Definition of text
Definition of text from Dictionary.com, the world’s leading online source for English definitions, pronunciations, word origins, idioms, Word of the Day, and more.
Text
is the exact, original words written by an author.
Text
is also a specific work as written by the original author.
Text
is also commonly used to refer to a
text
message or to send a
text
message.
Text
has several other senses as a noun.
Text
refers to the actual words written in a book, newspaper, blog post, or any other written work. Pictures, charts, and other images are not
text.
When you read something, you are looking at
text
and using your language skills to get meaning out of it. Something that doesn’t contain any
text
is
textless.
Real-life examples:
Books, newspapers, and magazines all contain a lot of
text.
Even picture books or art books might have
text
to describe the images.
Used in a sentence:
The news editor broke up the large amount of text by putting charts and photographs between paragraphs.
Related to this sense,
text
refers to specific written works as they were created by the original author. For example, if your teacher asks you to consult the
text
of
Edgar Allen Poe
’s “
The Raven
,” they want you to read the exact words of the poem that Poe wrote rather than a synopsis or a translation by a different writer.
Used in a sentence:
I think most people would find the Lord of the Rings movies more exciting than the original text.
Text
also refers to a
text
message
, an electronic message sent by mobile devices and some computer apps.
Real-life examples:
If you own a smartphone, you probably send and receive
texts
almost every day. Your friends, family, and cellphone company are all likely to send you
texts.
Used in a sentence:
My sister sent me a text about the $10 I owe her.
Text
also means to send a
text
message.
Used in a sentence:
She spends a lot of time texting her friends.