Meanings
- humorousslangUsed for emphasis after an interrogative word or relative pronoun.
What the sigma is he doing to that dog?
5 more examples
How in the sigma are we meant to stop climate change?
Erm what the sigma ohio🗿🍷 😱 we've lost another one boys 😔😢 Dattebayo 👊
2023 August 7, @SleepyWillow07, TwitterErm what the sigma is that pic on the top right
2024 April 30, u/SuhNih, “Been seeing some hypocrisy from my side lately”, in Reddit, r/PoliticalCompassMemes, archived from the original on 21 May 2024Where the sigma is Russia (my country)
2024 May 6, u/PopTartPlayz, “Trying to get a comment from every country: Part 2!”, in Reddit, r/JackSucksAtGeography, archived from the original on 21 May 2024how in the sigma are you still sane with that charm glowing like that
2024 May 20, u/Bendr6565, “After an awful day of ranked, Siege timing has told me to just get off already”, in Reddit, r/Rainbow6, archived from the original on 21 May 2024Synonyms: the heck, the hell, the fuck, the skibidi
Synonyms & antonyms
adverbUsed for emphasis after an interrogative word or relative pronoun.
Origin
Popularized by the "Erm, What the Sigma?" meme around March 2024, although usage dates back to 2023.
Full word history & related roots →Cite this entry
the sigma. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 4, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/the%20sigma
“the sigma.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/the%20sigma. Accessed November 4, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “the sigma,” accessed November 4, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/the%20sigma.
Source: the sigma on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.