What the skull and crossbones means
- Poison and toxic hazards: the GHS hazard pictogram for acute toxicity is a skull and crossbones in a red-bordered diamond. In the US, OSHA’s Hazard Communication Standard uses it on chemical labels and safety data sheets.
- Pirates: the Jolly Roger flag made it famous in popular culture, from adventure novels to Halloween decorations.
- Online: ☠️ adds drama to a message: a dangerous hike, a brutal workout, an extremely hot sauce.
Because young children didn’t always read the symbol as a warning, and some linked it with exciting pirate stories, the Pittsburgh Poison Center introduced the green Mr. Yuk face in 1971 as a warning sticker designed for kids.
☠️ vs. 💀 and ⚠
- ☠ and ☠️ (skull and crossbones): the same character in text style or emoji style. In messages it usually means danger, poison or “deadly.”
- 💀 (skull): a separate emoji with no bones. Online, especially among younger users, 💀 often means “I’m dead,” as in laughing too hard, rather than anything dark.
- ⚠ (warning sign): the general caution symbol, a triangle with an exclamation point, for hazards that aren’t poison.
On real product labels, don’t type ☠ as a substitute for the official pictogram. Safety labels follow regulated formats, and the GHS pictogram has specific rules for its shape, border and color.
Typing ☠ on phones and computers
- iPhone and Android: search “skull” in the emoji keyboard; ☠️ and 💀 both appear.
- Mac: open the emoji and symbol picker with Control+Command+Space and search “skull.”
- Windows: press Windows key + period and search “skull.”
- Word: use the Alt+X code from the table above for the text-style symbol.
- Text vs. emoji style: the same character can appear in black and white or in color. Add the variation selector U+FE0F after it to request the emoji style.
Frequently asked questions
How do I type the skull and crossbones?
Copy it from this page, or search “skull and crossbones” in your emoji picker.
What does ☠️ mean in a text?
Usually danger, poison or something “deadly,” often as a joke.
What is the difference between ☠️ and 💀?
☠️ has crossbones and signals danger. 💀 is a plain skull, often used to mean “I’m dying of laughter.”
What does the skull and crossbones mean on a label?
Acute toxicity: the product can be poisonous or fatal if swallowed, inhaled or absorbed through the skin.
Unicode data: Unicode Character Database 18.0.0 (unicode.org).