emoji

noun

emo·​ji ē-ˈmō-jē 

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

Examples of emoji in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Scherzinger wrote alongside a prayer emoji and a heart emoji. —Jennifer Zhan, Vulture, 9 Nov. 2024

Gordon wrote on her Instagram Stories, alongside a series of heart eye emojis to a video of Swift performing on stage. —Skyler Caruso, People.com, 5 Nov. 2024

Add picks with demon and goblin emojis that indicate non-standard payouts of up to 100x your initial entry. —Tim Van Straten, Newsweek, 31 Oct. 2024

Yet as societies and technologies evolve, what will become of the archaic winking-face emoji? —David John Chávez, The Mercury News, 30 Oct. 2024

Word History

Etymology

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

First Known Use

1997, in the meaning defined above

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 email) to express the feelings or attitude of the writer or to present information concisely or playfully