squirrel cage

American  

[skwur-uhl keyj, skwuhr-uhl] / ˈskwɜr əl ˌkeɪdʒ, ˈskwʌr əl /

noun

1. hamster wheel.

2. a cage containing a hamster wheel.

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squirrel cage British  

noun

1. a cage consisting of a cylindrical framework that is made to rotate by a small animal running inside the framework

2. a repetitive purposeless task, way of life, etc

3. Also called: squirrel-cage motor.  electrical engineering the rotor of an induction motor with a cylindrical winding having copper bars around the periphery parallel to the axis

4. an electric fan with many long narrow blades arranged in parallel so as to form a cylinder about an axis around which they spin

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Etymology

Origin of squirrel cage

First recorded in 1815–25

Example Sentences

The animal is placed inside a big squirrel cage which revolves when the creature runs.

From Time Magazine Archive

The attainment of Nirvana allows us finally to step away from what one writer called "the squirrel cage of birth and rebirth" and enter into oneness with the cosmos.

From Time Magazine Archive

She threw herself into such an orgy of preparations for leaving home, that the days flew around like the wheels of a squirrel cage.

From Mary Ware's Promised Land by Goss, John

The whole blasted fort is acting like the squirrel cage in an induction motor!

From The Ultimate Weapon by McConnell, Gerald

He was in such a hurry that it seemed to her as though his feet hardly touched the ground; and he rushed right up to the squirrel cage.

From The Wonderful Adventures of Nils by Howard, Velma Swanston