lemming

American  

[lem-ing] / ˈlɛm ɪŋ /

noun

• lemmings
  plural

1. any of various small, mouselike rodents of several genera including Lemmus, Myopus, and Dicrostonyx, of far northern regions, as L. lemmus, of Norway, Sweden, etc., noted for periodic mass migrations that sometimes involve crossing bodies of water. Incidental drownings that have occurred during such passage gave rise to the myth of mass suicides among supposedly frenzied lemmings jumping from cliffs into the sea.

2. a person who follows the will of others, especially in a mass movement, and heads straight into a situation or circumstance that is dangerous, stupid, or destructive.

   These lemmings that eat up conspiracy theories are so blinded by lies, they don’t even see the cliff they’re about to plummet over.

---

lemming British  

/ ˈlɛmɪŋ /

noun

1. any of various volelike rodents of the genus Lemmus and related genera, of northern and arctic regions of Europe, Asia, and North America: family Cricetidae. The Scandinavian variety, Lemmus lemmus, migrates periodically when its population reaches a peak

2. a member of any large group following an unthinking course towards mass destruction

---

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• lemming-like
  adjective

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• lemmings
  plural

Etymology

Origin of lemming

First recorded in 1600–10; from Norwegian; cognate with Icelandic lómundr “lemming,” læmingr “loon”; akin to Gothic laian “to revile,” Icelandic lā “to blame”

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

lemming lemmings

Bones of other animals now extinct in Scotland have also been recovered from the system of caves over the years - including lemming, wild horses, lynx and wolf.

From BBC ● Nov. 29, 2024

Later in the day, Stewart Brand, who created the “Whole Earth Catalog,” amused the crowd when he took a showy tumble off the stage, to impersonate the death of a lemming.

From The New Yorker ● Dec. 1, 2014

Lo and behold, we are just as sensitive to the scent of the opposite sex as the humble lemming.

From Slate ● Aug. 25, 2014

A lot of it is about being a lemming.

From New York Times ● Nov. 30, 2011

Near a pool she lost all sight of her steps and then with relief recognized an empty lemming nest, a round ball of grass that she had kicked open.

From "Julie of the Wolves" by Jean Craighead George

But there was no fountain of youth back then, Brenner noted, and the latest claims of its existence are sure to ultimately disappoint the long lines of lemmings.

From Los Angeles Times ● Feb. 18, 2024

The forbidding frozen wilderness of the high Arctic tundra is the natural home of the snowy owl, a great predator perfectly adapted to hunting its primary food source, lemmings.

From New York Times ● Dec. 31, 2022

They also found evidence of coral, ants, fleas and lemmings.

From Scientific American ● Dec. 7, 2022

In some parts of the Arctic, thinning ice is already reducing the number of boom years for lemmings.

From Seattle Times ● Jan. 10, 2022

Ground squirrels and hamster-like lemmings that carved tunnels in the snow.

From "Two Degrees" by Alan Gratz