Besides a physical space, the hole emoji is used metaphorically for emotional emptiness or a mysterious, unfathomable situation. It's also used when a conversation suddenly drops off or an awkward silence falls.

In internet memes, it can represent diving deep into a topic, like "going down the rabbit hole." For example, you could use this emoji when you've been looking up videos of your favorite singer all night. It's also used to wittily describe a situation where money or time disappears endlessly, like a "black hole."