Oxford Dictionaries names 'tears of joy' emoji as 'word' of the year

Mary Bowerman | USA TODAY Network

Show Caption Hide Caption The Oxford Dictionaries word of the year isn't a word Perhaps the greatest victory for emoji lovers around the world came today, as Oxford Dictionaries announced that its word of the year for 2015 isn't a word at all, but an emoji. In particular, the emoji face with tears of laughter.

Oxford Dictionaries announced its ‘Word of the Year’ on Monday. But this year, it’s not a word. Instead an emoji takes the title.

An analysis of words and emojis, or icons used to express an idea or emotion, showed that the ‘Face with Tears of Joy’ emoji "best reflected the ethos, mood, and preoccupations of 2015," according to Oxford University Press and SwiftKey.

Meet the "Word of the Year:"

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While emojis have been used since the 1990s, they have recently taken over as a mode of communication and in some cases rendered words unnecessary in certain conversations. The ‘Face with Tears of Joy” made up 20% of all emojis used in the U.K., and 17% of those in the U.S., according to SwiftKey.

“Emojis are no longer the preserve of texting teens – instead, they have been embraced as a nuanced form of expression, and one which can cross language barriers,” Oxford Dictionaries said in a statement.

Still not on the emoji train? Here are a few words that made the Oxford Dictionaries' "Word of the Year" shortlist:

Fleek: Slang. Fleek first started swirling around the Internet in 2014, according to Dictionary.com. The reference means "flawlessly styled" or "groomed," and is typically used as "on fleek."

Lumbersexual: An urban man "who cultivates an appearance and style of dress (typified by a beard and check shirt) suggestive of a rugged outdoor lifestyle," according to Oxford Dictionaries.

Dark Web: Defined by Oxford Dictionaries as: "The part of the World Wide Web that is only accessible by means of special software, allowing users and website operators to remain anonymous or untraceable."

T hey : "Used to refer to a person of unspecified sex," according to Oxford Dictionaries.

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