rabbit hole

American  

[rab-it hohl] / ˈræb ɪt ˌhoʊl /

noun

1. a tunnel made in the ground by a rabbit; a rabbit burrow.

2. Informal. a strange, disorienting, or frustrating situation or experience, typically one that is difficult to navigate: I have been down the rabbit hole of building a new home.

   I had a history of depression and occasionally fell down dark, deep rabbit holes from which only medication and therapy could pull me out.

   I have been down the rabbit hole of building a new home.

3. Informal. a time-consuming distraction of one's attention as happens when clicking through online links, following social media posts, or pursuing information.

   After diving down an internet rabbit hole and poring over treatments, risks, and so on, she felt even more panicked.

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Etymology

Origin of rabbit hole

First recorded in 1660–70; rabbit hole def. 2 was first recorded in 1935–40, from Lewis Carroll's Alice's Adventures in Wonderland

Example Sentences

Or am I overthinking this and going too far down the rabbit hole?

From MarketWatch

But the process will also create opportunities to make the material more widely available online for consumers who want to go down the rabbit hole of watching every available segment with their favorite stars.

From Los Angeles Times

The new show is named after “tangents” so that Nihill can go down different rabbit holes each night if he wants.

From Los Angeles Times

For a solid hour he keeps Evy, and the audience, feeling as if we’re burrowing down a rabbit hole that keeps taking odd turns.

From The Wall Street Journal

American boys are falling behind in school and tumbling into perilous internet rabbit holes.

From The Wall Street Journal