rat race

American  

noun

Informal.

1. 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.

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rat race British  

noun

1. a continual routine of hectic competitive activity

   working in the City is a real rat race

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rat race Idioms  

1. 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]

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Etymology

Origin of rat race

An Americanism dating back to 1935–40

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

rat race

Aiming to escape the rat race and find opportunities for work in a bleak job market, the founders use artificial intelligence to code, communicate with customers and promote their products.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 20, 2026

"Our younger generation... they're always in this little rat race, keeping up with social media," the 61-year-old said.

From Barron's ● Sep. 7, 2026

Fording said that he wanted to avoid the "rat race style of life" and "it is quieter, not as much traffic and we have everything we need here."

From BBC ● Aug. 8, 2026

Imagine this: After years of toiling in the Southern California rat race, you buy a parcel of land in the high desert.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 30, 2025

They say it’s a real rat race and I hope to win it.”

From "Friday Night Lights: A Town, A Team, And A Dream" by H.G. Bissinger