a digital icon, a sequence of keyboard symbols, or a handwritten or printed equivalent, that serves to represent a facial expression, as :‐) for a smiling face or ;‐) for a winking face.
Usually smile face a drawing of a face consisting of a usually yellow circle with an upturned curve for a smile and two dots for eyes.
given to smiling; cheerful
depicting a smile
a smiley badge
1985–90
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
In the shop’s front window was a single book: “The Rich and the Rest of Us: A Poverty Manifesto” by Tavis Smiley and Cornel West, surrounded by signs that read “Forced Out!,”
From Los Angeles Times • May 21, 2026
“Meta is really at a sort of crossroads moment, even though its business is doing well,” said Minda Smiley, a senior analyst at eMarketer who focuses on social media.
From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 23, 2026
"Tonight, our Providence neighbors can finally breathe a little bit easier," Mayor Brett Smiley told reporters.
From Barron's • Dec. 19, 2025
“We do have a small short clip of video footage that we do believe is the person that we’re looking for,” Smiley said Monday on “Good Morning America.”
From The Wall Street Journal • Dec. 15, 2025
After Mrs. Gordy left, Mama made me go to my room while she told Papa what Miss Sarah said Mrs. Snodgrass said Smiley said I said.
From "Cold Sassy Tree" by Olive Ann Burns
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
