lemming
noun/ˈlemɪŋ/
/ˈlemɪŋ/
- a small animal like a mouse, that lives in cold northern countries. Sometimes large groups of lemmings migrate (= move from one place to another) in search of food. Many of them die on these journeys and there is a popular belief that lemmings kill themselves by jumping off cliffs.
- Lemming-like we rushed into certain disaster.
Word Originearly 18th cent.: from Norwegian and Danish; related to Old Norse lómundr.
Check pronunciation:
lemming