lemming

Everyday

1. A lemming is a small, furry, short-tailed rodent that lives in cold northern lands such as the Arctic tundra. tree →
2. (figurative) A person who blindly follows the crowd, even into danger, is sometimes called a lemming. tree →

In the lessons

In science lessons lemmings come up in Arctic food chains: snowy owls, Arctic foxes and stoats eat them, and lemming numbers rise and fall in big cycles every few years. In everyday talk «like lemmings» means people following each other without thinking. Myth lesson: lemmings do not throw themselves off cliffs on purpose; a nature film long ago faked that scene.

Examples

• The lemming dug a tunnel under the snow. tree →
• Snowy owls hunt lemmings on the tundra. tree →
• Some years there are huge numbers of lemmings, and other years very few. tree →
• Lemmings are related to voles and hamsters. tree →
• Everyone rushed to the door like lemmings when the bell rang. tree →
• Don't be a lemming — think for yourself. tree →
• The Arctic fox pounced on a lemming hiding in the grass. tree →

Note

Plural «lemmings». Myth: lemmings do not commit mass suicide; that idea came from a staged film scene. Calling someone a lemming is a mild insult meaning they follow others without thinking. Spelling: double «m».