in a rut
16
6.7
- idiom
- Informal
:
estancado
- After months of doing the same routine every day, I realized I was in a rut and needed a change.
- get in a rut
I wish I knew a bit more because I'm kind of stuck in a rut work wise.
- I wish I knew a bit more because I'm kind of stuck in a rut work wise.
- So if you're stuck in a rut, consider doing what successful people do.
- But they look dazzlingly fun, especially to someone who is feeling miserable and trapped and caught in a rut and no way out.
- When you work on a talk show, the most dangerous thing you can do is fall in a rut.
- We can feel so certain that it's right, that we can't even realize that we're stuck in a rut.
- I've been so stuck in a rut with the products I use on my brows that I really haven't explored other brands in a while.
- It felt like I like I just was kind of in a rut I guess.
- But because I've come so forward, I don't want to get back in a rut.
- And I feel like, you know, personally, I've seen that in my life where I'll get kind of stuck in a rut of, of grind.
- Like how many people that are stuck in a rut just struggle that that they've broken promises to themselves so many times.
- Don't want to get too stuck in a rut, but for myself, that was a very important foundation for my internal structure.
Examples
-
While the firm was not losing partners, it was, according to some news reports, stuck in a rut.
Academic text (2004) -
But that's also why it's so easy to feel like we're stuck in a rut, to feel like things are just mundane or monotonous.
-
The fact is, you guys, you got stuck in a rut.
-
Whatever, if you feel stuck in a rut, you can work your way out.
Blog text (24) -
We all find ourselves in a rut from time to time.
Blog text (11) -
I love learning new things, but it is so easy to get stuck in a rut.
Blog text (23) -
Well, my sad conclusion is that the environmental community is stuck in a rut and losing.
Blog text (27) -
Then we wonder why our relationships get stuck in a rut and we feel unhappy.
Blog text (3) -
So if you're stuck in a rut, consider doing what successful people do.
-
I've literally been stuck in a rut this past week, stressing over these story ideas.
Blog text (22)
Synonyms
353
1.0
Feeling not interested and tired from doing the same thing too much
62
5.6
A regular way of doing things that becomes hard to change
46
4.8
Not moving or changing and showing little activity
43
5.5
A fixed routine that is hard to change
3
6.3
Unable to move forward because of a physical problem or other difficulty
Not able to move forward because of a messy, difficult situation
Feeling unhappy and unable to make progress in work or life
Antonyms
How Stuck
Surface Forms
Morphology
The literal image of being 'in' a 'rut' (a groove or trench) gives a clear clue of being stuck or trapped, so a learner who knows the constituent meanings can plausibly infer some sense of being stuck. However, the extension to a habitual, monotonous or unproductive life‑situation is a metaphorical shift that is not fully predictable without prior exposure, so the expression is only partially transparent.
Etymology
The expression in a rut comes from old roads where wheels made deep tracks called ruts, and wagons could get trapped and not move easily. So saying someone is in a rut means they are 'stuck' in the same boring routine and cannot move forward.