emoticon

noun emo·ti·con \ i-ˈmō-ti-ˌkän \

|Updated on: 17 Jun 2018

Definition of emoticon

: a group of keyboard characters (such as :-)) that typically represents a facial expression or suggests an attitude or emotion and that is used especially in computerized communications (such as e-mail)

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Recent Examples of emoticon from the Web

Twitter feeds quickly filled with teary, wailing GIFs and heart emoticons cracked in two — pithy punctuation about anemic 401(k) accounts being whittled down to wisps.

— tiffany hsu, New York Times, "For Millennial Investors, a Harsh Lesson in Market Gyrations," 7 Feb. 2018
In the aftermath, some Facebook executives have taken to Twitter for a public charm offensive, sending pithy phrases and emoticons to reporters who cover the company.

— sheera frenkel and nellie bowles, New York Times, "Facebook Employees in an Uproar Over Executive’s Leaked Memo," 30 Mar. 2018
Read more: One of the early digital visuals was the emoticon, a pictorial representation of a facial expression more commonly known as smiley faces.

— frank witsil, Detroit Free Press, "Smartphones ushering in a language of punctuation marks, symbols and animated pictures," 2 Nov. 2017
By the 1990s, the Japanese turned the sideways emoticon into a single character, now known as an emoji, and a bunch of symbols.

— frank witsil, Detroit Free Press, "Smartphones ushering in a language of punctuation marks, symbols and animated pictures," 2 Nov. 2017
Podcasts, film clips, emoticons, and emojis are the new pictographs of an increasingly illiterate public.

— victor davis hanson, National Review, "Status Quo Blues," 17 Oct. 2017
Overuse of fancy fonts, colors, and emoticons turned plenty of AIM profiles into crimes against graphic design.

— kyle orland, Ars Technica, "Saying goodbye to the proto-social network of AOL Instant Messenger," 8 Oct. 2017
But all are united in their waxing nostalgic about the golden days of Buddy Lists, emoticons, and pointless chats with SmarterChild.

— andrea park, Glamour, "AIM Is Shutting Down and the Internet Has a Lot of Feelings About It," 6 Oct. 2017
But all are united in their waxing nostalgic about the golden days of Buddy Lists, emoticons, and pointless chats with SmarterChild.

— andrea park, Teen Vogue, "AIM Is Shutting Down, Internet Mourns," 6 Oct. 2017

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'emoticon.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.