lemming
Plural: lemmings
Noun
- A small mouselike rodent known for periodic population explosions.
- any of various short-tailed furry-footed rodents of circumpolar distribution
- A small Arctic and Subarctic rodent from any of six genera of similar rodents.
- Any member of a group given to conformity or groupthink, especially a group poised to follow a leader off a cliff.
Examples
- He feared his opponent was playing ’LEMMING’-like, blindly following a losing strategy.
Origin / 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.
Synonyms
sable mouse
Scrabble Score: 12
lemming: valid Scrabble (US) TWL Wordlemming: valid Scrabble Word in Merriam-Webster MW Dictionary
lemming: valid Scrabble Word in International Collins CSW Dictionary
Words With Friends Score: 17
lemming: valid Words With Friends Word