viral clip
/ˈvaɪrəl klɪp/
Very CommonA short video that spreads rapidly across social media, often reaching people far outside its original audience.
The word 'viral' is now so overused that people sometimes mean 'moderately popular'. A true viral clip reaches millions.
Real-world examples4 examples
| # | Example | What it means | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| 01 | That viral clip of him falling on stage is still living rent free in my head. | A widely shared embarrassing moment that the speaker cannot stop thinking about. | x, 2024 |
| 02 | Every brand is desperately trying to manufacture a viral clip. | Companies attempt to create organic-seeming content that spreads. | |
| 03 | I had no idea who she was until that viral clip dropped. | A single widely shared video introduced someone to a new audience. | tiktok, 2023 |
| 04 | It was a viral clip out of context. He was joking. | The spread clip misrepresented the situation. | x, 2024 |
Use it when
- A video is spreading fast across multiple platforms.
- Referencing a clip that most people in a conversation have probably already seen.
- Talking about content that reached an audience far beyond its original context.
Do not use it when
- The video has only moderate engagement on one platform.
- You mean a full-length video rather than a short clip.
Viral clip vs soundbite
viral clip
Viral clip is about the spread and reach of a video.
VS
soundbite
Soundbite focuses on the quotable spoken moment, often used in journalism contexts.
Origin and context
Emerged as social video sharing platforms grew in the mid-2000s. The term 'viral' in an internet context predates video, originally describing emails and Flash games that spread rapidly.
- First seen
- mid-2000s
- Confidence
- medium
Cite this page
Use this stable URL to reference the entry.
https://slang.fyi/viral-clipUpdated: 2026-08-29License: CC BY 4.0