Definition

Noun: 1. A cultural unit transmitted by imitation: An idea, style, behavior, or piece of information that spreads from person to person within a culture, primarily through non-genetic means like imitation, repetition, or online sharing. 2. A humorous or viral online item: In contemporary digital culture, a meme is typically an image, video, piece of text, etc., that is copied, often with slight variations, and spread rapidly by internet users.

Usage

The word "meme" describes a replicable idea or pattern. It is used as a countable noun. * As a cultural concept: "The idea of wearing jeans became a global meme." * As an internet phenomenon: "That funny cat picture is a popular internet meme."

Examples

• The concept of "going viral" is itself a meme about how information spreads.
• She created a new meme using a famous movie scene.
• Researchers study how memes evolve as they are shared.

Advanced Usage

• Memetic (adj): Relating to or of the nature of a meme.
  • The video had a high memetic quality, ensuring it was shared widely.
• Memeplex (n): A group of memes that are often found together and replicate as a unit.
  • A political ideology can be considered a memeplex.
• To meme (verb, informal): To create or spread memes.
  • Users quickly memefied the politician's unusual statement.

Variants and Related Words

• Memetics (n): The theoretical and empirical science that studies the replication, spread, and evolution of memes.
• Memetic engineering (n): The deliberate application of memetic principles to spread specific ideas.

Synonyms

• Cultural trait
• Viral phenomenon (for digital context)
• Catchphrase (a specific type of meme)

Related Idioms and Phrases

• Meme magic (internet slang): A humorous or ironic reference to the perceived power of memes to influence real-world events or culture.
  • Some online commentators joked about "meme magic" after the unexpected election result.

Noun

1. a cultural unit (an idea or value or pattern of behavior) that is passed from one person to another by non-genetic means (as by imitation)
   • memes are the cultural counterpart of genes