Oxford Dictionaries has finally revealed 2015’s Word of the Year—and it’s actually not a word at all.
For the first time ever, the company has declared an emoji as its winner, which isn’t too surprising considering the heart emoji was deemed 2014’s “most popular word." But that romantic pictograph didn't come out on top this year; Oxford decided to give the title to the “Face With Tears of Joy” emoji, as it “best reflected the ethos, mood, and preoccupations of 2015.”
According to the Oxford University Press, the publication partnered with technology business SwiftKey to determine which emoji was used the most. The company found that the “Face With Tears of Joy” made up 17 percent of those in the U.S. and 20 percent of those in the UK during 2015. The runner-up was the “Face Throwing a Kiss” emoji, which made up 9 percent in the U.S.
“Emojis are no longer the preserve of texting teens,” Oxford explained in a statement, “instead, they have been embraced as a nuanced form of expression, and one which can cross language barriers.”
So which actual words and phrases did this emoji beat out? Take a look a below.
