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Meaning & use

hamster wheel metaphor

noun·Advancedfigurative

Last updated

UK/ˈhæmstə wiːl ˈmetəfə/
US/ˈhæmstər wiːl ˈmetəfɔːr/

Meanings

  1. nouncountablefigurative

    A way of describing a situation where someone works hard but makes no real progress, like a hamster running in a wheel.

    Grammar: Used as a countable noun phrase: the hamster wheel metaphor, a hamster wheel metaphor.

    Patterns

    • use the hamster wheel metaphor
    • the hamster wheel metaphor for something
    • describe something as a hamster wheel

    The manager used the hamster wheel metaphor to describe the team's endless paperwork.

    Many workers feel trapped in a hamster wheel metaphor: busy all day but achieving little.

    Her article explores the hamster wheel metaphor in modern office life.

  2. nouncountablefigurative

    The image of a hamster running in a wheel, used to represent repetitive, pointless effort.

    Grammar: Can refer to the actual image or comparison: The cartoon uses a hamster wheel metaphor for bureaucracy.

    Patterns

    • a hamster wheel metaphor for something
    • the hamster wheel metaphor of + noun

    The novel's central hamster wheel metaphor shows how the character's life goes nowhere.

    In the speech, the hamster wheel metaphor stood for the cycle of poverty.

Word forms

pluralhamster wheel metaphors

Common combinations

use a hamster wheel metaphor
The coach used a hamster wheel metaphor to explain why hard work alone isn't enough.
the hamster wheel metaphor for modern life
The hamster wheel metaphor for modern life appears in many self-help books.
feel like a hamster on a wheel
After months of overtime, she felt like a hamster on a wheel.
a hamster wheel of + noun
He described the job as a hamster wheel of meetings and reports.

Synonyms and how they differ

rat race
Similar idea of endless, competitive work, but 'rat race' emphasizes competition rather than pointless repetition.
vicious cycle
Focuses on a repeating problem that makes itself worse, not just lack of progress.

Word family

hamster wheel noun
The literal wheel that a hamster runs in.

Commonly confused: hamster wheel metaphor or hamster wheel?

hamster wheel metaphor vs hamster wheel

The literal object, not the figurative comparison; 'hamster wheel metaphor' is the figurative expression.

Practice

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