send a message

English

Verb

send a message (third-person singular simple present sends a message, present participle sending a message, simple past and past participle sent a message)

1. (idiomatic) To implicitly communicate an idea, typically through one's actions.

   Synonym: make a statement

   • 2001 April, David Foster Wallace, “Tense Present: Democracy, English, and the Wars over Usage”, in Harper's Magazine:

     As we sometimes also say about elements of fashion and etiquette, the way you use English "Makes a Statement" or "Sends a Message" — even though these Statements/Messages often have nothing to do with the actual information you're trying to transmit.

Further reading

• “send a message”, in Lexico, Dictionary.com; Oxford University Press, 2019–2022.
• “send a message”, in Cambridge English Dictionary, Cambridge, Cambridgeshire: Cambridge University Press, 1999–present.
• “send a message”, in Collins English Dictionary.