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
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Britt PetersonExamples of emoji in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
Zuckerberg is typically private about his children and covers their faces with emojis in photos posted on social media, according to the Daily Beast, which reached out to Zuckerberg for a comment but did not get a response.
—Martha Ross, Mercury News, 20 June 2026
That was what the backup point guard wrote on X, followed by three laughing-until-crying emojis, soon after he was stopped by two police officers who apparently did not recognize him as a Knicks player during the team’s championship parade in Lower Manhattan.
—Chuck Schilken, Los Angeles Times, 18 June 2026
In return, a crowd bowed and waved its arms in unified worship; a quarterback who actually calls this place home posted three emojis of a goat; and a party launched in Argentina.
—Sam McDowell, Kansas City Star, 17 June 2026
Mahomes posted a few goat emojis during Messi’s performance.
—Ryan Gaydos, FOXNews.com, 17 June 2026
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Martha Ross, Mercury News, 20 June 2026
That was what the backup point guard wrote on X, followed by three laughing-until-crying emojis, soon after he was stopped by two police officers who apparently did not recognize him as a Knicks player during the team’s championship parade in Lower Manhattan.
—Chuck Schilken, Los Angeles Times, 18 June 2026
In return, a crowd bowed and waved its arms in unified worship; a quarterback who actually calls this place home posted three emojis of a goat; and a party launched in Argentina.
—Sam McDowell, Kansas City Star, 17 June 2026
Mahomes posted a few goat emojis during Messi’s performance.
—Ryan Gaydos, FOXNews.com, 17 June 2026
See All Example Sentences for emoji
Cite this Entry
“Emoji.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/emoji. Accessed 22 Jun. 2026.
Copy CitationKids 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
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