Sponge emoji 🧽
🧽 is the sponge: a yellow kitchen sponge. It means cleaning and scrubbing — washing up, bathroom day — and absorbing: “soaking it all up like a 🧽” (knowledge, gossip…
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What the sponge 🧽 emoji means
🧽 is the sponge: a yellow kitchen sponge. It means cleaning and scrubbing — washing up, bathroom day — and absorbing: “soaking it all up like a 🧽” (knowledge, gossip, sun). It is also the SpongeBob emoji for fans. Added in Emoji 11.0 (2018). Cleaning set: 🧼 soap, 🧹 broom, 🫧 bubbles.
Unicode name: sponge · U+1F9FD · Emoji 11.0 (2018) · group: Objects.
How people use it
- Cleaning: washing up, scrubbing
- Absorbing: learning, soaking things up
- SpongeBob: the character
- Chores: with 🧼 🧹
Compare the options
| Emoji | Name | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| spongeU+1F9FD | Scrubbing, absorbing | |
| soapU+1F9FC | Soap | |
| broomU+1F9F9 | Sweeping | |
| fork and knife with plateU+1F37D U+FE0F | Dishes | |
| bubblesU+1FAE7 | Suds |
The sponge as a scrub emoji
The sponge emoji shows a yellow sponge with a green abrasive pad, the kind used for scrubbing dishes, worktops and bathroom surfaces. People often pair it with 🧼 soap, 💧 water droplets or 🫧 bubbles to describe a cleaning session.
In everyday chat, the sponge stands in for the physical item when someone is doing the washing up or tackling a spill. It fits naturally next to 🪣 bucket or 🧹 broom when listing cleaning supplies, and it can signal that a job is either about to start or just finished.
Questions people ask
What does 🧽 mean?
A sponge — cleaning, or absorbing information.
Is there a SpongeBob emoji?
No; 🧽 sponge is used for him.
When was 🧽 added?
2018, Emoji 11.0.
About this guide
Written and maintained by the Emoji Directory editorial team, without ads or sponsorship. Meanings describe how the emoji is commonly used in public posts and messages, not an official definition. Names, code points, versions, keywords and translations come from the Unicode Emoji 18.0 and CLDR data; shortcodes from the gemoji project. Last reviewed . Spotted a mistake or a new usage? Tell us, or read how the directory is made.
