macro
/MAK-roh/noun
Meaning
In internet slang, a macro is a captioned image—usually a familiar photo, screenshot, drawing, or character image—used as a repeatable meme format. The word can refer either to one finished captioned meme or to the reusable base image and its associated caption style.[1]
- 1. A finished image with text superimposed, usually to make a joke, express a reaction, or comment on a situation.
- 2. A reusable meme template whose image, layout, or caption pattern can be adapted with new text.
- 3. A recognizable image-and-caption format associated with a particular character, phrase, emotional reaction, or joke structure.
Examples
“Drop the crying cat macro in the group chat.”
“This macro is perfect for pretending I understand the assignment.”
“I need a macro for when the meeting could have been an email.”
“Same picture, new caption—that's the whole macro.”
Origin and spread
Macro is a shortened form of image macro, a term for a digital image with overlaid text. The modern expression is tied to early-2000s internet forums, especially Something Awful, where short commands called macros could produce predefined images; the terminology reflected the computer-science meaning of a macro as an input that triggers a defined output. Captioned image formats spread widely through forums and meme sites during the mid-to-late 2000s, with services such as I Can Has Cheezburger and meme generators making them easier to create and share. The older computing sense and the meme sense are related by word formation, not by the meaning of macro photography.[1]
How to use it
Macro is informal and strongly associated with internet and meme communities. Older users may prefer the fuller term image macro, while many people now simply say meme. Use macro when the image is clearly functioning as a repeatable caption format; a one-off funny picture may be called a meme or reaction image instead.
