☒ Ballot Box with X: The Ultimate Guide to the Crossed Square

The ☒ (Ballot Box with X) symbol represents a square box containing an "X" mark, commonly used in digital forms, checklists, and typography to indicate a selected option, a completed task, or a negative response. In user interfaces, it visually mimics a physical paper checkbox that someone has filled out with a pen.

Introduced in Unicode version 1.1 back in 1993, this character sits within the Miscellaneous Symbols block. Its official Unicode code point is U+2612. The symbol traces its origins to traditional typesetting and the need to digitize standard paper forms, where "ballot boxes" were essential elements for surveys, voting slips, and multiple-choice questionnaires.

Today, the ☒ symbol serves a variety of practical purposes across different fields. In typography and document design, it creates clean, interactive-looking checklists without requiring complex formatting. Programmers and UI designers frequently use it in text-based environments or command-line interfaces to represent a "checked" state or an active selection. While not typically used in strict mathematics, it occasionally appears in logic notation to denote a false proposition or an invalid dataset. On social media, users drop the ☒ into their bios or posts to style aesthetic to-do lists, mark off completed daily goals, or emphatically vote "no" on a pop culture trend.

Typing the ☒ symbol varies depending on your operating system. On Windows, you can use the Alt code shortcut by holding the Alt key and typing 9746 on your numeric keypad. Mac users can pull up the Character Viewer (Control + Command + Space), search for "Ballot Box with X," and insert it directly into their text. If you are writing in HTML, simply use the entity code ☒ or ☒ to render the symbol flawlessly on web pages. Copying and pasting from a symbol library or encyclopedia is often the quickest workaround for mobile users.

The Ballot Box with X rarely works alone and belongs to a broader family of checkbox symbols. It directly contrasts with the empty ☐ (Ballot Box, U+2610) and pairs closely with the ☑ (Ballot Box with Check, U+2611), which utilizes a traditional checkmark instead of an X. If you need a more colorful, emoji-style alternative for texting and messaging apps, the ❌ (Cross Mark) or ❎ (Cross Mark Button) offer a vibrant, modern take on the classic crossed-out box.