RT
Meaning
To share another user's post, especially on platforms like Twitter, with your own followers.
Origin
Born from the fast-paced, character-limited world of early Twitter, "RT" wasn't always an official button—it was a user-invented necessity. In 2007, when someone wanted to share another person's tweet with their own followers, they’d manually type "RT @username: [original tweet text]." This ingenious workaround for attribution and amplification quickly became standard practice, a digital nod of acknowledgment. Seeing this powerful, organic behavior, Twitter officially integrated the "Retweet" button in 2009. What started as a clever hack by a nascent online community swiftly transformed into a cornerstone of social media, making "RT" the universal shorthand for echoing voices across the internet.
Examples
- I decided to RT her insightful comment because I completely agreed with her perspective on the topic.
- If you find that news article important, make sure to RT it so more people in our network can see it.