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English (UK)
Cambridge Dictionary Online

Meaning of emoticon in English

emoticon
noun [ C ]
uk
/ɪˈməʊ.tɪ.kɒn/ us
/ɪˈmoʊ.t̬ə.kɑːn/
(also smiley)
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an image made up of symbols such as punctuation marks, used in text messages, emails, etc. to express a particular emotion
 
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(Definition of emoticon from the Cambridge Advanced Learner's Dictionary & Thesaurus © Cambridge University Press)

emoticon | Business English

emoticon
noun [ C ]
  COMMUNICATIONS
uk
/ɪˈməʊtɪkɒn/ us
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a sideways image of a face formed by keyboard symbols, which is used in emails to express a particular emotion, for example :-) to express happiness, or :-( to express sadness:
The smiley face and other emoticons give a concise way of expressing sentiments that otherwise would be difficult to detect in e-mail.
(Definition of emoticon from the Cambridge Business English Dictionary © Cambridge University Press)

Examples of emoticon

emoticon
To compensate for this disadvantage, people create and employ linguistic and non-linguistic usages in e-mail writing, such as abbreviations and emoticons.
From the Cambridge English Corpus
Such an effect from the use of emoticons is more striking.
From the Cambridge English Corpus
The use of emoticons and other signs and symbols seems in some ways to be an extension of the current general fondness for symbols and logos.
From the Cambridge English Corpus
Zilic (1999) suggests that the use of emoticons in e-mails makes it relatively easy for people to fake their feelings.
From the Cambridge English Corpus
In those cases when used iconically, as with an emoticon, it is entirely presented by the curve of the lips forming a down-open curve.
From
Wikipedia
This example is from Wikipedia and may be reused under a CC BY-SA license.
He suggested the emoticon on an electronic board in 1982 as a way for board readers to know when an author was joking.
From
Wikipedia
This example is from Wikipedia and may be reused under a CC BY-SA license.
Emoticon skills are as they imply: emoticons, which are facial expressions/actions the character can perform.
From
Wikipedia
This example is from Wikipedia and may be reused under a CC BY-SA license.
Smiley is also sometimes used as a generic term for any emoticon.
From
Wikipedia
This example is from Wikipedia and may be reused under a CC BY-SA license.
Emoticon packs are supported using the jisp format.
From
Wikipedia
This example is from Wikipedia and may be reused under a CC BY-SA license.
The use of the emoticon has been documented since 2007, and it is used to convey disapproval or contempt.
From
Wikipedia
This example is from Wikipedia and may be reused under a CC BY-SA license.
These videos lack of a popular name yet and there are several ways to designate them: emoticlips (named above), emotivideos or more recently emoticon videos.
From
Wikipedia
This example is from Wikipedia and may be reused under a CC BY-SA license.
Instead, emoticons are gained by using emoticon guidebooks, which are found randomly from any monster.
From
Wikipedia
This example is from Wikipedia and may be reused under a CC BY-SA license.
Tina is saddened over his death, but discovers his feces shaped into a heart emoticon.
From
Wikipedia
This example is from Wikipedia and may be reused under a CC BY-SA license.
There are also some possible variations to emoticons to get new definitions, like changing a character to express a new feeling, or slightly change the mood of the emoticon.
From
Wikipedia
This example is from Wikipedia and may be reused under a CC BY-SA license.
Ali began as an internet emoticon.
From
Wikipedia
This example is from Wikipedia and may be reused under a CC BY-SA license.
These examples are from corpora and from sources on the web. Any opinions in the examples do not represent the opinion of the Cambridge Dictionary editors or of Cambridge University Press or its licensors.
What is the pronunciation of emoticon?
 

Translations of emoticon

in Chinese (Traditional)
表情符號（簡訊、電子郵件等中用鍵盤上的符號組成的圖形，用來表示某種情緒）…
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in Chinese (Simplified)
表情符（短信、电子邮件等中用键盘上的符号组成的图形，用来表示某种情绪）…
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in Spanish
emoticon, emoticono…
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in Portuguese
emoticon…
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in more languages
in Turkish
in French
in Dutch
in Czech
in Danish
in Indonesian
in Thai
in Vietnamese
in Polish
in Swedish
in Malay
in German
in Norwegian
in Ukrainian
:-) e-posta iletilerinde kullanılan imge, ifade ikonları…
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émoticône…
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emoticon…
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emotikon (poč.)…
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en smiley, emoticon…
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emotikon…
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สัญรูปอารมณ์…
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biểu tượng cảm xúc…
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buźka, emitikon…
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emotikon, uttryckssymbol…
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emotikon…
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das Emoticon…
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emotikon…
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смайлик, емограма…
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emollient
emolument
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emote
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emotion
emotional
emotional blackmail idiom
emotional capital

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kind-hearted

UK
/ˌkaɪndˈhɑː.tɪd/
US
/ˌkaɪndˈhɑːr.t̬ɪd/

A kind-hearted person is one who likes other people a lot and always wants to help them.

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