What ⋮ means
A matrix is a grid of numbers. Placing ⋮ in a column says the entries keep going down by the visible pattern, so a huge grid fits on the page. Unicode describes it as a special ellipsis for row or column elision in matrix notation.
Technical and mathematical; on screens, people often read it as a menu icon.
For vertical Japanese or Chinese text, use the vertical-text ellipsis, not ⋮.
What it means when someone sends it to you
2 readingsBetween rows in a matrix
More rows follow the displayed pattern.
Between lines of a command or code example
Some unimportant lines were omitted.
Don't confuse it with
2Questions people ask
1Why does ⋮ show as a box on some devices?
Because that device's fonts have no glyph for it. The character is still correct and still copies correctly — the box is a missing glyph, not a broken character.
How to type ⋮
Windows (Word)
Alt+XType 22EE, then Alt+X to get ⋮.
Windows
Win+Rrun charmap for the full table, or use the emoji picker's Ω symbols tab (Win + .).
macOS
Control+Command+SpaceOpen the character viewer and search “vertical ellipsis”.
Linux
Ctrl+Shift+UType 22ee, then Enter or Space.
HTML
⋮CSS
\22EELaTeX
\vdots in math mode.
HTML
⋮ or ⋮
Microsoft Word
Type 22EE, then press Alt+X.
Codes and encoding1 code points
HTML decimal
⋮
HTML hex
⋮
CSS content
content: "\22EE";
Each escape is closed by the next backslash; a trailing space is needed before a literal hex digit.
URL encoded
%E2%8B%AE
1
On screen
1
Code points
1
JS .length
3
UTF-8 bytes
A visible symbol can contain several code points. JS .length counts UTF-16 units; UTF-8 counts bytes.