The muted speaker is the universal signal for shhh — a tiny speaker icon with its vibe switch flipped to Silent Mode. People drop it when they can’t play audio (meeting, library, sneaky scrolling on the bus), when they’ve muted a chaotic group chat, or to serve “radio silence” as a reaction. It doubles as sarcasm too: telling drama to hush, announcing you’re ignoring the noise, or admitting a clip is better watched without sound anyway. In meme-speak, it’s big “dead chat energy,” “you’re on mute” during Zoom chaos, and the classic move when you’re speechless but trying to look unbothered.
On Apple/iOS, it’s a metallic gray, side-facing speaker cone crossed by a bold red diagonal slash, with soft shading and a minimal, UI-button feel—no sound waves in sight. That instantly recognizable red line screams volume at zero, perfect for captions like “library mode,” “airplane aisle etiquette,” or “muting haters.” It’s also a cheeky way to say you’re doomscrolling reels at 3 a.m. with the sound off, or that you’ve put notifications in time-out. Quiet never looked so loud.
Definition
The speaker cone with a line through it. Means no sound will be heard or mute. Often used as a sound setting notification on electronic devises with customizable sound settings, such as a mobile phone or computer. Shush. Peace and quiet. Don't talk to me. Don't make a sound.
Disqus Leave a comment!
Emoji History The emoji code/ image log of changes.
This emoji first appeared in OSX / iOS after the iOS 5 update.
