harambe
/həˈræmbeɪ/
UncommonA gorilla shot at the Cincinnati Zoo in 2016 who became an internet legend and meme symbol.
The meme outlasted its original grief angle and became absurdist. By 2017 it was used as a filler reference for anything. Mentioning Harambe now reads as a throwback to 2016 meme culture.
Real-world examples4 examples
| # | Example | What it means | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| 01 | my bracket is completely busted. pour one out for harambe, that's how I feel | Using Harambe's death as a metaphor for crushing disappointment. | x, 2023 |
| 02 | 2016 was wild. we lost Harambe, David Bowie, and the plot | Listing 2016 losses where Harambe is treated as equally significant as major public figures. | reddit, 2023 |
| 03 | someone put Harambe on a college ballot and got 11,000 votes. that was peak internet | The absurdist write-in votes for Harambe in 2016 are a symbol of that era's chaos. | reddit, 2022 |
| 04 | rip harambe. still don't know how a gorilla became the face of a generation | Reflecting on the unlikely cultural weight the meme carried. | x, 2024 |
Use it when
- You are making a nostalgic reference to 2016 internet culture.
- You are using him as an absurdist cultural touchstone.
- You want to joke about how the internet overreacted to something.
Do not use it when
- The context involves real animal welfare or zoo policy discussions.
- You need a current reference that people will recognize immediately.
Origin and context
Harambe was a 17-year-old western lowland gorilla at the Cincinnati Zoo. On May 28, 2016, he was shot after a 3-year-old fell into his enclosure. The internet turned his death into a viral tribute movement and then an absurdist meme that defined much of 2016 online culture.
- First seen
- 2016
- Confidence
- high
Cite this page
Use this stable URL to reference the entry.
https://slang.fyi/harambeUpdated: 2026-08-28License: CC BY 4.0