Toothbrush

A toothbrush, and everything you do with one. The emoji stands for the object itself and for the act of brushing your teeth, so it turns up wherever teeth-cleaning is the subject: morning and night routine posts, dentist appointment reminders, shopping lists with toothpaste and floss, and the checklist you write before a trip or a sleepover.

In messages it is mostly a nudge or a note to self. "🪥 then bed" closes the day; "did you 🪥?" is a parent checking on a child; "🪥 at 3pm" is a dentist appointment. On social media it decorates self-care and wind-down routines alongside the skincare bottles and the cup of tea.

Dentists' advice fits here too, because the emoji often carries it: brush twice a day for about two minutes, and replace the brush every three to four months or sooner once the bristles look frayed.

What does it mean when someone sends you 🪥?

Usually a literal reminder: brush, pack it, or get ready for bed. From a parent or a partner it is domestic shorthand. On a group trip plan it means "don't forget yours". With a clock or a date next to it, it is an appointment.

The one reading that is not about hygiene is about staying over. In English-speaking dating talk, leaving a toothbrush at someone's place is a familiar sign that a relationship is getting serious, and "bring a toothbrush" is a gentle way of inviting someone to spend the night. So if a date sends 🪥 before an evening out, it may well be that invitation, warmly meant and easy to decline; the words around it tell you. Beyond this it has no standard crude or coded meaning; the emoji is as innocent as the bathroom shelf it comes from.