Meaning of hamster wheel | Babel Free

Definitions

1. A circular cage for a hamster or other small rodent, which rotates vertically as the animal runs at its base.
2. A monotonous, repetitive, unfulfilling activity, especially one in which no progress is achieved.
   broadly, figuratively

Examples

“The overall mood of this volume is one of melancholy and loss, weary resignation to one's lot—trudging round and round on the rusty hamster wheel of life.”

“Before the current pandemic, the rail industry appeared to be trapped on an ever-accelerating hamster wheel, trying to keep up with customer demand and political expectation on an essentially historic system itself exposed to greater impacts of climate change.”

CEFR level