meta-meme
/ˈmɛtə miːm/
CommonA meme that is about memes, meme culture, or how memes work.
Can range from light self-awareness to full deconstruction of internet culture. The degree of meta depends on how many layers are being referenced.
Real-world examples4 examples
| # | Example | What it means | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| 01 | This meme will be dead in 3 days. Enjoy it while it lasts. | The meme comments on its own short shelf life as part of the joke. | x, 2023 |
| 02 | POV: you've been online long enough to find meta-memes funnier than actual memes. | Irony depth increases with internet exposure until the meta becomes the default. | tiktok, 2023 |
| 03 | Meta-memes are just regular memes for people who've been online too long. | The format gatekeeps by requiring deep cultural fluency. | reddit, 2022 |
| 04 | We're at like 14 layers of irony at this point. Meta-meme within a meta-meme. | The self-reference has stacked so many times the original joke is irretrievable. | tumblr, 2021 |
Use it when
- A meme is explicitly about how memes work or how they spread.
- Content references its own status as a meme.
- A joke only works if you understand the meme landscape it is commenting on.
Do not use it when
- The meme just subverts the format without commenting on it.Use “anti-meme” instead.
- You mean something self-referential in a general sense not specific to memes.
Meta-meme vs anti-meme
meta-meme
Meta-memes comment on or analyze meme culture from within.
VS
anti-meme
Anti-memes subvert format expectations by refusing to deliver the punchline.
Origin and context
Emerged naturally as meme culture developed enough history to comment on itself. Accelerated in the mid-2010s as irony layers increased across platforms and users began treating meme formats as objects of analysis.
- First seen
- mid-2010s
- Confidence
- medium
Cite this page
Use this stable URL to reference the entry.
https://slang.fyi/meta-memeUpdated: 2026-08-29License: CC BY 4.0