🚫 Prohibited Sign Emoji

🧠 Table Of Contents

📋 Copy Emoji ↩ Back to top

🗿 Summary ↩ Back to top

🗞️ Description ↩ Back to top

The 🚫 emoji with the :prohibited: shortcode is a red square with a diagonal line from top left to bottom right, giving it a sharp, angular appearance. It is often used as a prohibited or restricted sign, symbolizing disapproval or restrictions in various contexts. The emoji’s shape and color make it easily recognizable and convey a sense of caution or prohibition. 🚫 can also represent limited access areas or online content that is not allowed to be viewed. Its meaning is clear: "prohibited" or "not allowed," making it a versatile symbol for situations where restrictions are in place. 🚫 is often paired with negative connotations, like 🚫 and ❌, to emphasize the prohibited nature of what it represents.

🔬 Overview ↩ Back to top

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🔮 Meaning ↩ Back to top

Ah, the mighty 🚫 emoji, also known as :prohibited:—a crimson sentinel of boundaries, the ultimate "nope" in visual form. With its bold red circle and decisive diagonal slash, this emoji is the universal bouncer of the digital world. It doesn’t just suggest you shouldn’t do something; it practically throws a virtual arm across the doorway. Derived from real-life "No Entry" signs, 🚫 has transcended traffic regulations to become shorthand for rejection, restriction, or "absolutely not, thank you." Whether you’re vetoing pineapple on pizza in a group chat or signaling that a Wi-Fi network is locked tighter than a dragon’s treasure hoard, this emoji delivers its message with the subtlety of a fire alarm.

But 🚫 isn’t all stern authority—it’s got range! In playful contexts, it becomes a cheeky way to shut down bad ideas (e.g., texting 🚫🐶🚗 when your friend jokes about teaching the dog to drive). Pop culture has embraced it too: memes use it to mock overused trends (cough Tide Pods cough), and it’s the go-to reaction for online debates about whether ketchup belongs on hot dogs (spoiler: insert 🚫 here). Even brands weaponize its power, slapping it on ads for "no sugar" snacks or "no spoilers" TV recaps. Yet, despite its strict vibe, the emoji’s round, almost cartoonish design keeps it from feeling too harsh—like a librarian shushing you with a wink.

Fun fact: The diagonal slash isn’t just for aesthetics! It’s rooted in ISO safety symbols, where red + slash = instant recognition. Unicode approved 🚫 in 2010, and it’s since become one of the most versatile emojis, bridging practicality and humor. So next time you deploy this scarlet shield, remember: you’re not just saying "no"—you’re upholding order in the chaos of human interaction, one pixelated prohibition at a time. 🚫🎉 (Party responsibly.)

💃 Usage Summary ↩ Back to top

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🌟 Usage Details ↩ Back to top

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🎤 Usage Examples ↩ Back to top

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🔥 Popular Culture ↩ Back to top

The 🚫 (prohibited) emoji, with its bold red circle and diagonal slash, has become a visual shorthand for negation, restriction, or rejection across digital culture. Its simplicity and universality make it a favorite in social media discourse, where it often amplifies calls for accountability or resistance. For example, during movements like #MeToo or #BlackLivesMatter, the emoji has been used to symbolize solidarity against systemic injustice, appearing in posts condemning harassment, racism, or harmful policies. It also thrives in meme culture, humorously “banning” everything from unpopular opinions (e.g., “🚫 pineapple on pizza”) to relatable frustrations (e.g., “🚫 Mondays”). Brands and activists alike leverage its immediacy: anti-smoking campaigns repurpose it to denote “no smoking” zones, while online communities use it to flag misinformation or toxic behavior. Its adaptability even extends to gaming and app interfaces, where it signals locked features or forbidden actions, embedding it deeper into users’ digital lexicons.

In entertainment, the 🚫 emoji often embodies rebellion or defiance. Music artists like Childish Gambino and Billie Eilish have incorporated similar iconography into album art and videos to critique societal norms or censorship. TV shows and films deploy the symbol diegetically—think dystopian narratives where characters confront oppressive “no entry” signage—or meta-textually, as in The Social Network, where digital restrictions mirror real-world power struggles. The emoji also plays a role in viral challenges, such as the “No Mirror Selfie” trend, where participants humorously critique vanity by covering phone cameras with 🚫. Politically, it has been wielded in protests, from anti-SOPA/PIPA demonstrations to climate strikes, often superimposed on signs or avatars to reject harmful legislation. Its stark design transcends language barriers, making it a global tool for dissent, satire, and communal boundaries—proof that even a static symbol can pulse with cultural urgency.

🗺️ History ↩ Back to top

The 🚫 (prohibited) emoji, depicting a red circle with a diagonal slash over a black symbol, has roots in mid-20th-century design standardization. Its visual language originates from international efforts to create universally recognizable traffic and safety signs, particularly through the 1968 Vienna Convention on Road Signs and Signals, which aimed to harmonize symbols across borders. The red-and-white color scheme, chosen for high visibility, and the diagonal slash (a geometric negation) were strategically designed to transcend language barriers, ensuring immediate comprehension. This symbol became synonymous with prohibition, appearing on "No Entry" signs, restricted area warnings, and hazard labels. Its adoption into digital communication reflects a legacy of clarity—a testament to how mid-century design principles for physical safety evolved into a visual shorthand for restriction in the digital age.

Introduced in Unicode 6.0 (2010), the 🚫 emoji inherited its historical symbolism but expanded into nuanced digital contexts. While its original purpose was to denote physical restrictions (e.g., banned actions or locations), it now conveys metaphorical boundaries, such as rejecting ideas on social media, opposing policies, or humorously "forbidding" trivial behaviors in memes. The emoji’s adaptability highlights how universal symbols can acquire layered meanings online. Notably, its design varies slightly across platforms—Apple’s version centers the slash over a solid circle, while others use a hollow circle—yet its intent remains unmistakable. This duality, as both a rigid regulatory icon and a flexible cultural tool, underscores its enduring relevance: a 20th-century safety emblem repurposed for 21st-century discourse, bridging the physical and digital worlds through minimalist visual grammar.

🎯 Related Emojis ↩ Back to top

📑 References ↩ Back to top

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