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• wild-goose chase
  wild-goose chase

  noun

  a wild or absurd search for something nonexistent or unobtainable.
• wild goose chase
  wild goose chase

  A futile search or pursuit, as in I think she sent us on a wild goose chase looking for their beach house. This idiom originally referred to a form of 16th-century horseracing requiring riders to follow a leader in a particular formation (presumably resembling a flock of geese in flight). Its figurative use dates from about 1600.

wild-goose chase

American  

[wahyld-goos] / ˈwaɪldˈgus /

noun

1. a wild or absurd search for something nonexistent or unobtainable.

   a wild-goose chase looking for a building long demolished.

2. any senseless pursuit of an object or end; a hopeless enterprise.

   Her scheme of being a movie star is a wild-goose chase.

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wild-goose chase British  

noun

1. an absurd or hopeless pursuit, as of something unattainable

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wild goose chase Idioms  

1. A futile search or pursuit, as in I think she sent us on a wild goose chase looking for their beach house. This idiom originally referred to a form of 16th-century horseracing requiring riders to follow a leader in a particular formation (presumably resembling a flock of geese in flight). Its figurative use dates from about 1600.

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Etymology

Origin of wild-goose chase

First recorded in 1585–95

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

wild-goose chase wild goose chase

At least the Victorians were just sending their friends on a wild-goose chase to be funny, and not actively poisoning them.

From Seattle Times ● Sep. 6, 2023

After something like a wild-goose chase, the grounds crew wrapped the big bird in a towel, placed it into a plastic recycling bin and retreated back into the Dodgers dugout.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 13, 2022

The court presented a unanimous, sweeping rejection of the arguments by the opposition, describing them variously as “sensationalism,” “hearsay,” and “a wild-goose chase that yielded nothing of value.”

From New York Times ● Sep. 5, 2022

This time, the judges not only threw out Mr Odinga's case, but they chastised his legal team, saying the court had been sent on "a wild-goose chase".

From BBC ● Sep. 5, 2022

The most obvious was that a number of engines and dozens of firefighters were sent on a wild-goose chase and did not get to the fire for many minutes.

From "The Great Fire" by Jim Murphy

"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

Carr's investigation into Fegan led her on a wild goose chase leading to a confrontation with "Tara."

From Salon ● Oct. 18, 2024

Jason Fagone: So, the Shakespeare project turned out to be a wild goose chase, right?

From Scientific American ● Oct. 12, 2023

Murray Foote, who quit in March amid a row over membership figures, speculated the probe could be "wild goose chase" and branded it a "grotesque spectacle".

From BBC ● May 4, 2023

Cuddy agreed that the latest tip was probably another wild goose chase, but at least it offered a change of pace.

From "The Devil in the White City" by Erik Larson