What Is This Meme?

How to identify a meme in three steps

Step 1 — describe the picture, not the joke. The most searchable part of a meme is usually what the image shows, not what you think it means. A boy in a backwards cap, two astronauts looking at Earth, a dog with a suspiciously human smile — plain visual descriptions search better than guessing the punchline.

Step 2 — quote any text exactly. If the image has words on it, search those words first, in quotes. Caption text (the top-and-bottom lines of an image macro, the label on a comic panel) is the fastest way in, because the same caption travels with the picture everywhere it is reposted.

Step 3 — verify the meaning against the origin. Once you find the name, read the origin before you use it. Memes get used wrong all the time: the caption format carries the joke, and applying it to the wrong situation is how people can tell you learned it yesterday. Every entry in our library covers the meaning, the origin, and current usage.

When all you have is the picture

If there is no caption and no name to search, use a reverse image search: save the image, then let a visual search engine find pages where it appears with a name attached. Naming conventions differ between sites, so cross-check a few results before you trust one name — then come back and look up what it means and where it started.

Memes people ask about most

The entries below are the classics people most often search for without knowing the name. Start there, or describe what you see in the search box above.