hamster wheel

American

[ham-ster hweel, weel] / ˈhæm stər ˌʰwil, ˌwil /

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.

Etymology

Origin of hamster wheel

First recorded in 1945–50

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

If the desire to be released from this Hell reaches across the party line — if it’s affecting everyone, everywhere — is there any escape at all, any way off this hamster wheel?

From Salon • Dec. 21, 2025

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

From BBC • Nov. 24, 2025

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.

From The Wall Street Journal • Oct. 10, 2025

“I could not continue to do this hamster wheel forever,” Diana said.

From Slate • Jan. 13, 2025

Percy ducked behind a giant hamster wheel and scanned the room, looking for the boxes he’d seen in his dream.

From "The Mark of Athena" by Rick Riordan

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023