Synonyms

rat race

American

noun

Informal.

any exhausting, unremitting, and usually competitive activity or routine, especially a pressured urban working life spent trying to get ahead with little time left for leisure, contemplation, etc.

rat race British

noun

a continual routine of hectic competitive activity

working in the City is a real rat race

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

rat race Idioms

Fierce competition to maintain or improve one's position in the workplace or social life. For example, You may not realize what a rat race it is to get research grants. This term presumably alludes to the rat's desperate struggle for survival. [Colloquial; first half of 1900s]

Etymology

Origin of rat race

An Americanism dating back to 1935–40

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.

China’s industrial rat race helped power the country’s economic miracle.

From The Wall Street Journal • Jan. 28, 2026

Sami Sabet was a successful businessman before deciding to leave the "rat race" and become a sub-postmaster for three post offices around Shoreham-by-Sea.

From BBC • Jul. 8, 2025

Tangping, or “lying flat,” became a ubiquitous term for opting out of the rat race, not unlike the term “quiet quitting” in the U.S.

From Los Angeles Times • Sep. 12, 2024

Wall Street Journal fitness writer Jen Murphy shares tips for staying in shape while running the rat race.

From Slate • Apr. 30, 2024

Valerie was clearly weary of the rat race.

From "The Big Short" by Michael Lewis

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