pop culture

American  

[pop kuhl-cher] / ˈpɒp ˈkʌl tʃər /

noun

1. popular culture.

---

adjective

1. Also pop cultural relating, referring, or belonging to cultural and commercial artifacts, media, and entertainment reflecting, suited to, or aimed at the tastes of the general masses of people.

   The pop culture view of knights is often oversimplified.

Etymology

Origin of pop culture

First recorded in 1955–60

Example Sentences

In the late 90s and the 2000s, television programs still generated pop culture watershed moments that everyone experienced at once.

From Barron's • Apr. 8, 2026

From Coachella’s humble beginnings of a desert festival into becoming a global force in pop culture, revisit iconic moments with Daft Punk, Beyoncé, the Coachella astronaut and everything in between.

From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 7, 2026

Many were raised in “immigrant households, with a ravenous appreciation for American pop culture, sneakers, graphic T-shirts, and hip-hop.”

From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 3, 2026

Demons, on the other hand, are a big trend in pop culture in recent years.

From Salon • Apr. 1, 2026

From Buffy the Vampire Slayer to Todd Solondz’s Welcome to the Dollhouse, and a string of comically bitter teen movies from Hollywood, pop culture has been trying to get this message out for years.

From "Geeks: How Two Lost Boys Rode the Internet Out of Idaho" by Jon Katz