dank
Slang for excellent or high quality, especially cannabis, and for a meme that is weird, obscure, or ironically overused.
By Cal Hewitt, Gen X · Researched from public sources · ·
What it actually 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.
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.
No single person is credited, the origin is commonly reported.
Where it's popular
Cannabis slang and English-language meme communities.
Dank meme is commonly ironic, unlike the literal dampness meaning.
How it caught on
- 1300sDank is evidenced in Middle English for unpleasant moisture.
- 1980sSlang repurposed it as excellent, especially for cannabis.
- 2013Dank meme appeared in 4chan and Reddit parody culture.
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.
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.
Do you actually know it?
Is it dank?
0/31. What is dank’s original literal meaning?
2. What made a dank meme distinct?
3. When did dank meme appear in online parody communities?
Related slang
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.
Dank underwent a double flip: damp became excellent in slang, then meme culture made excellent ironic again.
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