Lemming
Definition, Meaning & Examples
Pronunciation /lɛm.ɪŋ/ · Part of speech noun
Quick meaning: Lemming is a noun meaning A small arctic and subarctic rodent of the tribes Lemmini, Dicrostonychini and Lagurini.
Meaning
A small arctic and subarctic rodent of the tribes Lemmini, Dicrostonychini and Lagurini.
More Meanings
- (figuratively) Any member of a group given to conformity or groupthink, especially a group poised to follow a leader off a cliff.
Example Sentences
Lemmings are strongly cohesive, but could be, in organisational terms, highly destructive for the business.
Like a lemming, I followed the crowd, got to the right line and was concentrating hard when queried by the customs officer.
“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.
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.
Word Forms
- lemmings
Related Words
Related dictionary entries include collared, mouse, vole, microtine, fingerling, dipodine.
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Sources & Attribution
FreeDictionaryAPI.com / Wiktionary · Original source · CC BY-SA 4.0
Dictionary data is provided by FreeDictionaryAPI.com and sourced from Wiktionary under its stated license.