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

But even as the meme stock trade has shown strength recently, retail traders in general are shying away from the very AI stocks that have been the core of this rally, UBS data shows. —Jesse Pound, CNBC, 16 July 2025

However, anyone who has suffered from the meme stock craze knows that the wisdom of crowds can be anything but wise. —Jeffrey Sonnenfeld, Time, 16 July 2025

Bloomberg reports retail investors are piling into meme stocks, which rose 44% in Q2 2025. —Garth Friesen, Forbes.com, 2 July 2025

Model 3 sales were accelerating rapidly, but much of the momentum was tied to buzz that the company could soon enter the S&P 500, and a pandemic market boom, when retail investors poured into meme stocks, cryptocurrencies and FOMO (fear of missing out) assets. —Ari Levy,lora Kolodny, CNBC, 29 June 2025

Word History

First Known Use

2019, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for meme stock

• aftershock
• antiknock
• arawak
• hollyhock
• interlock
• isopach
• manioc
• shuttlecock
• tomahawk
• weathercock
• alcock
• beanstalk