What's the difference between
and
Enter two words to compare and contrast their definitions, origins, and synonyms to better understand how those words are related.

Meme vs Joke - What's the difference?

meme | joke |

As nouns the difference between meme and joke

is that meme is any unit of cultural information, such as a practice or idea, that is transmitted verbally or by repeated action from one mind to another in a comparable way to the transmission of genes while joke is an amusing story.

As a verb joke is

to do or say something for amusement rather than seriously.

meme

English

(wikipedia meme)

Noun

(en noun)
  • Any unit of cultural information, such as a practice or idea, that is transmitted verbally or by repeated action from one mind to another in a comparable way to the transmission of genes.
  • *1976 , (Richard Dawkins), The Selfish Gene :
  • *:Examples of memes are tunes, ideas, catch-phrases, clothes fashions, ways of making pots or of building arches.
  • *2002 , Rita Carter, Exploring Consciousness , p. 242:
  • *:Related memes tend to form mutually supporting meme-complexes such as religions, political ideologies, scientific theories, and New Age dogmas.
  • (Internet, slang) Something that is copied and circulated online with slight adaptions, including quizzes, basic pictures, video templates etc. A meme can be a photo or artwork, usually with text, often codified with a distinct white block lettering text on the image. If a particular, standardized image is used, there is a protocol to how it should be used
  • * 2005 , "darklily", OT: Livejournal'' (discussion on Internet newsgroup ''soc.sexuality.general )
  • I do...but my journal is a mess. It's mostly filled with memes and my bitching about a house I am building.
  • *2012 , Greg Jarboe, You Tube and Video Marketing , 2nd edition:
  • *:The idea was to append Keyboard Cat to the end of a blooper video to "play" that person offstage after a mistake or gaffe, like getting the hook in the days of vaudeville. The meme became popular, Ashton Kutcher tweeted about it to more than 1 million followers, and more than 4,000 such videos have now been made.
  • *2013 , The Guardian , (headline), 8 Feb 2013:
  • *:Harlem Shake meme : the new Gangnam Style?
  • Derived terms

    * memedom * memome * memeplex * meme pool * memetic * memetic algorithm * memetic engineering * memetics

    See also

    * culturgen * email forward * replicator

    joke

    English

    Noun

    (en noun)
  • An amusing story.
  • * Gay
  • Or witty joke our airy senses moves / To pleasant laughter.
  • Something said or done for amusement, not in seriousness.
  • It was a joke !
  • * Alexander Pope
  • Enclose whole downs in walls, 'tis all a joke .
  • (figuratively) The root cause or main issue, especially an unexpected one
  • (figuratively) A worthless thing or person.
  • Your effort at cleaning your room is a joke .
    The president was a joke .

    Usage notes

    * Adjectives often applied to "joke": old, bad, inside, poor, silly, funny, lame, hilarious, stupid, offensive.

    Synonyms

    * See also

    Derived terms

    * bad joke * standing joke * knock-knock joke * light bulb joke * practical joke

    Coordinate terms

    * comedy * limerick * parody * pun

    Verb

    (jok)
  • To do or say something for amusement rather than seriously.
  • I didn’t mean what I said — I was only joking .
  • (dated) To make merry with; to make jokes upon; to rally.
  • to joke a comrade

    See also

    * jeer * mock ----