text message

text message (plural text messages)

1. A brief electronic message sent between mobile phones.
   • 2011 December 14, Steven Morris, “Devon woman jailed for 168 days for killing kitten in microwave”, in Guardian‎:

     After the kitten had died, Robins sent a text message to Knutton saying: "Remember the saying: 'What goes around comes around?' It has started already to bite you in the arse. The cat? Karma."

   • 2012 December 1, “An internet of airborne things”, in The Economist‎, volume 405, number 8813, page 3 (Technology Quarterly):

     A farmer could place an order for a new tractor part by text message and pay for it by mobile money-transfer. A supplier many miles away would then take the part to the local matternet station for airborne dispatch via drone.

   • 2018, James Lambert, “A multitude of ‘lishes’: The nomenclature of hybridity”, in English World-Wide‎, page 10:

     Similarly, Fingilish usually refers to transliterated Farsi in chatrooms, text messages, and the like.

• sex-text, sext
• text messaging
• texting

text message (third-person singular simple present text messages, present participle text messaging, simple past and past participle text messaged)

1. (transitive or intransitive) To transmit a text message.

   I told him to text message you when he's finished.

   Please text message the directions to me.

   Just text message me the information.

   Stop text messaging during class time.

   She's been text messaging all afternoon.

• text
• message
• SMS (outside the US/UK)