Memes dictionary
Hodor meme
or Hodor or hold the door [hoh-dohr]
What does the Hodor meme mean?
Hodor memes reference the character Hodor from the television series Game of Thrones and the book series A Song of Ice and Fire. They may more specifically allude to the “hold the door” moment in the Game of Thrones episode “The Door.”
Where does Hodor meme come from?
Hodor is a character in the TV series Game of Thrones, which is based on the book series A Song of Ice and Fire by George R. R. Martin. Hodor assists the character Bran, who cannot walk, by carrying him. Throughout the series, he is apparently unable to speak except for the seemingly nonsensical word hodor, after which he is named.
In the fifth episode of season six, which aired May 22, 2016, viewers learned the reason for Hodor’s speech difficulties. Due to a sort of psychic time-travel connection instigated by Bran, both the older and younger version of Hodor are ordered to “hold the door” of a hideout simultaneously, and the younger version feels what the older version is experiencing. The older Hodor dies protecting Bran and “holding the door.” This trauma of experiencing his own future death makes “hold the door” the only thing the young Hodor can say, repeated to the point of contraction into Hodor.
"Hold the door!"
Oh….Hodor. 😪#ForTheThrone pic.twitter.com/ktrW80ZfUP— Kacey (@7BlueOrchids) January 3, 2019
HOLD THE DOOR
HOLD THE DOOR
HOL THE DOOR
HOL TH DOOR
HOL T DOOR
HOLDOOR
HOLDOR
HODORMan I'm fucking crying now. https://t.co/zOgPxPZPxq
— Mr Min (@hattia_) November 22, 2018
Fans of the series promptly saw an opportunity for humor in this tragic moment. They joked about crying when asked to hold doors, created a fake IKEA doorstop named Hodør, and stuck pictures of the character over the “hold” button in elevators. The meme appears to have been most popular in late May and early June of 2016, shortly after the episode aired.
I do not know what door I would need this doorstop for. But I do know that I need this! #hodor pic.twitter.com/iDzGwpYAhJ
— Jason Pellegrini (@JPellegrini1983) December 1, 2018
Examples of Hodor meme
Who uses Hodor meme?
The Hold the door scene is perhaps the most pervasive Hodor meme, and fans frequently reference it as an especially heartbreaking moment in the TV series.
Young Hodor: HOLD THE DOOR HOLD THE DOOR HOLD THE DOOR
Present Hodor: *holding the door*
Young Hodor: HOLD THE DOOR HOLD DA DOOR HOL Da Do Ho d do hodo
Hodor
Me: pic.twitter.com/oj6W6qsp1o
— D e e ♪ (⁎˃ᆺ˂) (@deechacc) December 31, 2018
Watching Hodor holding the door for the last time #GOT pic.twitter.com/lpttYbylYb
— El Poeta (@mikecheck06) December 31, 2018
Even before “The Door,” Hodor had been the subject of many other memes. His close relationship to the character Bran, single-word vocabulary, and pun-able name have made him the subject of many pop culture jokes and image macros. References to Hodor memes, particularly those prior to the airing of “The Door,” may sometimes refer to these memes instead of the hold the door version.
#Winners Bran and Hodor won first prize at Rooster Teeth's Halloween costume contest! @patrickmatthewz #RTHalloween pic.twitter.com/v6Te1Fx65j
— Colton Clements (@ColtonWClements) October 29, 2016
My natural response for when I get flustered by something is to say "Hodor" over and over again.
— Charlie McDowell (@charliemcdowell) August 7, 2014
Note
This is not meant to be a formal definition of Hodor meme like most terms we define on Dictionary.com, but is rather an informal word summary that hopefully touches upon the key aspects of the meaning and usage of Hodor meme that will help our users expand their word mastery.