Dictionary

lemming en · NOUN

Pronunciation

• /lɛm.ɪŋ/ (UK)
• (Southern-England) audio

Etymology

From Danish and Norwegian lemming, from Old Norse lómundr, læmingi, læmingr (“lemming”), perhaps from Sami luomek. Sense 2 derives from a longstanding myth that they exhibit so much herd mentality that populations jump off cliffs to their deaths together.

Meanings

1. A small arctic and subarctic rodent of the tribes Lemmini, Dicrostonychini and Lagurini.
   • The well-known lemmings, in severe winters, at long intervals, move down from the mountains of Scandinavia in immense numbers, crossing lakes and rivers, eating their way through haystacks, and surmounting every obstacle till they reach the sea, whence very few return. 1876, Alfred Russel Wallace, The Geographical Distribution of Animals, chapter 2, page 18:
2. (figuratively) Any member of a group given to conformity or groupthink, especially a group poised to follow a leader off a cliff.
   • Like a lemming, I followed the crowd, got to the right line and was concentrating hard when queried by the customs officer. 2014, M.P. Fedunkiw, A Degree of Futility, page 61:
   • Lemmings are strongly cohesive, but could be, in organisational terms, highly destructive for the business. 2004, Ilse Hobbs, Jan Havenga, A Practical Guide to Strategy, →ISBN, page 127:
   • “It’s like the one person did it once and since then everyone has followed like lemmings, they all just copy each other’s behaviour,” said [Paul] Loebenberg. 2026 January 31, Raphael Boyd, quoting Paul Loebenberg, “‘It’s ridiculous’: publicans bemused by rise of single-file queues to get served”, in The Guardian, →ISSN:

Forms

Deriveds

lemmingism · bog lemming · yellow steppe lemming · lemminglike · Eurolemming · steppe lemming · northern bog lemming · true lemming · Norway lemming · wood lemming · collared lemming

Synonyms

sable mouse

Translations (58)

fr mouton de Panurge (member of a group given to conformity or groupthink) · pl leming (rodent) · kl narlumukaaq (rodent) · nl lemming (rodent) · fi sopuli (member of a group given to conformity or groupthink) · eo lemo (rodent) · haw ʻawinaka (rodent) · sq leming (rodent) · mk леминг (rodent) · ru ле́мминг (rodent) · es lemming (rodent) · ro leming (rodent) · cs lumík (rodent) · mhr лемминг (rodent) · ka ლემინგები (rodent) · nn lemen (rodent) · fo læmingi (rodent) · de Lemming (rodent) · fi sopuli (rodent) · ckt гувчеԓкаԓгын (rodent) · kl maajooq (rodent) · is læmingi (rodent) · sma sluemege (rodent) · io lemingo (rodent) · sh leming (rodent) · it lemmo (rodent) · iu ᐊᕕᙵᖅ (rodent) · cy llygod Norwy (rodent) · ja 旅鼠 (rodent) · ko 레밍 (rodent) · fr lemming (rodent) · hy լեմինգ (rodent) · sl léming (rodent) · ru пестру́шка (rodent) · it lemming (rodent) · non lómundr (rodent) · da lemming (rodent) · pt lémingue (rodent) · nb lemen (rodent) · cmn 旅鼠 (rodent) · he לֵמוּס (rodent) · ja レミング (rodent) · fi laumasielu (member of a group given to conformity or groupthink) · sma luemege (rodent) · bg леминг (rodent) · mn хөвхөлжин (rodent) · sv lämmel (rodent) · bo འགྲུལ་བྱི། (rodent) · da lemming (member of a group given to conformity or groupthink) · pl leming (member of a group given to conformity or groupthink) · pl wyznawca (member of a group given to conformity or groupthink) · cy leming (rodent) · az lemminq (rodent) · pt lêmingue (rodent) · kk лемминг (rodent) · et lemming (rodent) · kl avinngaq (rodent) · ca lèmming (rodent)