treadmill

American  

[tred-mil] / ˈtrɛdˌmɪl /

noun

• treadmills
  plural

1. 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.

2. an exercise machine that allows the user to walk or run in place, usually on a continuous moving belt.

3. any monotonous, wearisome routine in which there is little or no satisfactory progress.

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treadmill British  

/ ˈtrɛdˌmɪl /

noun

1. 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

2. a dreary round or routine

3. an exercise machine that consists of a continuous moving belt on which to walk or jog

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Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• treadmills
  plural

Etymology

Origin of treadmill

First recorded in 1815–25; tread + mill ¹

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

See Examples For:

treadmill treadmills

Hybrid training, like Hyrox, which is sociable and competitive, seems to have taken over from running on a treadmill or general cardio on a bike, she explains.

From BBC ● Sep. 24, 2026

Shirtless and drenched in sweat on his treadmill, Lula runs.

From Barron's ● Aug. 2, 2026

Still, performing is clearly on his mind as he leads me into a tile-roofed gym equipped with weights, a treadmill and a massage table.

From Los Angeles Times ● May 27, 2026

Do you want to get off the production treadmill?

From The Wall Street Journal ● May 25, 2026

Heather hops on the treadmill and resumes scheming.

From "Speak" by Laurie Halse Anderson

Peloton is considering moving some production of its bikes and treadmills closer to the U.S. to make its supply chain more flexible and resilient, according to Chief Operating Officer Charles Kirol.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 24, 2026

Their lens finds people walking on their treadmills, talking on the phone, laughing with one another.

From Salon ● Sep. 21, 2026

Many treadmills even have built-in interval programs that guide you through sprint and recovery periods.

From Science Daily ● Oct. 20, 2025

Technology has taken over with simulators and treadmills and sensors hunting for spare fractions of a second to eliminate.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 26, 2025

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