keysmash
Americannoun
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a random string of letters and symbols typed out on a keyboard or touchscreen, used to signal intense emotion in written communication.
The photo of the actor was accompanied by a heartfelt keysmash.
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the action of typing out such a random string of letters or symbols.
Keysmash was the only appropriate response.
verb (used without object)
Usage
What does keysmash mean? A keysmash is a random string of characters sent as a message to indicate intense emotion, such as excitement or anger. A keysmash is a collection of random keyboard characters typed by literally smashing a keyboard repeatedly. You might type a keysmash when you’re very excited or upset about something and want to share that in a message. Keysmashes can also be created when a pet walks across a keyboard or when something is dropped onto it. (Pro tip: Putting your computer to sleep before you walk away from it can help prevent unintentional keysmashes.)To keysmash is to randomly type characters on your keyboard with the intention of creating a keysmash. Example: Martina was so frustrated with the situation that she just texted me a long keysmash.
Etymology
Origin of keysmash
First recorded in 1995–2000; key 1 (on a computer) + smash ( def. )
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.
The inhabitants of Dat’s new town are gray cartoonish monsters whose language, transliterated onto the page, is a keysmash of Wingdings; Dat and his mother, by contrast, are full-color and human.
From New York Times ● Apr. 22, 2022
The first, “sksksk,” is a popular keysmash, representing someone furiously hitting the “S” and “K” keys back and forth.
From Salon ● Dec. 25, 2019
And it’s more pronounceable than a traditional keysmash — “as;ldfkjls” — so it can be said out loud.
From Salon ● Dec. 25, 2019
McCulloch shows how even the keysmash — pounding the keyboard when you just can’t even — has been regularized.
From New York Times ● Aug. 16, 2019
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
