bone Emoji
🦴 · U+1F9B4 · Emoji 11.0
What does the bone emoji mean?
Meaning reviewed and updated July 2026 · Unicode data from the official Unicode Standard
A bone, the 🦴 emoji represents a human or animal bone and is often used literally to refer to skeletal remains or figuratively to signify death, illness, or spookiness, while also being used in slang to express being extremely tired or exhausted, as in feeling like a bare skeleton. This emoji can also represent a dog's favorite toy or treat, given the common association of bones with canine companions. In medical contexts, the 🦴 emoji may be used to discuss orthopedic health or skeletal conditions. Its meaning can vary depending on the conversation and cultural background.
How the bone emoji is used
Texting and social media platforms like Instagram and TikTok are where the 🦴 emoji is most frequently used, often in a humorous or ironic tone to add a touch of darkness or whimsy to a message or caption. The tone can range from playful teasing about being tired to more serious discussions about health or mortality, depending on the user's intent and audience. On platforms like Twitter, the 🦴 emoji might be used in a more straightforward manner to discuss medical topics or share health-related news. Different generations and online communities may use the 🦴 emoji in distinct ways, reflecting their unique cultural references and communication styles.
bone emoji examples
- just found my dog's favorite bone in the backyard 🦴
- i'm so exhausted i'm basically a skeleton 🦴
How to copy the bone emoji
To use the bone emoji, tap the Copy button above, then paste it (long-press then Paste on mobile, or Ctrl+V / Cmd+V on desktop) anywhere you can type: messages, captions, usernames, bios and documents. It copies the real Unicode character (U+1F9B4), so it works on every app and platform, no download needed.
Also known as
bone emoji on different platforms
How the bone emoji looks across emoji sets. These designs come from openly-licensed sets (Twemoji, Google Noto, OpenMoji). See image credits.



bone Emoji Details
| Emoji | 🦴 |
| Name | bone |
| Category | People & Body |
| Codepoints | U+1F9B4 |
| Shortcode | :bone: |
| Emoji version | 11.0 |
| Unicode version | 11.0 |
bone Emoji FAQ
A bone, the 🦴 emoji represents a human or animal bone and is often used literally to refer to skeletal remains or figuratively to signify death, illness, or spookiness, while also being used in slang to express being extremely tired or exhausted, as in feeling like a bare skeleton. This emoji can also represent a dog's favorite toy or treat, given the common association of bones with canine companions.
Tap the Copy button at the top of this page, then paste 🦴 wherever you type. Because it copies the real Unicode character, it works in every app on iPhone, Android, Windows and Mac.
It is U+1F9B4, introduced in Emoji version 11.0 (Unicode 11.0). Its shortcode is :bone:.
People also search for the bone emoji as bones, dog, skeleton, wishbone.