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• wild-goose chase
  wild-goose chase

  noun

  a wild or absurd search for something nonexistent or unobtainable.
• wild goose chase
  wild goose chase

  A futile search or pursuit, as in I think she sent us on a wild goose chase looking for their beach house. This idiom originally referred to a form of 16th-century horseracing requiring riders to follow a leader in a particular formation (presumably resembling a flock of geese in flight). Its figurative use dates from about 1600.

wild-goose chase

American  

[wahyld-goos] / ˈwaɪldˈgus /

noun

1. a wild or absurd search for something nonexistent or unobtainable.

   a wild-goose chase looking for a building long demolished.

2. any senseless pursuit of an object or end; a hopeless enterprise.

   Her scheme of being a movie star is a wild-goose chase.

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wild-goose chase British  

noun

1. an absurd or hopeless pursuit, as of something unattainable

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wild goose chase Idioms  

1. A futile search or pursuit, as in I think she sent us on a wild goose chase looking for their beach house. This idiom originally referred to a form of 16th-century horseracing requiring riders to follow a leader in a particular formation (presumably resembling a flock of geese in flight). Its figurative use dates from about 1600.

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Etymology

Origin of wild-goose chase

First recorded in 1585–95

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

wild-goose chase wild goose chase

After something like a wild-goose chase, the grounds crew wrapped the big bird in a towel, placed it into a plastic recycling bin and retreated back into the Dodgers dugout.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 13, 2022

This time, the judges not only threw out Mr Odinga's case, but they chastised his legal team, saying the court had been sent on "a wild-goose chase".

From BBC ● Sep. 5, 2022

It has also led to a wild-goose chase.

From Washington Post ● Feb. 1, 2022

The idea is to avoid sending patients on a wild-goose chase, since many pharmacies received only 20 Paxlovid treatment courses.

From Seattle Times ● Jan. 6, 2022

He hoped this wasn’t some kind of wild-goose chase or, worse, a trap.

From "The Kill Order (Maze Runner, Book Four; Origin)" by James Dashner

"It led to a wild goose chase of trying to figure out where this contamination could possibly have come from, because we just knew this number was far too high to be correct," Clough said.

From Science Daily ● Mar. 29, 2026

Jason Fagone: So, the Shakespeare project turned out to be a wild goose chase, right?

From Scientific American ● Oct. 12, 2023

Spoiler alert: Near the end of their book, Chan and Ridley acknowledge that they have conducted a wild goose chase.

From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 15, 2021

It sounds like the quintessential wild goose chase - police called to reports a bird has smashed a taxi window.

From BBC ● Oct. 1, 2019

“I seem to have sent you and the gentlemen on a wild goose chase, in the snow, no less. You must extend my apologies.”

From "The Incorrigible Children of Ashton Place: Book I: The Mysterious Howling" by Maryrose Wood