meme stock

noun

plural meme stocks
: a stock (see stock entry 1 sense 2a) that experiences a temporary sudden surge in popularity and price due to a coordinated effort (such as a viral social media campaign) by small investors
… 'meme stock' refers to a stock that attains viral attention on social media platforms, but predominately Reddit.Andrew Rocco
The theory was that if enough small investors got in the game and drove the stock higher, it would force large hedge funds with short positions (bets that the stock would fall), to capitulate and sell those positions at a massive loss. … that dynamic appears to be driving the stocks of GameStop, AMC, and other so-called meme stocks.Michelle Chapman
Price spikes in several meme stocks appear to be linked to the amount of talk about them on r/WallStreetBets, a forum on Reddit, a discussion website whose users are known for mischief-making. From this comes the name: an internet meme being an idea or behaviour, usually a humorous one, spread via social media.The Economist
often hyphenated before another noun
meme-stock investors
the meme-stock craze

Examples of meme stock in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
The meme stock dropped 7% Thursday amid a broad market sell-off triggered by Trump’s tariff rollout. Alex Harring, CNBC, 3 Apr. 2025 Gamestop Gamestop has their Switch 2 landing page up as well, if you're still invested in the meme stock and want to pump up the valuation a bit. K. Thor Jensen, PC Magazine, 3 Apr. 2025 The stock, which has often been described as a meme stock, has shed 44% of its value since Jan. 1. Trump Media on Tuesday filed to register up to 142.5 million shares and warrants for sale, according to a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. William Gavin, Quartz, 2 Apr. 2025 Sports betting firms can promote the parlay that paid a bettor thousands of dollars, while meme stocks, the fervor for which athlete stock issuers dream of creating, also provide the thrill of huge profits, even if just briefly and just on paper for most. Brendan Coffey, Sportico.com, 25 Mar. 2025 See All Example Sentences for meme stock

Word History

First Known Use

2019, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of meme stock was in 2019

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Cite this Entry

“Meme stock.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/meme%20stock. Accessed 11 Apr. 2025.

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
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