text message

American  

noun

• text messages
  plural

1. an electronic message sent over a cellular network from one cell phone to another by typing words, often in shortened form, as “l8t” for “late,” on the phone's numeric or QWERTY keypad.

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text message British  

noun

1. a written message sent by means of a mobile phone

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Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• text messages
  plural

Etymology

Origin of text message

First recorded in 1975–80

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

text message

Lienhard was not at school on Friday and declined comment in a text message.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 15, 2026

The rationale for moving the voting online is the technical difficulty of requiring fans to vote for multiple acts via text message or phone votes.

From BBC ● Aug. 14, 2026

Garment worker Mosammat Aklima found out in a text message that she had become one of thousands laid off in the latest wave of cuts to hit Bangladesh's once-booming export industry.

From Barron's ● Aug. 5, 2026

“I am not interested in speaking to you or anyone else,” he wrote in a text message to the firm.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 30, 2026

"Did you get a text message?" the woman in front of us says to the man next to her.

From "The Sky at Our Feet" by Nadia Hashimi