# meme

> English word · Noun · IPA /miːm/ · frequency rank #8,170

## Definitions
1. Any unit of (originally cultural) information, such as a practice or idea, that is transmitted verbally or by repeated action from one mind to another in a comparable way to the transmission of genes.
2. Media, usually humorous, which is copied and circulated online with slight adaptations, such as basic pictures, video templates, etc.
3. A specific instance of a meme, such as an image macro or a video, often with humorous superimposed text.
4. Something which is deceptive; a trick, a ruse.
5. Something not to be taken seriously; a joke.
6. A work produced and shared in response to a prompt or suggestion within an online group.

## Etymology
Clipping of mimeme, equivalent to mime + -eme.
Coined by British biologist Richard Dawkins in 1976 in his book The Selfish Gene. Shortened (after gene) from mimeme (compare English phoneme), anglicized as if from a noun derived from Ancient Greek μῑμέομαι (mīméomai) with the deverbal suffix -μα (-ma), from μῖμος (mîmos, “imitation, copy”). The concept was later applied to the Internet by Mike Godwin.

## Easily confused with
- **MM** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/meme-vs-mm)
- **men** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/meme-vs-men)
- **mom** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/meme-vs-mom)
- **met** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/meme-vs-met)
- **mum** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/meme-vs-mum)
- **MMA** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/meme-vs-mma)
- **mmm** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/meme-vs-mmm)
- **moe** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/meme-vs-moe)
- **mer** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/meme-vs-mer)
- **MSM** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/meme-vs-msm)
- **MGM** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/meme-vs-mgm)
- **MLM** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/meme-vs-mlm)
- **MEP** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/meme-vs-mep)
- **mes** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/meme-vs-mes)
- **mew** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/meme-vs-mew)
- **mex** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/meme-vs-mex)
- **Mme** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/meme-vs-mme)
- **MMS** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/meme-vs-mms)
- **MMO** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/meme-vs-mmo)
- **mim** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/meme-vs-mim)

## Common misspellings (5)
`emme`, `meem`, `memme`, `mmee`, `mmeme`

## Source
Compiled from Wiktionary via kaikki.org (CC BY-SA). Data vintage: 2026-05-06.
Canonical page: https://plainspell.com/en/word/meme