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

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

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jan. 28, 2026

Despite the show's heist element, Madekwe says it has "such a relatable story of feeling trapped in a rat race".

From BBC ● Jan. 20, 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

“Joey also wants you to know that he has dropped out of the rat race and has rejoined the human race.”

From "Fourth Grade Rats" by Jerry Spinelli