Sand fully settled at the bottom, the hourglass-done emoji marks the moment time has officially run out. It's used for deadlines that have passed, patience worn thin, or just flatly announcing 'time's up' on whatever was being waited for.
What ⌛ means
A wooden-framed hourglass made of glass, containing sand. The top part of the hourglass is empty while the lower is full, indicating that the hourglass is complete.
The ⌛ Hourglass Done emoji implies that the time needed for the hourglass to fill the opposite end is done, essentially signifying that the time is up. It could also mean that it's too late or even that it's high time.
How and when to use it
- If you're advising someone about using the time he/she has, you can use ⌛ in that conversation. For example, "Babe. The problem is that you think you have time. But the actual issue is that it'll be over before you even know it ⌛. So, don't waste your goddamn time!".
- Is someone's time up? Are you texting someone about it or posting a social media story or post caption resonating with the same? If yes, you can use ⌛ to indicate that lost time! For instance, "Hahaha! Good run, buddy. But your time is UPPPP ⌛".
- You could also use ⌛ to suggest that someone is late. Like, "And what's your excuse this time? ⌛".
- ⌛ can also be used to symbolize lost opportunities - "Nothing is more expensive than a lost opportunity ⌛".
- You can use ⌛ to emoji-fy phrases such as 'high time' and 'about time'. For instance, "And you're surprised? It's ABOUT TIME he learns to pick up after himself! ⌛".
Other Names
- ⌛ Time Up!
- ⌛ Completed Hourglass
- ⌛ Hourglass
- ⌛ Your Time is Here
- ⌛ Time Out
- ⌛ Late
- ⌛ Too Late
- ⌛ High Time
⌛ in real conversations
What does ⌛ mean when someone sends it alone?
Time's up, flatly — the sand's already settled at the bottom, nothing left still counting down. It shows up for a deadline that's passed, patience that's officially run out, or a blunt "we're done waiting" dropped into a chat that's gone quiet too long.
What's the difference between ⌛ and ⏳?
⌛ shows all the sand collected at the bottom — finished, time already spent. ⏳ shows sand still actively falling from the top — running, still in progress. Mixing them up flips the meaning completely: one says it's over, the other says hang on, it's happening right now.
Why does Snapchat use ⌛ for a streak warning?
Because the app borrows the emoji's existing "time's basically out" meaning and applies it directly — that hourglass shows up next to a Chat when a Snapstreak is close to expiring, and it needs a snap soon to survive. It's the same "no sand left to fall" logic the emoji already carries everywhere else, just repurposed as an in-app alert.
The lowdown
- Category
- Travel & Places › time
- Codepoints
U+231B- Emoji version
- Emoji 0.6
- Shortcodes
:hourglass:- Keywords
- done, hourglass, sand, time, timer
How it looks across platforms
Seeing a blank box instead of the emoji somewhere? Here's why that happens. Curious why the designs above don't match to begin with? Here's why that happens too.
⚡ Quick round
Which joined the keyboard first — ⌛ Hourglass Done or 🟨 Yellow Square?