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Meaning & use

hypertext

noun·Academiccomputing

Last updated

UK/ˈhaɪ.pə.tekst/
US/ˈhaɪ.pɚ.tekst/

Meanings

  1. noununcountablecomputing

    Text on a screen that contains links, so that clicking a word or phrase takes you to other documents or pages.

    Grammar: Uncountable: hypertext is useful, not a hypertext.

    Patterns

    • a page of hypertext
    • links in hypertext

    Every underlined word in the hypertext opened a new article.

    Wikipedia is a large collection of hypertext about almost every topic.

    The help file was written as hypertext so readers could jump between topics.

  2. noununcountablecomputing

    The system or method of connecting pieces of text and information through links, which forms the basis of the World Wide Web.

    Grammar: Often used in technical names such as hypertext markup language.

    Patterns

    • hypertext system
    • hypertext fiction

    Tim Berners-Lee developed the web using ideas from hypertext.

    Some authors write hypertext fiction in which readers choose which link to follow.

    Early hypertext systems ran on a single computer, not the internet.

Common combinations

hypertext link
Click the hypertext link to read more.
hypertext document
A hypertext document can point to many other pages.
hypertext markup language
Hypertext markup language, or HTML, structures web pages.
hypertext transfer protocol
The browser uses the hypertext transfer protocol to fetch the page.
hypertext fiction
She published hypertext fiction with several story paths.

Synonyms and how they differ

hyperlink
A hyperlink is a single clickable link, whereas hypertext is the linked text or the system as a whole.
linked text
Linked text is a plain-English description, while hypertext is the established technical term.
hypermedia
Hypermedia extends hypertext to links among images, audio and video, not only text.

Opposites

plain text

Word family

hyperlink noun
a clickable connection between documents
hypermedia noun
linked content including images, sound and video
hypertextual adjective
relating to hypertext
HTML abbreviation
the markup language used to create web pages

Commonly confused: hypertext or hyperlink?

hypertext vs hyperlink

A hyperlink is one clickable link. Hypertext is text that contains such links or the whole linking system.

Practice

Which choice best describes hypertext?

Make it your own

Write a sentence using “hypertext”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.

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