The ‘Holy Airball’ TikTok meme is currently trending on social media, as netizens come up with all kinds of creative ways to use the meme, find out more about its origins and meaning below
The trend essentially captures moments when people misfire miserably whether in conversation, flirting, or life choices.
What is the ‘Holy Airball’ TikTok trend and slang meaning explained as it goes viral on Twitter/X
“I trade crypto”
“Oh you trade eth?”
Holy airball pic.twitter.com/2n33APDjtg
— Rogers Crypto (@rogerscrypt0) May 19, 2025
Holy airball pic.twitter.com/dkHX7l8Yy6
— Wave🥀 (@Wave100x) May 19, 2025
TikTokers have been turning everyday misunderstandings into hilarious, viral content under the trend, using the soundtrack of Jeezy’s “Soul Survivor”.
‘Holy Airball’ Meaning
Notably, the phrase “holy airball” originally comes from basketball slang. In basketball, the term airball refers to when a player takes a shot and misses everything — no rim, no backboard, just empty space. The term has seemingly evolved online and it has now become a sarcastic exclamation used when someone completely blows it.
‘Holy Airball’ TikTok Meme, meaning and origins
The popular meme first started took off 2024 but mainly gained momentum in 2025. TikTokers originally used the term “holy airball” in comment sections to mock bad pickup lines and failed attempts at flirting. However, by mid-2025, TikTokers began building meme formats around it. The memes usually include someone saying or doing something clueless, followed by a punchline revealing what they missed and then the words “Holy airball.”
‘Holy Airball’ TikTok meme, usage and spread
The viral trend first took flight on TikTok after users started pairing the phrase Holy Airball with Jeezy’s “Soul Survivor.” The videos usually start with a statement like, “Told him I liked basketball,” followed with a response like, “He said ‘Curry or LeBron?'”. Following which a clip of the user playing serious basketball with the line, “Holy freaking airball” comes in.
The meme seemingly thrives on secondhand embarrassment, and the more clueless the person in the story, the funnier the meme. The ‘Holy Airball’ TikTok meme features all kinds of topics including a missed romantic cue, a career misunderstanding, or just a wild misread.
The first viral known ‘Holy Airball’ TikTok meme was posted by a TikToker named @jerkxyita. @jerkxyita posted the video on December 8th, 2024, featuring an edit with the caption “holy air ball” before repeatedly showing a boy pulling a girl in for a kiss only for her to reject him. The video also depicts clips of basketball players making airballs spliced in between. Notably, the video garnered over 4.6 million views in just five months.
In May of 2025, TikTokers started a trend using the “Soul Survivor” track by Jeezy and shared anecdotes of times when the user or someone else metaphorically “missed a shot.” Social media has since blown up with similar memes.