Dictionary

rat race en · NOUN

Pronunciation

• /ˈɹæt ˌɹeɪs/ (Canada, UK, US)
• /ˈɹæt ˌɹæɪs/ (Australia)
• audio Queensland

Etymology

From rat + race.

Meanings

1. (informal) An activity or situation which is congested with participants and which is hectic or tedious, especially in the context of a busy, modern urban lifestyle.
   • […] a 1950s-ish town, keeping a sense of community far from the superhighway rat race. 2006 May 14, Richard Corliss, “Get Your Motor Running”, in Time:
2. (broadly) The busy, modern urban lifestyle itself, especially when seen as a competition for wealth or power.
   • I was running away […] from my inability, although I am quite an attractive rat, to make headway in the rat-race. 1980 [1962], Ian Fleming, chapter 1, in The Spy Who Loved Me, →ISBN, page 3:
   • Echoing Allen Ginsberg, he contends that the suburban setting of “Father Knows Best” is most accurately seen as America's “ludicrous breeding ground for the young meat who will be fed into its wars and rat races and inhuman conformities.” 1989 April 30, Martha Bayles, quoting David Marc, “Taking Sitcoms Seriously”, in The New York Times, →ISSN:
   • Forget about the rat race / Let's do the Milkshake / Selling like a hotcake 1979, Robin Scott, “Pop Muzik”:
3. Inconsiderate or unfair competition, where the competitors are willing to use any means to win.

Forms

Deriveds

rat-race · rat racer

Translations (25)

sh trčanje u kotaču (activity which is hectic, tedious, and congested with participants) · pl wyścig szczurów (activity which is hectic, tedious, and congested with participants) · no rotterace (activity which is hectic, tedious, and congested with participants) · fr course folle (activity which is hectic, tedious, and congested with participants) · ru крысиные бега (activity which is hectic, tedious, and congested with participants) · es carrera de ratas (activity which is hectic, tedious, and congested with participants) · cmn 忙亂的活動 /忙乱的活动 (activity which is hectic, tedious, and congested with participants) · ga brú carnáin (activity which is hectic, tedious, and congested with participants) · no rotteres (activity which is hectic, tedious, and congested with participants) · it competizione sfrenata (activity which is hectic, tedious, and congested with participants) · fi oravanpyörä (inconsiderate or unfair competition) · pl wyścig szczurów (busy, modern urban lifestyle) · cmn 內卷 /内卷 (busy, modern urban lifestyle) · de Rattenrennen (activity which is hectic, tedious, and congested with participants) · it corsa sfrenata (activity which is hectic, tedious, and congested with participants) · hu pozícióharc (activity which is hectic, tedious, and congested with participants) · sv ekorrhjul (activity which is hectic, tedious, and congested with participants) · it corsa al successo (activity which is hectic, tedious, and congested with participants) · hu mókuskerék (activity which is hectic, tedious, and congested with participants) · fi oravanpyörä (busy, modern urban lifestyle) · da rotteræs (activity which is hectic, tedious, and congested with participants) · hu hajsza (activity which is hectic, tedious, and congested with participants) · cmn 惡性競爭 /恶性竞争 (inconsiderate or unfair competition) · fi oravanpyörä (activity which is hectic, tedious, and congested with participants) · pl wyścig szczurów (inconsiderate or unfair competition)