The 20 Best Memes of 2023 You Couldn’t Help but Laugh At
Updated: Apr. 25, 2023
Laugh your way through the end of 2022 with the most hilarious memes that circulated the internet
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Oh, 2022 … what a year it’s been. Sometimes the only way to get through the ups and downs is to laugh, and 2022 is wrapping up with some truly hysterical memes. There are always good morning memes, happy birthday memes, wholesome memes, feminist memes, cat memes and dog memes to keep you entertained, but this roundup is all about the best of the best. Let’s take a look at the very best memes that went viral this year. They’re keeping us—and the internet—laughing through New Year’s.
Why is it called a meme?
A meme is defined by Merriam-Webster as “an amusing or interesting item (such as a captioned picture or video) or genre of items that is spread widely online, especially through social media.” Before internet memes became popular in the 21st century, British scientist Richard Dawkins used the term meme in his book The Selfish Gene. He defined it as “a unit of cultural transmission.” The term has since developed to describe the internet memes we know today.
What makes a meme?
Memes are typically comprised of funny images and text, which are often used as a form of social or political commentary. A lot of times, a meme will generate hundreds of different interpretations as it gets passed around, usually via social media, text and email.
Is a GIF a meme?
No, a GIF is not a meme, but they are closely related. A GIF is basically an image file that moves, like a short clip from a movie. The clip is then played on a loop that can be shared on the internet. GIFs differ from memes in their movement (memes are usually static), and unlike memes, GIFs don’t usually make a comment on a social or political issue.
How to make memes
With so many hilarious memes circulating the internet, you may have thought about taking a stab at creating your own. There are various meme apps and tools you can use, such as Canva—which has its own built-in meme generator—Imgur and even Photoshop. And who knows, your new meme creations could go viral, just like the ones below.
The best memes of 2022
The “Elmo vs. Rocco” memes had us picking sides
Elmo/Rocco feud getting me through the week pic.twitter.com/bUB5B4GUrJ
—Jeff Zhang 张佶润 (@strangeharbors) Jan. 6, 2022
Euphoria Season 2 came out—and the memes were wild
When using public restrooms already makes you anxious and then someone knocks on your stall pic.twitter.com/NaplvtII6y
—resting justin (@just_jenkins) Jan. 18, 2022
The Green M&M got a shoe makeover, and people’s reactions made for priceless memes
the green m&m when her boots were taken pic.twitter.com/yt7wHNj4K1
— jon 🐭 (@GiantNarwhal) January 23, 2022
Wordle went viral—and the Wordle memes rolled in
Me on the last Wordle guess trying to figure out what the word is pic.twitter.com/JMeRMBeZPV
— Capybaras (@CapybaraCountry) January 26, 2022
… and then came the “Not Wordle” memes in all their glory
🟫🟫🟫🟫🟫
🟫🟩🟫🟦🟫
🟫🟫🟪🟫🟫
🟫🟦🟫🟧🟫
🟫🟫🟨🟫🟫
🟫🟧🟫🟩🟫
🟫🟫🟫🟫🟫not wordle. just a cosmic brownie
— annie (@makneeac) January 28, 2022
P.S.—If you love Wordle, make sure you check out Wordle Bot 2.0.
The Super Bowl halftime show memes had us rolling
me trying to connect my charger without getting outta bed pic.twitter.com/O3RjKaokwU
— – (@defffkapp) February 14, 2022
Want more of the year’s best? Check out the best TV shows of the year
Julia Fox’s pronunciation of “Uncut Gems” during an interview spurred a whirlwind of side-splitting memes
i’m just walking around saying Uncut Jaayms, having a nice morning pic.twitter.com/v8S9YjLOME
— haley o’shaughnessy (@HaleyOSomething) February 14, 2022
The “We need an American Girl Doll who … ” memes made us chuckle while we wondered what happened to our own American Girl Dolls
View this post on Instagram
Admit it, you sent at least one Hasbulla meme in 2022
@noura3e #fyp #hasbulla #theking ♬ original sound – Monipen
The “She’s a 10 but … ” memes were off the wall … but they made us actually laugh out loud
She’s a 10 but she asks you if you’d still love her if she was a worm
— Faizaan 🇦🇷🇲🇦 (@faizaan_v) June 20, 2022
Make sure you laugh your way through all the holidays with memes for April Fools’ Day, Fourth of July and Halloween.
The “girl explaining” meme gave us the perfect setup for elaborating on very specific topics
EVEN THOUGH THE PIECE OF DEBRIS IS PHYSICALLY LARGE ENOUGH FOR BOTH JACK AND ROSE, IT IS VERY CLEAR WHEN HE TRIES TO CLIMB UP THAT IT’S NOT BUOYANT ENOUGH WHICH IS THE REAL PROBLEM. FURTHERMORE HIS SACRIFICE ON BEHALF OF THE WOMAN HE LOVES IS AN IMPORTANT CHARACTER MOMENT FOR A M pic.twitter.com/6C97rrfEsM
— kateyrich (@kateyrich) August 17, 2022
The “If I text [emoji] it means …” memes had Twitter in a twist (in a good way)
if I text “🥭” it means it’s time to let that man go
— gazel🐍 (@9selle111) July 10, 2022
Stranger Things Season 4 was a hit over the summer—and the memes were a hit on the internet
#StrangerThings #StrangerThings4
Before Watching ST4 // After Watching ST4 pic.twitter.com/CMlT7PH6o6
— Stranger Things 4 (@StrangerNews11) July 4, 2022
Corn Kid inspired some a-maize-ing memes
I have been laughing for 5 minutes and I have tears streaming down my face pic.twitter.com/J4RtLq9l65
— Miniature Mayhem™️ (@MelDubs) August 31, 2022
The “Chris Pine zoning out” meme sparked a frenzy of hilarious posts
nine year old me on a road trip staring out the window while evanescence blasts in my CD player pic.twitter.com/hz5hvoX6ns
— Vincent Martella (@VinMan17) September 5, 2022
The “Negroni sbagliato with Prosecco” memes had us thirsting for more
The bartender while you order your Negroni sbagliato with Prosecco in it pic.twitter.com/YUoV4etfXU
— gabrielle korn (@Gabrielle_Korn) October 9, 2022
The fake Spirit Halloween costume memes had us cracking up during spooky season
— Justin Fleece (@Justin_E_Preece) October 26, 2022
We love a good meme about Halloween costumes.
“Call of Duty” Ghost memes took over TikTok—and were way too relatable
@leoparding #mw2 #ghost #ghostincar #ghostmeme #pov ♬ The Sound That Made History. – Gman
Spotify Wrapped delivered the music goods … and the funny memes
— Oklahoma Department of Wildlife Conservation (@OKWildlifeDept) November 30, 2022
And ending a solid year of memes, the Zoolander memes (which are really, really, ridiculously funny on TikTok)
@d1lfwh0r3 the audacity 🙄 #sisters #siblings #zoolander ♬ Yotube AstroCapella – AstroCapella
Now that you’ve laughed (and cried) after reading these funny memes from the past year, we bet these hilarious zodiac memes will crack you up.
Additional reporting by Emma Taubenfeld.
Sources:
- Merriam-Webster: “Meme”
