ICQ

British

noun

an instant messaging computer program that enables internet users to locate and communicate with one another online

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Etymology

Origin of ICQ

approximate abbreviation of I seek you

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

Tencent was founded in 1998 by four geeky college classmates and a friend from Shenzhen who devised a Chinese version of the pioneering instant messaging service ICQ.

From BusinessWeek • Aug. 4, 2011

On Apr. 28, DST paid $188 million for AOL's instant-messenger service ICQ, the leader in that business in Russia and elsewhere in Eastern Europe.

From BusinessWeek • Apr. 29, 2010

Additionally, the company said that it sold its instant- messaging service ICQ to Digital Sky Technologies Ltd for $187.5 million and that it is pursuing a sale of social networking site Bebo.

From Reuters • Apr. 28, 2010

The teenage son could be going on the Internet via AOL, wandering cyberspace on a Netscape browser and chatting with pals using AOL's ICQ instant messaging service.

From Washington Post • Jan. 11, 2000

Geeks keep their computers on round-the-clock and often work irregular hours, in part because Web-surfing, software trading, and collecting and ICQ and Hotline messaging are factored in.

From "Geeks: How Two Lost Boys Rode the Internet Out of Idaho" by Jon Katz

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023