emoticon

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noun emo·ti·con \ i-ˈmō-ti-ˌkän \

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

There’s a compound emoticon — Flexed biceps and Pouting face for first baseman Chase Headley.

— ronald blum, The Seattle Times, "With this Yankee’s emojis, Clown face, Squid join Babe and Boss," 16 Aug. 2017
Instead, reading a happy face in the text of a work email made people think that the sender was less competent if the same message did not contain the emoticon, the researchers found.

— julia zorthian, Time, "You Really Need to Stop Putting Smiley Faces in Work Emails," 14 Aug. 2017
In my Word’s AutoCorrect, the emoticon smiley face does exist in the same AutoCorrect settings to turn : ) into .

— tamara chuang, The Denver Post, "When smiley faces don’t belong in a Word document, here’s how to turn them off," 17 Apr. 2017
On Twitch, while all channels are free, subscribing to a channel gives viewers perks like subscriber-only chat, subscriber-only emoticons and discounts on merchandise.

— laura parker, New York Times, "A Chat With a Live Streamer Is Yours, for a Price," 12 Apr. 2017
The Twitter default photo has gone through a number of changes throughout the years, including a person, emoticon and a bird.

— queenie wong, The Mercury News, "Goodbye, Twitter eggs! Default profile picture has changed," 31 Mar. 2017
Barras, who has likened his characters’ round faces to emoticons, told Variety that budget constraints on the $8 million film necessitated keeping things simple.

— Orange County Register, "‘Zucchini’: Weathering childhood’s traumas, triumphs," 3 Mar. 2017
Mr. Netanyahu wrote on his official Twitter account, adding emoticons of the U.S. and Israeli...

— rory jones, WSJ, "Israel PM Netanyahu Praises Trump’s Plan for Mexico Border Wall," 28 Jan. 2017
Everyone knows that the winky emoticon means true love.

— diana bruk, Seventeen, "Zac Efron And Simone Biles Are Hardcore Flirting On Twitter," 11 Aug. 2016

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.

Origin and Etymology of emoticon

emotion + icon

NEW! Time Traveler

First Known Use: 1987

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EMOTICON Defined for English Language Learners

emoticon

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noun

Definition of emoticon for English Language Learners

: a group of keyboard characters that are used to represent a facial expression (such as a smile or frown)

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See words that rhyme with emoticon Spanish Central: Translation of emoticon Nglish: Translation of emoticon for Spanish speakers Britannica English: Translation of emoticon for Arabic speakers

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emoticon

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EMOTICON Defined for English Language Learners

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