Revised 2013 More entries for tweet

tweetverb

Etymology
Meaning & use
Pronunciation
Frequency
Compounds & derived words

Quotations

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Factsheet

What does the verb tweet mean?

There are four meanings listed in OED's entry for the verb tweet. See ‘Meaning & use’ for definitions, usage, and quotation evidence.

See meaning & use

How common is the verb tweet?

About 0.02occurrences per million words in modern written English

1850	0.008
1860	0.0086
1870	0.0085
1880	0.0087
1890	0.0098
1900	0.011
1910	0.011
1920	0.012
1930	0.012
1940	0.012
1950	0.013
1960	0.013
1970	0.014
1980	0.016
1990	0.016
2000	0.017
2010	0.019

See frequency

How is the verb tweet pronounced?

British English

/twiːt/

U.S. English

/twit/

See pronunciation

Where does the verb tweet come from?

Earliest known use

1850s

The earliest known use of the verb tweet is in the 1850s.

OED's earliest evidence for tweet is from 1851, in the writing of George Meredith, novelist and poet.

It is also recorded as an exclamation from the mid 1500s.

tweet is an imitative or expressive formation.

See etymology

Nearby entries

tween-age, n. & adj.1938–
tweenager, n.1949–
'tween-brain, n.1890–
'tween-decks, n.1816–
'tween doffer, n.1825–
tweener, n.1948–
tweeness, n.1958–
tweenie, n.1919–
'tween-watch, n.1899–
tweeny, n.1888–
tweet, v.1851–
tweet, int. & n.c1550–
tweeted, adj.2007–
tweeter, n.1934–
tweeting, n.2007–
tweetle, v.1850–1912
tweetling, n.1850
tweeze, n.1622–81
tweeze, v.1932–
tweezer, n.1654–
tweezer, v.1848–

Browse more nearby entries

Etymology

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Meaning & use

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Pronunciation

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Frequency

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Compounds & derived words

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Entry history for tweet, v.

Originally published as part of the entry for tweet, int. & n.

tweet, v. was revised in June 2013.

tweet, v. was last modified in June 2024.

oed.com is a living text, updated every three months. Modifications may include:

further revisions to definitions, pronunciation, etymology, headwords, variant spellings, quotations, and dates;
new senses, phrases, and quotations.

Revisions and additions of this kind were last incorporated into tweet, v. in June 2024.

Earlier versions of this entry were published in:

OED First Edition (1916)

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OED Second Edition (1989)

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View tweet, n. and int. in OED Second Edition

Cite

Chicago

Oxford English Dictionary, s.v. “,” , .

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MLA9

“” Oxford English Dictionary, Oxford UP, , .

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Citation details

Factsheet for tweet, v.

Browse entry

Nearby entries

tween-age, n. & adj.1938–
tweenager, n.1949–
'tween-brain, n.1890–
'tween-decks, n.1816–
'tween doffer, n.1825–
tweener, n.1948–
tweeness, n.1958–
tweenie, n.1919–
'tween-watch, n.1899–
tweeny, n.1888–
tweet, v.1851–
tweet, int. & n.c1550–
tweeted, adj.2007–
tweeter, n.1934–
tweeting, n.2007–
tweetle, v.1850–1912
tweetling, n.1850
tweeze, n.1622–81
tweeze, v.1932–
tweezer, n.1654–
tweezer, v.1848–

Browse more nearby entries