emoticon
/ɪˈməʊtɪkɒn/ noun [C] COMMUNICATIONSDefinition
› 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 noun from the Cambridge Business English Dictionary
© Cambridge University Press)
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