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Synonyms

in a rut

Idioms  

  1. In a settled or established habit or course of action, especially a boring one. For example, We go to the seashore every summer—we're in a rut, or After ten years at the same job she says she's in a rut. This expression alludes to having a wheel stuck in a groove in the road. [Early 1800s]

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.

ServiceNow’s stock has been in a rut — so much so that it’s on track to post its largest quarterly decline on record.

From MarketWatch

While much of the U.S. housing market has been stuck in a rut, slowed by elevated mortgage rates and home prices near record highs, pockets of San Francisco are rebounding in a big way.

From The Wall Street Journal

The chip maker’s stock has been in a rut in recent months as investors worry about the sustainability of AI spending by hyperscalers.

From MarketWatch

These variations in rainfall can largely be explained by a so-called blocked weather pattern which left our weather stuck in a rut for most of January and February.

From BBC

The home-building sector has been stuck in a rut over the past couple of years, but recent technical developments, on both an absolute and relative basis, are pointing to the start of a new bullish period.

From MarketWatch

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

Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.