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

The compliment spurred Williamson to share the post on her Instagram Stories, replying with a blushing with hearts emoji. —Chris Barilla, People.com, 22 May 2025

There's even a whole culture of flirting through emojis—and that even includes the ghost and devil smiley emojis. —Anna Halkidis, Parents, 22 May 2025

In her caption, Rae reminded fans of her June 6 release date, and shared emojis that seemingly represent each of the songs on the record. —Tomás Mier, Rolling Stone, 21 May 2025

The former Danity Kane member added a balance emoji, which is a common symbol of justice. —Ashley Hume, FOXNews.com, 18 May 2025

Word History

Etymology

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

First Known Use

1997, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for emoji

• koji
• logie
• shoji
• pedagogy

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