chicken-and-egg
adjective
chick·en-and-egg
ˈchi-kᵊn-ən(d)-ˈeg 
-ˈāg
: of, relating to, or being a cause-and-effect dilemma
Examples of chicken-and-egg in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
There is a chicken-and-egg scenario here.
—
Liam Tharme, New York Times, 5 Oct. 2025
In summary, the chicken-and-egg problem of low renewable electricity and cheap hydrogen must be solved for green steel to go mainstream.
—Srishti Gupta, Interesting Engineering, 21 Sep. 2025
In other words, the key to answering this chicken-and-egg question for the stars within galaxies and the supermassive black holes also found within them is to sample those galaxies across cosmic time.
—Ethan Siegel, Big Think, 12 Aug. 2025
Domestically, American companies attempting to scale up their product face the chicken-and-egg challenge.
—Matthew Dawson, Forbes.com, 7 Aug. 2025
Automakers developing FCEVs have traditionally left this to third parties, leading to a chicken-and-egg situation where car adoption awaited infrastructure, and vice versa.
—James Morris, Fortune, 27 July 2025
However, the feature game is something of a chicken-and-egg situation.
—Amy Panos, Better Homes & Gardens, 17 July 2025
The total includes 38,000 new chargers — both DC fast-chargers and slower, Level 2 chargers — that were turned on in 2024, according to the federal Joint Office of Energy and Transportation.
State of play: EVs and charging have been a chicken-and-egg problem that's now getting a little easier.
—Thomas Wheatley, Axios, 30 Jan. 2025
There is the obvious chicken-and-egg nature of football fandom to consider.
—Jordan Campbell, The Athletic, 10 Jan. 2025
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Liam Tharme, New York Times, 5 Oct. 2025
In summary, the chicken-and-egg problem of low renewable electricity and cheap hydrogen must be solved for green steel to go mainstream.
—Srishti Gupta, Interesting Engineering, 21 Sep. 2025
In other words, the key to answering this chicken-and-egg question for the stars within galaxies and the supermassive black holes also found within them is to sample those galaxies across cosmic time.
—Ethan Siegel, Big Think, 12 Aug. 2025
Domestically, American companies attempting to scale up their product face the chicken-and-egg challenge.
—Matthew Dawson, Forbes.com, 7 Aug. 2025
Automakers developing FCEVs have traditionally left this to third parties, leading to a chicken-and-egg situation where car adoption awaited infrastructure, and vice versa.
—James Morris, Fortune, 27 July 2025
However, the feature game is something of a chicken-and-egg situation.
—Amy Panos, Better Homes & Gardens, 17 July 2025
The total includes 38,000 new chargers — both DC fast-chargers and slower, Level 2 chargers — that were turned on in 2024, according to the federal Joint Office of Energy and Transportation.
State of play: EVs and charging have been a chicken-and-egg problem that's now getting a little easier.
—Thomas Wheatley, Axios, 30 Jan. 2025
There is the obvious chicken-and-egg nature of football fandom to consider.
—Jordan Campbell, The Athletic, 10 Jan. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Chicken-and-egg.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/chicken-and-egg. Accessed 31 Oct. 2025.
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