What ∞ means, where it came from, and how to type it — click to copy.
Click to copy · U+221E
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Character | ∞ |
| Unicode code point | U+221E |
| Unicode name | INFINITY |
| Unicode block | Mathematical Operators |
| Category | Math symbol |
| Emoji counterpart | ♾️ Infinity (U+267E + variation selector), Dingbats block |
The infinity symbol was introduced by English mathematician John Wallis in 1655, in his work De sectionibus conicis (Treatise on Conic Sections). Wallis used the sideways figure-eight shape, technically called a lemniscate, to represent a quantity without bound.
Why that particular shape isn't fully settled. One theory holds it's a stylized version of the Roman numeral for 1,000 (sometimes written CIƆ or a similar rounded form), which Romans occasionally used loosely to mean "countless." Another points to the lowercase Greek letter omega (ω) — the final letter of the Greek alphabet — as a natural symbol for an endpoint that never actually arrives. Whatever its origin, the symbol was adopted quickly and became the universal notation for infinity in calculus and beyond by the 18th century.
| Platform | Works? |
|---|---|
| Instagram bio / caption | Yes |
| Discord | Yes |
| TikTok display name | Yes |
| Yes | |
| Roblox username | No — letters, numbers, underscore only |
| PlayStation Network / Xbox Live gamertag | No — alphanumeric only |
| Method | Input |
|---|---|
| Windows Alt code | Alt+236 |
| Mac | Option+5 |
| HTML entity | ∞ or ∞ |
| CSS content | content: "\221E" |
| LaTeX | \infty |
∞ is one of dozens of operators, Greek letters, and set-theory symbols in the full math symbols library.
Browse Math Symbols →∞ represents something without end or limit — a quantity larger than any number, or a process that never terminates. It's used in mathematics (limits, calculus), and informally to mean "endless" or "forever."
On Windows, hold Alt and type 236 on the numeric keypad (Alt+236). On Mac, press Option+5. In HTML, use the entity ∞ or ∞.
∞ (U+221E) is a plain-text math symbol that renders the same everywhere. ♾️ (U+267E plus a variation selector) is the "infinity emoji" — a colorful pictograph that can look completely different across Apple, Google, and Samsung's emoji sets, the same way any other emoji does.
English mathematician John Wallis introduced ∞ in his 1655 treatise De sectionibus conicis. Its exact inspiration is debated, but the leading theories are that it's a stylized Roman numeral for 1,000 or a variant of the lowercase Greek letter omega (ω).