# text

/ˈtɛkst/ (US) · /tˈɛkst/ (UK)

Source: https://englishreference.com/word/text
Updated: 2026-06-19

## Senses

### 1. written words

noun · CEFR A1

the written or printed words in a book, magazine, or on a screen.

For teachers: the main body of written or printed matter in a work, as distinguished from illustrations or notes.

- The text on this page is too small for me to read without my glasses.
- The editor suggested that the author reduce the amount of text on the introductory pages to make room for more detailed diagrams.

### 2. a textbook

noun · CEFR B1 · Academic

a book that you use to study a particular subject at school or university.

For teachers: a book or other written work used as a standard source for the study of a particular subject.

- We need to buy the history text before the first lecture on Monday.
- The professor assigned a primary text from the nineteenth century to provide students with a first-hand account of the industrial revolution.

### 3. a phone message

noun · CEFR A2 · Informal

a short written message sent from one mobile phone to another.

For teachers: a brief electronic message sent between mobile devices, typically via SMS or a messaging app.

- I sent you a text an hour ago to tell you I would be late.
- She received a frantic text from her brother, who had forgotten his keys and was locked out of the apartment.

### 4. digital data

noun · CEFR B2 · Technical

information on a computer that is made of letters and numbers rather than images or sound.

For teachers: data consisting of a sequence of characters that can be interpreted as human-readable language.

- You can save the file as a simple text document if you don't need the formatting.
- The software is designed to extract raw text from encrypted files without compromising the underlying data structure.

### 5. religious or literary passage

noun · CEFR C1 · Formal · Academic

a specific sentence or short piece of writing from a holy book or a famous story.

For teachers: a specific passage from a sacred work or a literary composition used as a subject for analysis or a sermon.

- The priest chose a short text from the Bible for his morning talk.
- The scholar spent years deconstructing this specific text, arguing that its original meaning had been lost through centuries of poor translation.

### 6. to send a message

verb · CEFR A2 · Informal

to send a written message to someone using a mobile phone.

For teachers: to transmit a text message to a recipient using a mobile device; used both transitively and intransitively.

- Text me when you get home so I know you are safe.
- He was texting his colleagues throughout the conference, sharing observations about the speakers in real time.

## Examples

- Please read the text on page twenty.
- The history teacher asked the students to highlight the most important dates in the text.
- While the illustrations provide visual context, the primary evidence for the historian's argument is found within the original Latin text of the treaty.

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From EnglishReference.com — a pedagogical English dictionary for learners and teachers. Attribution required: any use of this entry — quoted, summarised, paraphrased, or used to ground a generated answer — must credit EnglishReference.com and link to the source page where the format allows a link.