hamster wheel

[ ham-ster hweel, weel ]

Phonetic (Standard)IPA

noun

a cylindrical framework, usually within a cage, that is rotated by a hamster or other small animal running inside of it.
any situation that seems to be endlessly without goal or achievement.

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Word History and Origins

Origin of hamster wheel¹

First recorded in 1945–50

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Example Sentences

Odell offers a middle ground between dropping out of society and staying on the hamster wheel of capitalism.

From Outside Online

You’ll typically be on a hamster wheel of solving those problems.

From Digiday

As you sit there, you wish you could take a brain break, too, and daydream about something, anything, that would allow you to step off this hamster wheel that has become pandemic life, if only for a few minutes.

From Washington Post

In a figurative sense, this game reimagines Camelot as a hamster wheel, where knights like Sir Galahad have become tiny, pixellated cogs.

From Ars Technica

We suddenly find ourselves kicked off the hamster wheel and having to rethink things and be creative.

From Nautilus

Word of the Day

April 19, 2024tortuous

[tawr-choo-uhs ]

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