Meme Definition & Meaning - Merriam-Webster

The meaning of meme is an idea, behavior, style, or usage that spreads from one person to another in a culture. See more meanings of meme. How to use meme ... Login SignUp Hello, Games&Quizzes Thesaurus WordoftheDay Features BuyingGuide M-WBooks MyWordsMyWords ViewRecents Account LogOut meme noun SaveWord \ˈmēm \ EssentialMeaningofmeme 1 :anidea,behavior,style,orusagethatspreadsfromonepersontoanotherinaculture 2 :anamusingorinterestingpicture,video,etc.,thatisspreadwidelythroughtheInternet afunnypictureofacatthatquicklybecameanInternetmeme FullDefinitionofmeme 1 :anidea,behavior,style,orusagethatspreadsfrompersontopersonwithinaculture Memes(discreteunitsofknowledge,gossip,jokesandsoon)aretoculturewhatgenesaretolife.Justasbiologicalevolutionisdrivenbythesurvivalofthefittestgenesinthegenepool,culturalevolutionmaybedrivenbythemostsuccessfulmemes.—RichardDawkins 2 :anamusingorinterestingitem(suchasacaptionedpictureorvideo)orgenreofitemsthatisspreadwidelyonlineespeciallythroughsocialmedia …thebandencouragedfanstomakememestoadvertisetheU.S.releaseoftheirEP…—WilliamGrugerThegrumpycatmemefrowneditswayontotheInternetinSeptember2012andneverturneditsdissatisfiedheadback.Sincethen,theimageofthecrankycathasgrownmoreandmorepopularindirectproportiontoappearinglessandlessimpressedbyfame.—AnastasiaThrift OtherWordsfrommeme Didyouknow? MoreExampleSentences LearnMoreAboutmeme OtherWordsfrommeme memetic \ mē-​ˈme-​tik ,mə-​ \ adjective …theexhibitionseekstogiveasensenotonlyofHolmes'soriginsbutofthereal-worldmilieuinwhichConanDoylesethimandofhismemeticspreadthroughtheculture. —SamLeith Didyouknow? Inhis1976bookTheSelfishGene,BritishscientistRichardDawkinsdefendedhisnewlycoinedwordmeme,whichhedefinedas"aunitofculturaltransmission."Havingfirstconsidered,thenrejected,"mimeme,"hewrote:"‘Mimeme’comesfromasuitableGreekroot,butIwantamonosyllablethatsoundsabitlike‘gene.’IhopemyclassicistfriendswillforgivemeifIabbreviate‘mimeme’to‘meme.’"(ThesuitableGreekrootwasmim-,meaning"mime"or"mimic."TheEnglishsuffix-emeindicatesadistinctiveunitoflanguagestructure,asin"grapheme,""lexeme,"and"phoneme.")"Meme"itself,likeanygoodmeme,caughtonfairlyquickly,spreadingfrompersontopersonasitestablisheditselfinthelanguage. ExamplesofmemeinaSentence RecentExamplesontheWeb ThepandemicandculturaleventslikeGameStopandmemestocksaredrawingwomentothemarkets,Fidelityfinds. — EmmaHinchliffe,Fortune,23Nov.2021 Lastwinter,socialmediausersralliedaroundmemestocks,promotingfavoredcompaniesonsocialmediaandsendingthecompanies’sharevaluesskywarddespiteinstitutionalinvestorsbettingagainstthem. — ScottNover,Quartz,18Nov.2021 Hiscommentscomeatatimewhenthebroadermarketisnearall-timehighs,andmemestocksandcryptocurrenciesaresurgingonsocialmediahype. — PaulR.LaMonica,CNN,17Nov.2021 Regardlessofanycommunicationssnafus,thatdealisthelateststepinaremarkablerecoveryforthecompany—anonly-in-the-pandemicstoryoflockdowns,memestocks,bankruptcyandcarshortages. — KevinDowd,Forbes,7Nov.2021 Bolsteredbystay-at-homeordersandstimulusfunds,thefrenzysharedtheget-rich-quickimpulsesthatpropelledcryptocurrencyandmemestocks. — NewYorkTimes,29Oct.2021 RespondingtothemediaattentiontotheGreatResignationmeme,theusualcommentatorsarerushingforwardwiththeircritiquesofemployers,ofprivatebusinesses,ofcapitalismitself. — MichaelBernick,Forbes,2Nov.2021 Still,thealchemyofthedrama'scompetitivehighstakesandeasy-to-memegameshavenonethelesscreatedwhatNetflixiscallingoneofitsbiggestshowlaunchesofalltime. — AirielleLowe,CNN,23Oct.2021 Inthepast,PleasrDAOalsopurchasedanNFTofapopularmemeandmadeownershipsharesavailabletothemassesforanaffordableprice. — EliasLeight,RollingStone,20Oct.2021 Theseexamplesentencesareselectedautomaticallyfromvariousonlinenewssourcestoreflectcurrentusageoftheword'meme.'ViewsexpressedintheexamplesdonotrepresenttheopinionofMerriam-Websteroritseditors.Sendusfeedback. SeeMore FirstKnownUseofmeme 1976,inthemeaningdefinedatsense1 HistoryandEtymologyformeme alterationofmimeme,frommim-(asinmimesis)+-eme BuyingGuide OurteamatTheUsagehasselectedthebestgamingPCsof2021. LearnMoreAboutmeme Sharememe PosttheDefinitionofmemetoFacebook SharetheDefinitionofmemeonTwitter TimeTravelerformeme Thefirstknownuseofmemewas in1976 Seemorewordsfromthesameyear ListentoOurPodcastAboutmeme ThememusicbyJoshuaStamper©2006NewJerusalemMusic/ASCAP GetWordoftheDaydeliveredtoyourinbox! SignUp FromtheEditorsatMerriam-Webster ‘Fascism’:TheWord’sMeaningand... ‘Fascism’:TheWord’sMeaningandHistory Andno,thatmemeaboutusisn’ttrue TheHistoryof'Meme' TheHistoryof'Meme' ThEHiStOrYoF'mEmE' Meme,Ninja,Baseball:WhoUsedit... Meme,Ninja,Baseball:WhoUseditFirst? MeettheAuthorsBehindtheWords DictionaryEntriesNearmeme membranula meme memento SeeMoreNearbyEntries  Statisticsformeme LastUpdated 1Dec2021 Look-upPopularity CitethisEntry “Meme.”Merriam-Webster.comDictionary,Merriam-Webster,https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/meme.Accessed2Dec.2021. Style:MLA MLA Chicago APA Merriam-Webster MorefromMerriam-Websteronmeme Nglish:TranslationofmemeforSpanishSpeakers WORDOFTHEDAY smarmy SeeDefinitionsandExamples» GetWordoftheDaydailyemail! TestYourVocabulary NamethatThing:FlowerEdition Namethatflower chrysanthemum amaryllis hyacinth hydrangea Canyouspellthese10commonlymisspelledwords? TAKETHEQUIZ SubscribetoAmerica'slargestdictionaryandgetthousandsmoredefinitionsandadvancedsearch—adfree! Merriam-Websterunabridged WordsatPlay “InVinoVeritas”andOtherLatinPhrasestoLiveBy Top10LatinPhrases Isit'Forty'?Or'Fourty'? Thisisusage WordoftheYear2021|Vaccine OurWordoftheYear'vaccine,'plus10more Merriam-Webster'sWordsoftheWeek-Nov.26 Fromtheweekending11/26/2021 AsktheEditors 'Everyday'vs.'EveryDay' Asimpletricktokeepthemseparate WhatIs'SemanticBleaching'? How'literally'canmean"figuratively" Literally Howtouseawordthat(literally)drivessomepe... IsSingular'They'aBetterChoice? Theawkwardcaseof'hisorher' WordGames ConfusingWordsStrikesAgain Howmanydoyouknow? Takethequiz NameThoseHerbsandSpices Howmanydoyouknow? Takethequiz SpellIt Canyouspellthese10commonlymisspelledwords? Takethequiz