Sometimes, a meme becomes so popular that people can recognize it by its basic pattern. Now, there's a meme going viral about that exact phenomenon.

The meme, captioned, "The 4 horsemen of pattern recognition," shows four distinct images that the most chronically online meme lovers will instantly recognize, and it's only one of several versions of the format.

So, what is the full context of the "4 horsemen of pattern recognition" meme, and what memes are being referenced? Here's what you need to know.

What Is The '4 Horsemen Of Pattern Recognition' Meme?

In July 2025, a series of image macro memes referencing the four horsemen of the apocalypse started spreading on sites like Reddit. These memes show a grid of four images referencing specific memes without giving the context of the memes.

The idea is that the images are meant to be so recognizable that many people can understand the references just by looking at them (an "IYKYK" kind of thing).

For example, one early example shows the Loss pattern, a pattern referencing the issue with copper meme, a Silksong meme known as "Hornet Smoking" and a pattern referencing a meme known as "pure animal instinct."

Now, however, the most popular version seems to be one showing the same Loss pattern in the left corner, followed by images referencing three other memes that have some people scratching their heads. The meme has been posted everywhere from Facebook to Instagram to Reddit and X, recently gaining over 130,000 likes on the latter platform in short order.

But what do all the other images mean?

What Memes Are Shown In The '4 Horsemen Of Pattern Recognition' Meme?

The first image in the viral "4 horsemen of pattern recognition" meme, as stated, is Loss, which is perhaps the most prominent example of a pattern recognition meme.

The term "Losslikes" has even been coined to describe the phenomenon of seeing well-known memes and pop culture references in unrelated subjects, thanks to Loss.

Beside Loss is a red oval that resembles an Among Us crewmate, yet another very common pattern recognition meme. In the bottom left corner is a reference to the Piper Perri Surrounded meme.

Finally, in the bottom right corner, is a reference to Saddam Hussein's Hiding Place, another meme that is widely recognized for its pattern, even spawning a trend about its recognizability called "Lowkey Serving Saddam Hiding Spot."

What Are Some More '4 Horsemen Of Pattern Recognition' Memes?

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For the full history of Losslikes, be sure to check out Know Your Meme's encyclopedia entry for more information.