You can be on Entrepreneur’s cover!

The 2015 Word of the Year Is an Emoji You Use All the Time The emoji was selected in part because it 'best reflected the ethos mood and preoccupations of 2015,' according to the Oxford Dictionaries.

By Nina Zipkin

entrepreneur daily
Entrepreneur | emojipedia

Everything's coming up emoji. For the first time, the Oxford Dictionaries' Word of the Year isn't a word at all, but an emoji -- the 'Face with Tears of Joy,' to be exact.

In a blog post, Oxford University Press explained that the emoji was selected in part because it "best reflected the ethos, mood, and preoccupations of 2015."

So how did the venerable organization settle on this emotion-driven choice? Oxford University Press teamed up with SwiftKey, the company behind SwiftKey Keyboard, an app that works to predict your favored words, turns of phrase and yes, emojis, and found that the 'Face with Tears of Joy' was the most frequently used emoji in 2015, with the expressive icon making up 17 percent of all emojis used in the U.S., and 20 percent of emojis in the U.K.

Related: 'Vape' Is the Oxford Dictionaries' Word of the Year

While this particular emoji took the top spot this year, the Oxford Dictionaries also released its Word of the Year shortlist which ranged from politically minded possibilities with "refugee" and "Brexit" (a British exit from the European Union), to more stylish stylistic choices with "lumbersexual" and "on fleek," to technologically oriented options like "ad blocker" and "dark web."

It is true, communication is hard and sometimes words aren't quite enough. To that end, Oxford University Press also made a video to show that, while it seems like emojis are here to stay, the time and place for them is perhaps not IRL.

Related: For the First Time, an Emoji Has Been Named the Most Popular Word of the Year

Nina Zipkin

Entrepreneur Staff

Staff Writer. Covers leadership, media, technology and culture.

Nina Zipkin is a staff writer at Entrepreneur.com. She frequently covers leadership, media, tech, startups, culture and workplace trends.

Want to be an Entrepreneur Leadership Network contributor? Apply now to join.

Editor's Pick

Business News

From Tom Brady to Kevin O'Leary – See Who Lost Big in the Wake of the FTX Crypto Collapse

The crash exposed an $8 billion hole in FTX's accounts, leaving investors and customers scrambling to recoup their funds.

Business News

Mark Zuckerberg Says This CEO Is the 'Taylor Swift' of Tech

Meta's CEO posed with Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang on Instagram Wednesday.

Business News

This Highly-Debated Piece of Cinematic History Just Sold For Over $700,000 at Auction

The wood panel from "Titanic" is often mistaken as a door. Either way, he couldn't have fit. (Sorry.)

Money & Finance

5 Simple Wealth-Building Tips For This Generation's Forward-Thinkers

Explore practical finance tips for young professionals striving to overcome economic challenges.

Leadership

What We Have to Gain By Talking About Grief and Loss At Work

I lost my husband to cancer during Covid — here's how it changed how I lead at work.