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lemming
(lemɪŋ)
Word forms: plural lemmings
1. countable noun
A lemming is an animal that looks like a large rat with thick fur. Lemmings live in cold northern regions and sometimes travel in very large numbers.
2. countable noun [usually plural]
If you say that a large group of people are acting like lemmings, you are critical of them because they all follow each other into an action without thinking about it.
[disapproval] The French crowds pour like lemmings down the motorway to Paris.
lemming in British English
(ˈlɛmɪŋ)
noun
1.
any of various volelike rodents of the genus Lemmus and related genera, of northern and arctic regions of Europe, Asia, and North America: family Cricetidae. The Scandinavian variety, Lemmus lemmus, migrates periodically when its population reaches a peak
2.
a member of any large group following an unthinking course towards mass destruction
Derived forms
lemming-like (ˈlemming-ˌlike) adjective
Word origin
C17: from Norwegian; related to Latin latrāre to barklemming in American English
(ˈlɛmɪŋ)
nounWord forms: plural ˈlemmings or ˈlemming
any of various small, mostly arctic rodents (family Cricetidae) resembling mice but having short tails and fur-covered feet: some species (esp. genus Lemmus) undertake spectacular mass migrations at peaks of population growth, ultimately drowning while trying to cross the sea
Word origin
Dan < ON læmingi, lemming, orig., prob. “barker” < IE echoic base *lā- > L latrare, to bark, lamentum, lamentImage oflemming
© BMJ, shutterstock
Examples of 'lemming' in a sentencelemming
Word lists withlemming
rodent- recollect
- recollected
- recollectedly
- recollectedness
- recollection
- recollective
- recollectively
- recollet
- recolonisation
- recolonise
- recolonization
- recolonize
- recolor
- recolour
- recomb
- recombinant
- recombinant dna
- recombinant dna technology
- recombination
- recombinational
- recombine
- recomfortless
- recomforture
- recommence
- recommencement