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

Eyeball emojis were wide open on the platform formerly known as Twitter. — Los Angeles Times, 30 June 2026

Thomas comments with three lovestruck emojis, and Kerstin replies with two. — William Finnegan, New Yorker, 29 June 2026

While the tipster didn't mention the brand by name, the emoji used in the post is commonly associated with Honor. — Ewan Spence, Forbes.com, 26 June 2026

This emoji is often used to mock someone's mistake or appearance. — Sherri Gordon, Parents, 22 June 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