hamster wheel

[ham-ster hweel, weel]

noun

1. a cylindrical framework, usually within a cage, that is rotated by a hamster or other small animal running inside of it.

2. any situation that seems to be endlessly without goal or achievement.

Word History and Origins

Origin of hamster wheel¹

First recorded in 1945–50

Example Sentences

Add in the fact that there will now only be an annual check of the fiscal rules rather than a bi-annual one, and with a fair wind, this should put to bed the hamster wheel of speculation about missing borrowing targets.

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It is a recognition that the current system has led to an ever-spinning hamster wheel of tax rise speculation.

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A CMO role in sports can offer executives a more meaningful job than the corporate hamster wheel—but glamour and predictability can be in short supply.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

All too often, the financial industry lures us onto the hamster wheel of chasing high returns, where we have to run so fast we never even notice what we pay to play.

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The plan was to return to California sometime in 2024 and hop back on the restaurant hamster wheel.

Read more on Los Angeles Times