treadmill

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noun tread·mill \ ˈtred-ˌmil \

Definition of treadmill

1 a :a device having an endless belt on which an individual walks or runs in place for exercise or physiological testing

b :a mill worked by an animal treading an endless belt

c :a mill worked by persons treading on steps on the periphery of a wide wheel having a horizontal axis and used formerly in prison punishment

2 :a wearisome or monotonous routine resembling continued activity on a treadmill

the office treadmill

See treadmill defined for English-language learners

See treadmill defined for kids

Examples of treadmill in a Sentence

the treadmill of exhausting family schedules
the treadmill of the morning commute to work

Recent Examples of treadmill from the Web

From a more mundane, individual perspective, members are on a treadmill heading toward ever-poorer performance and accountability, as Lee Drutman and Steven Teles observed two years ago:

— ed kilgore, Daily Intelligencer, "Congress Is a Desert, Not a Swamp," 8 Aug. 2017
This new suit is light enough that with a decent battery, it could be used to help patients walk over terrain as well, not just on a treadmill.

— andrew wagner, Science | AAAS, "Watch a robotic exoskeleton help a stroke patient walk," 26 July 2017
Wake Forest's Baker puts seniors on treadmills at the local YMCA to avoid bumpy sidewalks.

— Bloomberg.com, "Lifestyle Changes May Help Stave Off Alzheimer's," 20 July 2017
Runners can work out on a treadmill facing a wraparound screen that puts them in a virtual Central Park.

— justin davidson, Daily Intelligencer, "The Strange State of New York’s Street-Level Retail Storefronts," 14 July 2017
Federica Mogherini, the EU’s foreign-policy chief, has been furiously working the Balkan diplomatic treadmill.

— The Economist, "CharlemagneThe EU must show the Balkans they still have a chance of joining," 13 July 2017
Try alternating between sprints and walking on the treadmill, or visit orangetheoryfitness.com for a class near you.

— lisa haney, Good Housekeeping, "How I Dropped 62 Pounds and a Bad Relationship," 30 June 2017
In this study, the researchers selected ninety-seven endurance runners (47 women) with diverse running backgrounds to perform, a discontinuous protocol of incremental treadmill running (4- minute stages, 1-kilometer per hour increments).

— NOLA.com, "Optimum Performance: Want to run faster then stop and read," 23 June 2017
The answer, according to a team at Carnegie Mellon University, is the combination of a genetic algorithm and a treadmill.

— john timmer, Ars Technica, "Researchers optimize a powered exoskeleton to cut energy used in walking," 23 June 2017

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'treadmill.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

First Known Use of treadmill

1822

treadmill Synonyms

Synonyms

drill, grind, groove, lockstep, pattern, rote, rut, routine

Related Words

daily dozen, regimen; housekeeping; custom, fashion, habit, practice (also practise), trick, wont; approach, manner, method, procedure, strategy, style, tack, technique, way; design, plan, program, scheme; convention, policy, tradition

TREADMILL Defined for English Language Learners

treadmill

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noun

Definition of treadmill for English Language Learners

: an exercise machine which has a large belt that moves around while a person walks or runs on it
: a boring or tiring activity, job, etc., in which you repeatedly do the same things

TREADMILL Defined for Kids

treadmill

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noun tread·mill \ ˈtred-ˌmil \

Definition of treadmill for Students

1 :a device having an endless belt on which an individual walks or runs in place for exercise

2 :a tiresome routine

Medical Dictionary

treadmill

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noun tread·mill \ ˈtred-ˌmil \

medical Definition of treadmill

:a device having an endless belt on which an individual walks or runs in place that is used for exercise and in tests of physiological functions — see stress test