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

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

From Los Angeles Times

For those who wish to hear it, there’s a lesson in this: the only way to “win” is to get off the hamster wheel of precarious masculinity.

From Salon

In 2014, Ukraine's Mariya Yaremchuk trapped one of her dancers in a giant hamster wheel, while Romania brought a literal cannon to their performance in 2017.

From BBC

He is richer than any person has ever been, but he has trapped himself on a golden hamster wheel.

From Slate

To disrupt the first part of this pathway, try to halt the hamster wheel in your head.

From Los Angeles Times