This news is so 🔥. It’s okay to use emojis as replacement for words in articles now because they’re getting the official recognition they deserve. Dictionary.com is charting the change technology is having on our language by adding official definitions of the symbols.

“As a dictionary it’s our job to have reference content for the terms or communication tools that people have questions about,” Lauren Sliter, head of content strategy for the site told Time. “And people have questions about what the eggplant emoji means.”

Researched with the same vigour used by lexicographers trying to define new language, the site can now chart what people mean when they use symbols such as the aubergine (eggplant) emoji. (It’s a dick.)

But before it’s dismissed as juvenile, esteemed lexicographer Jane Solomon, who sits on the Unicode Consortium subcommittee that reviews proposals for new emoji, defends the decision. “These aren’t just a joke,” she said. “These aren’t something that are silly or stupid. These are real ways that people are communicating with each other.”

Tenor found that of those who text or use messaging apps, more than 80 per cent use visual expressions like emoji or GIFs. With the absence of facial expressions in face-to-face interactions they provide much needed clarity, and more than a third of millennials say such tools actually communicate their thoughts and feelings better than words do.

As such, Dictionary.com have also treated us to some meme definitions including “bye Felicia” – with adequate cultural appropriation warnings for all you digital blackfacers. “Bye Felicia is a dismissive term which can be used in a number of different contexts. Most simply and frequently, it is used as a cold way to bid someone farewell,” the entry reads.

Here are a few Dictionary.com definitions from the new archive of digital culture:

💅

“The nail polish emoji can serve as a tone marker indicating sass, fanciness, nonchalance, or self-confidence across a variety of digital contexts”

🔥

“It is used to signify that something is cool, awesome, exciting, or more colloquially, “on fire.” It can also convey that someone is sexy”

🐐

“When not alluding to the literal animal, the goatemoji stands for GOAT, an acronym meaning Greatest of All Time. It is generally used in reference to highly skilled individuals, such as award-winning musicians or talented athletes, in order to praise them as being the all-time best in their chosen field.”

🍆

“The eggplant emoji depicts a long, purple eggplant, and it is commonly used to represent the penis.”

😂

“Face with tears of joy is an emoji that represents someone laughing at something so hard that it makes them cry.” Obviously!