A button used for pausing audio or video content. Emoji

Symbols

Two bold, vertical parallel bars set against a square or rounded square background. This icon acts as a universal visual cue for stopping playback on media players.

Usage Context

Used globally to tell someone to wait, hold a thought, or stop a recording. It is the go-to icon for digital media controls, often found right next to ▶️ or ⏹️ on remote controls and app interfaces.

History

The double-bar symbol emerged in the mid-20th century on analog tape recorders to denote the pause function, distinguishing it from the stop button. It was standardized in early digital software interfaces to ensure users could immediately recognize playback controls without reading text labels.

Details

Glyph

⏸

Unicode

U+23F8

Shortcode

:emoji_u23f8:

HTML Entity

⏸

Specifications

Vendor Microsoft

Category Symbols

Subcategory av-symbol

Unicode Version 6.0

Emoji Version 1.0

License MIT

Microsoft Fluent License

Emoji graphics by Microsoft. © Microsoft Corporation. Licensed under MIT. Excludes assets such as Clippy, flags, and trademarks.

Microsoft Fluent Emoji assets are licensed under the MIT License. Certain assets—such as Clippy, country flags, and Microsoft product/brand trademarks—are excluded from this license and may not be used without separate permission.

MIT License Fluent Emoji Repository