skull
Unicode: 1F480
Description
A white or grayish-white human skull, typically facing forward. It features visible eye sockets, a nasal cavity, and often a row of teeth.
Group:
Smileys & Emotion > face-negative
Status:
fully-qualified
Emotion:
Commonly represents death, danger, warning, or mortality. Can also be used to signify something 'dead' (e.g., a dead battery), 'epic' (e.g., 'dead funny' or 'dying laughing'), or a 'badass' aesthetic.
Backstory
The skull emoji was introduced in Unicode 6.0 (2010). Its presence reflects a long human history of using skulls as symbols in art, religion, and warnings. Its digital usage expanded quickly beyond literal death to encompass humor, danger, and a certain 'edginess'.
Usage Examples
- Warning: 'Don't go near that! 💀'
- Humor/Extreme reaction: 'That joke killed me! 💀'
- Halloween: 'Happy Halloween! 💀👻🎃'
- Danger/Poison: 'Warning: Toxic substance 💀'
- Something 'dead': 'My phone battery is 💀'
Cultural Differences
Western culture:
Strongly associated with Halloween, pirates, poison warnings, and mortality. Can also be used humorously for 'dying of laughter' or extreme reactions.
Mexican culture:
Prominently featured in 'DÃa de los Muertos' (Day of the Dead) celebrations as a symbol of remembrance and life's cyclical nature, often depicted decoratively or as 'calaveras'.