cog in the wheel

Idioms  

1. Also, cog in the machine. One who holds a minor but necessary post in a large organization, as in Frank knew he was just a cog in the wheel of this giant corporation. This term alludes to the role of the mechanical cog, one of the teeth on a wheel or gear that, by engaging other teeth, transmits or receives motion. Used figuratively since about 1930, it sometimes is put as small cog in a large wheel, emphasizing a person's lack of importance.

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Example Sentences

See Examples For:

cog in the wheel

David Mason, defending Gumrukguoglu, agreed "there were people higher up" but accepted his client had been an "important cog in the wheel".

From BBC ● May 17, 2025

Most believe Reaves is the third cog in the wheel.

From Los Angeles Times ● Dec. 10, 2023

“A guy like Marcedes Lewis is an important cog in the wheel of the locker room and the momentum of a team,” Rodgers said.

From Seattle Times ● Jan. 17, 2023

They wanted to keep their place as a cog in the wheel.

From Salon ● Aug. 15, 2022

He was nothing but a more or less superfluous cog in the wheel of a cranky machine driven by a despotic hand.

From Lodges in the Wilderness by W. C. (William Charles) Scully