Know Your Meme
/noʊ jɔːr miːm/
CommonA website that documents the origin and spread of internet memes and viral content.
Can be used as a verb ("go KYM this") or as a credibility signal. Linking KYM can feel like a flex or like you're being a pedant, depending on context.
Real-world examples4 examples
| # | Example | What it means | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| 01 | bro just KYM it, that meme is from 2016 | The person should look it up and would find it predates their assumption. | reddit, 2023 |
| 02 | the KYM page for this has 200 examples going back to 2011 | The meme format is well-documented and far older than it seems. | x, 2024 |
| 03 | okay i fell down a KYM rabbit hole for 2 hours and now i know way too much about the history of loss | Got absorbed reading meme documentation and learned more than expected. | tumblr, 2022 |
| 04 | doesn't have a KYM page yet but it's spreading fast | The content is going viral but hasn't been formally documented yet. | reddit, 2024 |
Use it when
- Tracing the origin of a meme someone thinks is new.
- Proving that a format has roots older than the current viral wave.
- Directing someone to look something up themselves.
- Citing a source for meme history in an online argument.
Do not use it when
- You mean searching Google for a meme.
- You want to just share a funny meme, not document it.
Variations and related forms
Know Your Meme vs wiki dive
Know Your Meme
Know Your Meme is specifically about meme origin and spread documentation.
VS
wiki-dive
A wiki dive is any extended exploration of any wiki on any topic.
Origin and context
Know Your Meme launched in 2008 as a Rocketboom production and became the primary reference database for internet meme documentation. The site and its abbreviation KYM became shorthand for meme research.
- First seen
- 2008
- Confidence
- high
Cite this page
Use this stable URL to reference the entry.
https://slang.fyi/know-your-memeUpdated: 2026-08-29License: CC BY 4.0