Meaning & use
tweetstorm
Last updated
Meanings
nouncountableinformal
A rapid series of connected posts on a social media site, sent one after another to make one long argument or story.
Grammar: Countable: one tweetstorm, two tweetstorms.
Patterns
- a tweetstorm about something
- start a tweetstorm
The author wrote a tweetstorm explaining why the film's ending was misunderstood.
Her tweetstorm about delayed trains was shared thousands of times.
I skipped the newsletter and just read his tweetstorm on the budget.
verbintransitiveinformal
To post a long chain of linked short messages online in quick succession.
Grammar: No object: he tweetstormed all evening.
Patterns
- tweetstorm about something
The coach tweetstormed for an hour after the match.
She tweetstormed about the new parking rules until midnight.
Word forms
| plural | tweetstorms |
|---|---|
| third person singular | tweetstorms |
| past tense | tweetstormed |
| past participle | tweetstormed |
| -ing form | tweetstorming |
Common combinations
- post a tweetstorm
- He posted a tweetstorm to defend his decision.
- unleash a tweetstorm
- The actor unleashed a tweetstorm when the review came out.
- angry tweetstorm
- An angry tweetstorm cost the company several clients.
- late-night tweetstorm
- Her late-night tweetstorm went viral by morning.
Synonyms and how they differ
- thread
- A thread is the neutral and more common word, while tweetstorm often suggests a burst of heated or rapid posting.
- rant
- A rant is angry and rambling in any medium, whereas a tweetstorm can be calm and organized but is specific to short online posts.
- barrage
- Barrage stresses an overwhelming volume of messages and is not limited to social media.
Word family
- tweet noun
- a single short post
- tweeter noun
- a person who posts tweets
- brainstorm noun
- the pattern the word imitates, a burst of ideas
- retweet verb
- to repost someone's message
Commonly confused: tweetstorm or brainstorm?
tweetstorm vs brainstorm
A brainstorm is a session of generating ideas, while a tweetstorm is a run of posts made online.
Practice
Which sentence uses tweetstorm correctly?
Choose one answer.
A tweetstorm is a run of connected social media posts. The other options treat it as a weather event or a paper note, which does not fit.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “tweetstorm”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.