emoji
noun
emo·ji
| \ Ä-ËmĆ-jÄ
\
\
plural emoji
or emojis
Definition of emoji
: any of various small images, symbols, or icons used in text fields in electronic communication (as in text messages, e-mail, 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 itâadding subtle emotional emphasis to a sentence in textâisn'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
â compare emoticon
Examples of emoji in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
To celebrate Smokeyâs recent anniversary, famous (but still older) men were hired to voice the bearâs new emoji: Stephen Colbert, Al Roker, and Jeff Foxworthy. — Sarah Berns, Outside Online, "Why Smokey Bear Desperately Needs a Makeover," 24 Aug. 2019 Both bright yellow emoji are cross-eyed and have distinctly big eyelashes. — USA TODAY, "Emoji house, Saharan dust, turtle crossing: News from around our 50 states," 8 Aug. 2019 The emoji are bright yellow, with artificially long eyelashes and crisscrossed eyes. — oregonlive.com, "How a petty fight in a wealthy neighborhood ended with a California home covered in giant emoji," 8 Aug. 2019 Both bright yellow emoji are cross-eyed and have distinctly big eyelashes. — Washington Post, "Giant emoji painted on house roil California community," 7 Aug. 2019 While several rookies are participating for the first time, Austin Hedgesâ personally selected nickname stands out among those that team will wear during the third edition of the event: An emoji for a tree, followed by one depicting a hog. — Jeff Sanders, San Diego Union-Tribune, "Padres notes: Updating Richardsâ status, Castillo âcloseâ and Playersâ Weekend," 6 Aug. 2019 The emoji, which was pitched to the Unicode Consortiumâwho were unaware that it was created by Fordâwas short-listed by the organization and is set to be on iPhone keyboards by 2020. — Daisy Hernandez, Popular Mechanics, "We Might Soon Be Getting a Pickup Truck Emoji," 18 July 2019 The most important part of choosing your emoji or message is to consider your audience ahead of time. — Maggie Maloney, Town & Country, "Everything You've Ever Wanted to Know About Venmo Etiquette," 11 July 2019 One wonders whether the eggplant emoji, a shorthand for lust, discourages less efficient, but more original, expression: Rachel Cuskâs formal restraint, or the smolder of an Alan Hollinghurst sentence. — Katy Waldman, The New Yorker, "Is the Internet Making Writing Better?," 26 July 2019These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'emoji.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Keep scrolling for more