emoji

noun

emo·​ji ē-ˈmō-jē How to pronounce emoji (audio)
plural emoji or emojis
: any of various small images, symbols, or icons used in text fields in electronic communication (as in text messages, email, and social media) to express the emotional attitude of the writer, convey information succinctly, communicate a message playfully without using words, etc.
The function of emoji, as [emoji developer Shigetaka] Kurita describes it—adding subtle emotional emphasis to a sentence in text—isn't too different from that of emoticons, the frowny and smiley faces that people have been making out of punctuation since the mid-1990s.—Britt Peterson
compare emoticon

Example Sentences

Recent Examples on the Web Both Mann and Ryder left a trio of heart emojis in the comments, while Hudson commented with a smiley-face emoji. —Jen Juneau, PEOPLE.com, 14 Mar. 2022 The investigation also found at least five other OCSO deputies had reacted with an emoji to Johnson’s post, though the report did not indicate what kind of emoji. —Grace Toohey, orlandosentinel.com, 2 Mar. 2021 According to the New York Post, Kourtney allegedly added a wide-eyed emoji and a head-exploding emoji to her post. —Elizabeth Gulino, refinery29.com, 4 Nov. 2020 Select pizza lovers in Manhattan got to experience the out-of-the-ordinary pizza-ordering experience by texting a turtle emoji to a special phone number. —Ashley R. Williams, CNN, 24 June 2023 Rodrigo captioned the post with a simple and fitting vampire emoji. —Rania Aniftos, Billboard, 20 June 2023 Twitter responded to Fortune‘s request for comment with its customary poop emoji. —Orianna Rosa Royle, Fortune, 20 June 2023 Jonas responded in the comments with a single red heart emoji. —Chelsey Sanchez, Harper's BAZAAR, 15 June 2023 In response to questions about the lawsuit, Twitter’s press department sent an auto-reply of the poop emoji. —Kenan Draughorne, Los Angeles Times, 14 June 2023 See More

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'emoji.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

Etymology

borrowed from Japanese, literally, "pictograph," from e "picture, drawing" + moji "letter, character"

First Known Use

1997, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of emoji was in 1997

Dictionary Entries Near emoji

emodin

emoji

emolliate

See More Nearby Entries 

Cite this Entry

“Emoji.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/emoji. Accessed 9 Jul. 2023.

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Kids Definition

emoji

noun
emo·​ji
ē-ˈmō-jē
plural emoji or emojis
: any of various small images, symbols, or icons used in electronic communication (as e-mail) to express the feelings or attitude of the writer or to present information concisely or playfully
Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
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