lemming

noun

lem·​ming ˈle-miŋ 

1

: any of various small short-tailed furry-footed rodents (such as genera Lemmus and Dicrostonyx) of circumpolar distribution that are notable for population fluctuations and recurrent mass migrations

2

: one who mindlessly conforms to what others are doing or saying even if it is silly, harmful, etc.

… whenever something is really popular and you start doing it just as it becomes popular, you must ask yourself: Am I, too, a lemming?

—Sarah Miller

lemminglike

ˈle-miŋ-ˌlīk 

adjective

Lured by stock prices defying gravity and handsome bond yields, Americans have marched into the funds in lemminglike fashion.

—Penelope Wang and David Pauly

Examples of lemming in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

If those lemmings play along, the precedent will be devastating. —Dan Perry, MSNBC Newsweek, 8 Sep. 2025

Not knowing any better, the rest of the planner lemmings follow and use this technique. —Jay Adkisson, Forbes.com, 23 Aug. 2025

Loads of school children in matching hats are trotting around the grounds like lemmings to admire the home where Leonardo da Vinci spent the last three years of his life. —Joe Baur, Travel + Leisure, 17 Aug. 2025

However, these two lemming populations appear to have stayed genetically separate. —Stephanie Edwards, Discover Magazine, 30 June 2025

Word History

Etymology

Norwegian

First Known Use

1607, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Rhymes for lemming

• hemming
• stemming
• condemning

Kids Definition

lemming

noun

lem·​ming ˈlem-iŋ 

: any of several small short-tailed northern rodents with furry feet and small ears

especially : a European rodent that takes part in periodic mass migrations which often continue into the sea where large numbers are drowned