treadmill
Americannoun
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treadmills
plural
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an apparatus for producing rotary motion by the weight of people or animals, treading on a succession of moving steps or a belt that forms a kind of continuous path, as around the periphery of a pair of horizontal cylinders.
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an exercise machine that allows the user to walk or run in place, usually on a continuous moving belt.
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any monotonous, wearisome routine in which there is little or no satisfactory progress.
noun
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Also called: treadwheel. (formerly) an apparatus used to produce rotation, in which the weight of men or animals climbing steps on or around the periphery of a cylinder or wheel caused it to turn
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a dreary round or routine
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an exercise machine that consists of a continuous moving belt on which to walk or jog
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of treadmill
Explanation
A treadmill is an exercise machine for walking or running in place. If it's bitterly cold outside, you might decide to go to the gym and run on the treadmill instead of taking your usual outdoor jog. A treadmill was originally a type of human- or animal-powered machine. By walking on a wheel fitted with steps, a person (or animal) turned it, grinding grain in the process. Treadmills were also used as punishment in prisons where inmates were forced to work. Today the only treadmills you're likely to see are in a gym, but the word is commonly used in a figurative way for any relentless, boring job.
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.
See Examples For:
The government said it wanted to stop the "endless treadmill of unnecessary resits".
From BBC ● Aug. 20, 2026
Shirtless and drenched in sweat on his treadmill, Lula runs.
From Barron's ● Aug. 2, 2026
His training was jogging on a treadmill for two miles and maybe getting eight to 10 miles a week.
From Los Angeles Times ● May 27, 2026
After two weeks of daily treadmill sessions, the mice showed clear endurance improvements.
From Science Daily ● May 16, 2026
The woman stopped running and put her feet on either side of the treadmill.
From "Genuine Fraud" by E. Lockhart
A Runna spokeswoman said it provides the speed number to help people who train on treadmills.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Feb. 8, 2026
Many treadmills even have built-in interval programs that guide you through sprint and recovery periods.
From Science Daily ● Oct. 20, 2025
“Had we taken the path of being too cool for treadmills and homemade videos, I can look back and say —”
From Los Angeles Times ● May 15, 2025
Besides training on treadmills, the crew also uses stationary bicycles and other specialized equipment that relies on springs and vacuums to create resistance.
From Salon ● Nov. 22, 2024
Around the room there were more girls now, mostly on the cardio machines, headphones on, pumping away on the treadmills and ellipticals, but some were lifting weights just like I was.
From "Tradition" by Brendan Kiely
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
