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

Most were in the smiley lexicon — 😊 topped the list of common emoji — while others, like 👁️ and 💊, might map to symptoms or treatments. —Katie Palmer, STAT, 14 Jan. 2026

In a separate post that day, the CEO added two laughing emoji when quote-tweeting an image of a toaster with a bikini on it. —Jennifer Zhan, Vulture, 9 Jan. 2026

Duff wrote alongside a drooling-face emoji. —Allison Degrushe, Entertainment Weekly, 9 Jan. 2026

While Ryder himself added three love heart emojis to the comments section of his mom’s post, a few famous faces also sent their birthday wishes. —Clare Fisher, PEOPLE, 8 Jan. 2026

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