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
The collapse in demand during the COVID years exacerbated those annoyances, leaving those running the systems and the people who use them in an awkward chicken-and-egg dance: If service expands, will demand match it?
—
The Editorial Board, Chicago Tribune, 2 Jan. 2026
That chicken-and-egg problem challenges the dream of the old physics: that once the universe’s fundamental particles were cataloged, everything else could be explicitly described and predicted.
—Adam Frank, The Atlantic, 15 Dec. 2025
One example is the chicken-and-egg question of Hamas’ disarmament and Israel’s committing to ending the conflict.
—Howard Lafranchi, Christian Science Monitor, 10 Oct. 2025
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
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The Editorial Board, Chicago Tribune, 2 Jan. 2026
That chicken-and-egg problem challenges the dream of the old physics: that once the universe’s fundamental particles were cataloged, everything else could be explicitly described and predicted.
—Adam Frank, The Atlantic, 15 Dec. 2025
One example is the chicken-and-egg question of Hamas’ disarmament and Israel’s committing to ending the conflict.
—Howard Lafranchi, Christian Science Monitor, 10 Oct. 2025
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
Cite this Entry
“Chicken-and-egg.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/chicken-and-egg. Accessed 7 Feb. 2026.
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