chicken-and-egg

American  

[chik-uhn-uhn-eg, -uhnd-] / ˈtʃɪk ən ənˈɛg, -ənd- /

Also chicken-or-egg

adjective

1. of, relating to, or being a dilemma of which of two things came first or of which is the cause and which the effect.

   a chicken-and-egg question of whether matter or energy is the basis of the universe.

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Etymology

Origin of chicken-and-egg

First recorded in 1955–60

Example Sentences

Macroeconomists face their own version of the chicken-and-egg problem: Is spending driving employment, or is employment driving spending?

From MarketWatch

That could create a chicken-and-egg scenario.

From Barron's

This is the chicken-and-egg question: Did people become homeless because they were mentally ill, or did they become mentally ill because of the “harsh existence” of being homeless?

From Los Angeles Times

This is the chicken-and-egg question: Did people become homeless because they were mentally ill, or did they become mentally ill because of the “harsh existence” of being homeless?

From Los Angeles Times

Resolving this chicken-and-egg dilemma, as Dr Kirkham put it, would shed light on how serious the impacts of losing today's Antarctic ice shelves might be.

From BBC