go viral
To be rapidly and frequently shared, especially through social media, but also via…To be rapidly and frequently shared, especially through social media, but (with retroactive application to pre-internet occurrences) also via gossip or as a collective response to broadcasting or widespread print circulation.
» It went viral.
Spamster · Tatoeba · CC BY 2.0 FRMeaning
1 sensesTo be rapidly and frequently shared, especially through social media, but (with retroactive application to pre-internet occurrences) also via gossip or as a collective response to broadcasting or widespread print circulation.
viral gehen, viral werden
вируси́тьсяvirusítʹsja, завируси́тьсяzavirusítʹsja
віруси́тисяvirusýtysja, завіруси́тисяzavirusýtysja
Examples
23 sentencesIt went viral.
Tom hoped the video he just uploaded to YouTube would go viral.
deTom hoffte, dass das Video, das er soeben auf „YouTube“ hochgeladen hatte, in Windeseile von sich reden machen würde. — Pfirsichbaeumchen
The video went viral.
Відео стало вірусним. — Balamax
ruВидео стало вирусным. — Balamax
deDas Video hat sich wie ein Lauffeuer verbreitet. — Pfirsichbaeumchen
The video ended up going viral.
Vladimir's pictures went viral in no time.
Translations
7 languagesBy meaning 1
By meaning 1
By meaning 1
Origin
The sociologic phenomenon was named thus because it is analogous to the way in which virusThe sociologic phenomenon was named thus because it is analogous to the way in which viruses propagate, with exponential potential. This phrasal verb developed in the late 20th or early 21st century as a name for a phenomenon that has existed since humans became capable of exposing one another to ideas in highly contagious ways; thus, gossip and rumor in close-quartered populations, print circulation, and broadcasting were all enough to produce it, but the advent of the internet, and more specifically the web era and smartphone era, provided many new instances and the occasion to bestow a name on the theme. See also meme, a word coined in 1976 for a phenomenon as old as human interaction.
Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0 · source
Forms
goes viral, going viral, went viral, gone viral| Base form | go viral · to go viral |
|---|---|
| 3rd person singular | goes viral |
| Present participle | going viral |
| Past simple | went viral |
| Past participle | gone viral |
irregular · Lesson
Lessons for this word
3 lessons- A1Present simple — Because it is a verb
- A1Past simple, irregular verbs — Because of its past form
- A2Present perfect: introduction — Because of its past participle