular third person hashtags · participle present hashtagging · participle past hashtagged · past hashtagged

  1. InternetambitransitiveTo label (a message) with a hashtag.
    1 more example

    The photo-sharing site was riddled with fake accounts that liked, followed and hashtagged out the wazoo. Then came the great “Instagram Rapture,” Instagram’s pledge last December to clean out the fake accounts and do “everything possible to keep Instagram free from the fake and spammy accounts that plague much of the web.”

    2015 July 2, Julia Carpenter, “Can we ever beat the bots? Not on Instagram.”, in The Washington Post

Synonyms & antonyms

Origin

From earlier hash tag, from hash (sign) + tag. The hash sign # was initially proposed as tag hash by Chris Messina to create groups on Twitter, modeled after the IRC channel prefix. First published use as hash tag by Stowe Boyd in 2007.

Full word history & related roots →

Translations

Afrikaans hutsmerk
  • hutsmerka tag with a hash sign
Arabic وَسْم, هَاشْتَاق
  • وَسْم (wasm)a tag with a hash sign
  • هَاشْتَاق (hāštāq)a tag with a hash sign
  • هَاشْتَاغ (hāštāḡ)a tag with a hash sign
Chinese Mandarin 井號標籤 /井号标签
  • 井號標籤 /井号标签 (jǐnghào biāoqiān)a tag with a hash sign
Czech hashtag, heštek
  • hashtaga tag with a hash sign
  • hešteka tag with a hash sign
Danish hashtag
  • hashtaga tag with a hash sign
Dutch hashtag
  • hashtaga tag with a hash sign
Esperanto kradvorto
  • kradvortoa tag with a hash sign
Estonian hashtag, räsimärk
  • hashtaga tag with a hash sign
  • räsimärka tag with a hash sign
  • teemaviidea tag with a hash sign
Finnish aihetunniste, hashtag
  • aihetunnistea tag with a hash sign
  • hashtaga tag with a hash sign
  • hästäkkia tag with a hash sign
French mot-clic, mot-dièse
  • mot-clica tag with a hash sign
  • mot-dièsea tag with a hash sign
  • hashtaga tag with a hash sign
German Hashtag
  • Hashtaga tag with a hash sign
Greek χάσταγκ
  • χάσταγκ (chástagk)a tag with a hash sign
Hungarian hashtag
  • hashtaga tag with a hash sign
Icelandic myllumerki, kassamerki
  • myllumerkia tag with a hash sign
  • kassamerkia tag with a hash sign
Indonesian tagar, tanda pagar
  • tagara tag with a hash sign
  • tanda pagara tag with a hash sign
Italian hashtag
  • hashtaga tag with a hash sign
Japanese ハッシュタグ
  • ハッシュタグ (hasshutagu)a tag with a hash sign
Korean 해시태그
  • 해시태그 (haesitaegeu)a tag with a hash sign
Malay tanda pagar
  • tanda pagara tag with a hash sign
Māori tohumarau
  • tohumaraua tag with a hash sign
Norwegian emneknagg
  • emneknagga tag with a hash sign
Persian هشتگ
  • هشتگ (haštag)a tag with a hash sign
Polish hashtag, hasztag
  • hashtaga tag with a hash sign
  • hasztaga tag with a hash sign
Portuguese marcador, hashtag
  • marcadora tag with a hash sign
  • hashtaga tag with a hash sign
Russian ме́тка, хэште́г
  • ме́тка (métka)a tag with a hash sign
  • хэште́г (xɛštɛ́g)a tag with a hash sign
  • хеште́г (xɛštɛ́g)a tag with a hash sign
Slovak hashtag
  • hashtaga tag with a hash sign
Spanish hashtag, etiqueta
  • hashtaga tag with a hash sign
  • etiquetaa tag with a hash sign
  • almohadillaa tag with a hash sign
Swedish hashtag
  • hashtaga tag with a hash sign
Thai แฮชแท็ก
  • แฮชแท็ก (hɛ́ch-tɛ̀k)a tag with a hash sign
Turkish etiket
  • etiketa tag with a hash sign
Ukrainian геште́ґ, хеште́г
  • геште́ґ (heštég)a tag with a hash sign
  • хеште́г (xeštéh)a tag with a hash sign
Welsh hashnod
  • hashnoda tag with a hash sign
Cite this entry
APA

hashtag. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/hashtag

MLA

“hashtag.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/hashtag. Accessed November 3, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “hashtag,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/hashtag.

Source: hashtag on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.