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

Spotify also shared a graphic of the same design on Instagram, captioning it simply with a key emoji and flaming heart. —Hannah Dailey, Billboard, 29 Sep. 2025

It has simply been replicated in emojis, candles and three-step routines. —Footwear News, 29 Sep. 2025

Toni Collette, meanwhile, succinctly responded with a series of screaming emojis. —Alex Ritman, Variety, 29 Sep. 2025

Her next slide included text messages from her daughter Ricki, 20, which included an emoji over a selfie of Maynard Johnson. —Hannah Sacks, PEOPLE, 26 Sep. 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