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
Britt PetersonExamples of emoji in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
Apple released its iOS 17.4 update for iPhones in March, which included new emoji, Apple Podcast transcripts and more changes.
—USA TODAY, 23 Apr. 2024
Their algorithm used to prioritize the angry emoji reaction.
—Quartz Staff, Quartz, 23 Apr. 2024
Kardashian famously posted snake emojis amid the controversy surrounding her then-husband and Taylor after claiming that the singer had lied about approving the song.
—Becca Longmire, Peoplemag, 19 Apr. 2024
Kardashian’s accusations whipped up an online fury against Swift, full of snake memes and emojis.
—Martha Ross, The Mercury News, 19 Apr. 2024
Heart emojis are flying as women post photos of themselves.
—Lisa Gutierrez, Kansas City Star, 17 Apr. 2024
Viewers have responded with crying and heart emojis.
—Michael Levenson, New York Times, 11 Apr. 2024
The post included emojis of a knife, an ax and red drops.
—Ishani Desai, Sacramento Bee, 2 Apr. 2024
Several people were upset by the challenge of emojis.
—Katie Wiseman, The Indianapolis Star, 1 Apr. 2024
USA TODAY, 23 Apr. 2024
Their algorithm used to prioritize the angry emoji reaction.
—Quartz Staff, Quartz, 23 Apr. 2024
Kardashian famously posted snake emojis amid the controversy surrounding her then-husband and Taylor after claiming that the singer had lied about approving the song.
—Becca Longmire, Peoplemag, 19 Apr. 2024
Kardashian’s accusations whipped up an online fury against Swift, full of snake memes and emojis.
—Martha Ross, The Mercury News, 19 Apr. 2024
Heart emojis are flying as women post photos of themselves.
—Lisa Gutierrez, Kansas City Star, 17 Apr. 2024
Viewers have responded with crying and heart emojis.
—Michael Levenson, New York Times, 11 Apr. 2024
The post included emojis of a knife, an ax and red drops.
—Ishani Desai, Sacramento Bee, 2 Apr. 2024
Several people were upset by the challenge of emojis.
—Katie Wiseman, The Indianapolis Star, 1 Apr. 2024
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.
Dictionary Entries Near emoji
Cite this Entry
“Emoji.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/emoji. Accessed 27 Apr. 2024.
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