ironic
stonks
Meaning
- A deliberately misspelled joke word for stocks, used to mock an overconfident or bad financial move.
- (interjection) Said sarcastically when someone makes a questionable investment.
“He put his whole paycheck into one coin. Stonks.”
Where it came from
The word appeared in June 2017 on the Facebook page Special Meme Fresh, paired with the bald 3D “Meme Man” character standing in front of a rising stock chart. It spread across Reddit through 2018 and 2019, and communities like r/WallStreetBets carried it further.