What is a quote tweet on X (Twitter)?
A quote tweet (now officially just 'quote') is a repost with your own commentary attached: the original post appears embedded inside yours. Unlike a plain repost, a quote creates a new post that reaches your audience and collects its own engagement.
Quotes are the platform's main vehicle for commentary: adding context, disagreeing publicly, or riding a trending post with your own take. Because the quote reaches your followers rather than the original author's, a sharp quote of a large account's post is one of the few reliable ways for small accounts to borrow distribution.
The trade-off is social: quoting a post to dunk on it sends your audience to the target and often reads as engagement farming. Replies keep a conversation attached to the original; quotes fork it into your timeline. The working etiquette is to quote when your commentary stands alone as a post, and reply when it only makes sense under the original.
Frequently asked
Quote tweet or reply: which gets more reach?
Quotes, usually: they're shown to your followers and eligible for the For You feed as standalone posts, while replies mostly surface to people who open the original thread.
Do quote tweets notify the original author?
Yes, the author is notified, and your quote is listed under the original post's quotes tab, visible to their audience too.
Put it to work
Related terms
Write posts, not vocabulary.
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