MeToo

American  

[mee-too] / ˈmiˈtu /

Also #MeToo or Me Too

noun

1. a social media hashtag of solidarity used by survivors of sexual harassment and sexual assault in a public disclosure of a past or current personal experience in order to demonstrate the prevalence of abuse.

   I never reported my boss because I couldn’t afford to lose my job. #MeToo

2. a social movement drawing attention to sexual harassment, sexual assault, and other abuses of authority, especially those resulting from gendered power imbalances in social institutions.

   MeToo is revealing the tragic common thread in the lives of Hollywood stars, short-order cooks, soldiers, prisoners, students, etc.—no corner of society is immune to this epidemic of abuse.

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adjective

1. relating to or noting this social movement: a powerful #MeToo spokesperson;

   the MeToo era;

   a powerful #MeToo spokesperson;

   the Me Too backlash.

verb (used with object)

MeToo’d, MeTooed, MeTooing

1. to identify or accuse (one’s abuser) publicly in a claim of sexual harassment or sexual assault: Everyone warned her that MeTooing the chair of her dissertation committee would ruin her academic career.

   How should celebrities who’ve been MeToo’d make amends and start over?

   Everyone warned her that MeTooing the chair of her dissertation committee would ruin her academic career.

Etymology

Origin of MeToo

Coined in 2006 by Tarana Burke, African American civil rights activist (born 1973)

Example Sentences

We’re still only midway through the #MeToo backlash.

From The Wall Street Journal

But in 2017, the #MeToo movement sparked a reckoning for men at the highest levels of the entertainment and media industries — some of whom had traveled in Epstein’s circles.

From Salon

The files provide a rare window into how Epstein reacted and strategized in real time to the political and cultural earthquake of #MeToo.

From Salon

“A member of metoo casuallties,” Epstein responded.

From Salon

And as the Herald was in the final months of pursuing its investigation into Epstein, other tabloids and news outlets started revisiting his case in the wake of #MeToo.

From Salon