meme
[ meem ]
/ mim /
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noun
- a cultural item that is transmitted by repetition and replication in a manner analogous to the biological transmission of genes.
- a cultural item in the form of an image, video, phrase, etc., that is spread via the internet and often altered in a creative or humorous way.
verb (used without object), memed, meme·ing or mem·ing.
to create and spread memes: He spends a lot of time memeing and sharing his videos with friends.
verb (used with object), memed, meme·ing or mem·ing.
to make the subject of a meme: cute cats that get memed.
QUIZZES
QUIZ YOURSELF ON “THEIR,” “THERE,” AND “THEY’RE”
Are you aware how often people swap around “their,” “there,” and “they’re”? Prove you have more than a fair grasp over these commonly confused words.
Question 1 of 7
Which one of these commonly confused words can act as an adverb or a pronoun?
Origin of meme
First recorded in 1976; coined by British evolutionary biologist C. Richard Dawkins (born 1941), shortening of Dawkins's original creation mimeme, which was based on Greek mī́mēma “imitation, copy; artistic representation,” but which Dawkins also wanted to look and sound like gene;cf. mimesis
Words nearby meme
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2021
Example sentences from the Web for meme
British Dictionary definitions for meme
meme
/ (miːm) /
noun
an idea or element of social behaviour passed on through generations in a culture, esp by imitation
Word Origin for meme
C20: possibly from mimic, on the model of gene
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition
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