RAT RACE Definition & Meaning

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rat race

noun

Informal.

any exhausting, unremitting, and usually competitive activity or routine, especially a pressured urban working life spent trying to get ahead with little time left for leisure, contemplation, etc.

rat race

noun

a continual routine of hectic competitive activity
working in the City is a real rat race

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51�Թ� History and Origins

Origin of rat race¹

An Americanism dating back to 1935–40

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Idioms and Phrases

Fierce competition to maintain or improve one's position in the workplace or social life. For example, You may not realize what a rat race it is to get research grants. This term presumably alludes to the rat's desperate struggle for survival. [Colloquial; first half of 1900s]

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Example Sentences

Examples have not been reviewed.

Tangping, or “lying flat,” became a ubiquitous term for opting out of the rat race, not unlike the term “quiet quitting” in the U.S.

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"Travelling really opened my eyes, we’re all stuck in a rat race here in the UK," she said.

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Brown rats are the undisputed winners of the real rat race.

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Before joining the piano rat race, Pollini insisted on taking time to learn repertory and to mature.

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Wellness, digital detox, escaping the rat race in stunning, but quiet surroundings, are all promising options for resorts where skiing will become impossible.

From

rat pack rat-running

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