wild goose
Americannoun
Etymology
Origin of wild goose
before 1050; Middle English; Old English
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.
“At least we can try and save our cops from going on wild goose chases.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 1, 2026
"It led to a wild goose chase of trying to figure out where this contamination could possibly have come from, because we just knew this number was far too high to be correct," Clough said.
From Science Daily ● Mar. 29, 2026
“They are usually made up of averages and all they do is take you down this wild goose chase. There are always caveats, and you never get to the answer.”
From MarketWatch ● Jan. 9, 2026
“I’ll be gone as a wild goose in winter.”
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 9, 2025
“This is a wild goose chase,” the pilot said.
From "Earthquake Terror" by Peg Kehret
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Get a wordDefinitions 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.
