---
title: "dank · GenZ Decoded"
description: "Slang for excellent or high quality, especially cannabis, and for a meme that is weird, obscure, or ironically overused."
url: "https://genzdecoded.com/blog/dank/"
lang: "en"
published: "2026-07-19"
modified: "2026-07-29"
image: "https://genzdecoded.com/og/blog-dank.jpg"
alternates:
  es: "https://genzdecoded.com/es/blog/dank.md"
---

![dank, a GenZ Decoded word deep dive](https://genzdecoded.com/og/blog-dank.jpg)

# dank

adjective/DANGK/also: dank meme, dankness

Slang for excellent or high quality, especially cannabis, and for a meme that is weird, obscure, or ironically overused.

By [Cal Hewitt](https://genzdecoded.com/about/), Gen X · Published Jul 19, 2026 · Updated Jul 29, 2026

Origin

Black, campus, and drug slang; later…

Around

1980s slang; 2013 dank meme

Popular on

Cannabis slang and English-language meme…

Meaning

## What it means

Dank originally means unpleasantly damp. In 1980s slang it shifted to excellent, especially for high-quality marijuana; meme culture then used it ironically for strange, niche, or culturally exhausted memes. The intended meaning depends on whether the subject is a place, cannabis, general praise, or a meme.

See the quick definition in the [dank dictionary entry](https://genzdecoded.com/dictionary/dank/).

Usage

## How to use it

- “That track is dank.”

    General slang praise.

- “The post is a dank meme because it is oddly specific and intentionally weird.”

    Meme-culture use.

Origin

## Where it came from

Dictionary.com dates literal dank to Middle English and the excellent sense to 1980s slang. Dank meme emerged around 2013 in 4chan and Reddit parody communities; no single coiner is confirmed.

Who coined it

No single person is credited, the origin is commonly reported.

- [https://www.dictionary.com/culture/slang/dank](https://www.dictionary.com/culture/slang/dank)
- [https://www.dictionary.com/culture/slang/dank-meme](https://www.dictionary.com/culture/slang/dank-meme)
- [https://knowyourmeme.com/memes/dank-memes](https://knowyourmeme.com/memes/dank-memes)

Geography

## Where it's popular

Cannabis slang and English-language meme communities.

Dank meme is commonly ironic, unlike the literal dampness meaning.

Timeline

## How it caught on

1.  1300sDank is evidenced in Middle English for unpleasant moisture.
2.  1980sSlang repurposed it as excellent, especially for cannabis.
3.  2013Dank meme appeared in 4chan and Reddit parody culture.

Heads up

## Common mix-ups

Dank does not only mean cool. It still has the literal damp meaning, and dank meme can be ironic rather than straightforward praise.

Quiz

## Test yourself

### Is it dank?

1.  What is dank’s original literal meaning?

    - Very loud
    - Expensive
    - Unpleasantly damp **(correct answer)**
    - Perfectly dry

2.  What made a dank meme distinct?

    - It was a text abbreviation
    - It was always a news report
    - It had no image
    - It was strange or ironically overused **(correct answer)**

3.  When did dank meme appear in online parody communities?

    - 2003
    - 2013 **(correct answer)**
    - 1993
    - 2023

// the shop [Shop LOST IN TRANSLATION shirts and hoodies for families who speak two kinds of slang](https://genzdecoded.com/shop/)

Related

## Related slang

[fire](https://genzdecoded.com/dictionary/fire/)[banger](https://genzdecoded.com/dictionary/banger/)[meme](https://genzdecoded.com/dictionary/meme/)[cursed](https://genzdecoded.com/dictionary/cursed/)

Keep reading

## More word guides

- [FML](https://genzdecoded.com/blog/fml/)
- [cracked me up](https://genzdecoded.com/blog/cracked-me-up/)
- [fire](https://genzdecoded.com/blog/fire/)
- [meme](https://genzdecoded.com/blog/meme/)
- [peak](https://genzdecoded.com/blog/peak/)
- [sick](https://genzdecoded.com/blog/sick/)

Across the generations

## How every generation says it

- [How every generation says that's excellent](https://genzdecoded.com/how-to-say/thats-excellent/)

FAQ

## Questions people ask

### What does dank mean in slang?

It means excellent or high quality, especially for cannabis, and can describe certain ironic memes.

### What is a dank meme?

A deliberately bizarre, niche, or overused meme, often framed with irony.

### When did dank meme emerge?

Sources trace it to 2013 message-board and parody communities.

Did you know

Dank underwent a double flip: damp became excellent in slang, then meme culture made excellent ironic again.

Sources

- [https://www.dictionary.com/culture/slang/dank](https://www.dictionary.com/culture/slang/dank)
- [https://www.dictionary.com/culture/slang/dank-meme](https://www.dictionary.com/culture/slang/dank-meme)
- [https://knowyourmeme.com/memes/dank-memes](https://knowyourmeme.com/memes/dank-memes)

[See what's trending](https://genzdecoded.com/trending/)[Browse the dictionary](https://genzdecoded.com/glossary/)