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.

“Somehow the word is out that this is where everyone has to be,” said Vardi, co-chairman of the global conference and a founding investor in the former Mirabilis Ltd., which developed the ICQ online-chat system.

From BusinessWeek • Dec. 29, 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