sigma

/SIG-muh/

noun · adjective

Meaning

In internet slang, a sigma is a supposedly confident, successful, and self-reliant person—traditionally a man—who operates outside an imagined alpha-and-beta social hierarchy. As an adjective, sigma praises someone or something as cool or impressive, while expressions such as “what the sigma” use the word as intentionally absurd filler.

  1. 1. A supposedly self-sufficient and successful person, usually imagined as a male loner who rejects conventional status hierarchies.
  2. 2. Cool, impressive, clever, or admirable, often as exaggerated or ironic praise.
  3. 3. An intentionally nonsensical substitute word in meme expressions, especially “what the sigma.”

Examples

“He declined the invitation and joked that a true sigma works alone.”
“Blocking that shot at the last second was absolutely sigma.”
“What the sigma is going on in this group chat?”
“The edit presents Patrick Bateman as a sigma, though the tone is clearly parody.”
“My cousin calls every clever video-game move sigma now.”

Origin and spread

Sigma developed as a shortening of “sigma male,” a label modeled on Greek-letter categories such as “alpha male” and “beta male.” The term is documented on the blog of far-right writer Theodore Beale, known as Vox Day, in 2010, where a sigma was placed outside his proposed male social hierarchy. It remained associated with manosphere and self-improvement communities before gaining wider attention around 2021. In the early 2020s, TikTok edits paired the archetype with fictional loners and antiheroes—most notably Patrick Bateman from American Psycho—and mixed earnest admiration with parody. By 2024, younger users were also applying sigma as a general compliment or inserting it into absurd expressions such as “what the sigma,” largely detached from the original hierarchy.

How to use it

Sigma may be sincere in masculinity or self-improvement content, but in memes and youth slang it is frequently playful, exaggerated, or mocking. Calling a skillful move “sigma” usually sounds like casual praise; calling yourself a “sigma male” can sound boastful or signal allegiance to manosphere ideas. Some sigma content promotes contempt for women and rigid gender roles, so the surrounding context matters more than the word alone.

Sources

  1. 1. Vox Day, “The Origin of the Socio-Sexual Hierarchy”
  2. 2. British GQ, “Sigma grindset: TikTok's toxic worshipping of Patrick Bateman”
  3. 3. VICE, “The Rise of the ‘Sigma Male,’ a New Kind of Toxic Masculinity”
  4. 4. Dexerto, “What does ‘sigma’ mean? Viral TikTok term explained”
  5. 5. Phys.org, “Rise of the sigma male: TikTok's new gender divide”
  6. 6. Meduza, “The Russian brainrot coming for your children”

Explore MemePulse

Best memes

View all →