Skip to main content
Glite Dictionary
to chase its tail

to chase its tail

1 7.5
To keep doing the same task without getting anywhere
  • idiom
  • Informal
translation icon : dar vueltas en círculos

It was like the cat chasing its tail in a way.

Examples

  • It's a dog chasing its tail.

    Academic text (2007)

  • It's like a dog chasing its tail.

    Blog text (23)

  • Try to imagine a dog chasing its tail and succeeding.

    Academic text (2006)

  • That's chasing their tail and that was not what we allowed ourselves to do here.

    Blog text (31)

  • Most Americans spend their time chasing their tails, trying to make more and more money, only to squander it faster than they make it.

    Blog text (24)

  • The United States is about to enter a fiscal trap, chasing its tail just to pay off its creditors.

    Academic text (2010)

  • Christians are chasing their tail in a false paradigm.

    Blog text (3)

  • The committee spent hours chasing its tail instead of making a real decision.

  • If we keep arguing about this without a solution, we'll just be chasing our tails.

  • The company has been chasing its tail with endless meetings that lead to no progress.

Synonyms

to go through the motions
vsto chase its tail
  • Informal
26 5.0

To do something without real effort or interest because it is expected

means busy repetitive pointless activity rather than merely lack of real effort
to twiddling thumbs
vsto chase its tail
  • Informal
4 5.8

To do nothing while you wait for something to happen

refers to active pointless repetition rather than passive waiting idleness
to monkey around
vsto chase its tail
  • Informal
4 7.3

Waste time by acting silly instead of working

describes repetitive pointless effort often without playful or silly behavior
to mark time
vsto chase its tail
  • Informal
3 6.3

Spend time waiting without making progress, doing unproductive things

describes active repetitive pointless effort rather than passive waiting
to spin your wheels
vsto chase its tail
  • Informal
2 7.9

To waste time and effort without making progress

emphasizes repeated pointless activity rather than only wasted effort
to piddle
vsto chase its tail
  • Informal
1 8.7

To waste time doing small unimportant things

focuses on repeated pointless activity rather than simple idle wasting
to go round in circles
vsto chase its tail
  • Informal
1 5.2

To keep doing the same thing without making progress

applies to repetitive pointless action in general rather than mainly discussions
to potter around
vsto chase its tail
  • UK
1 6.5

To move around slowly doing small jobs in no hurry

is used for repeated pointless activity rather than gentle, relaxed idling
to chase one's tail
vsto chase its tail
  • Informal
7.7

To waste time on busy work and make no progress

is the same in meaning but uses a different pronoun form
to footle away
vsto chase its tail
  • UK
9.6

To waste time doing small, unimportant things

involves pointless repetition or lack of progress rather than mere trivial idling

Antonyms

to achieve
∞ 2.3

To reach a goal by effort or skill

to making progress
251 2.8

Getting better at a task or skill you are working on

How Productive

to deliver results
  • Jargon
3 3.7
progress
∞ 2.5
to chase its tail
  • Informal
1 7.5
to waste time
728 1.6

Surface Forms

chase its tail infinitive
chased its tail past
chased its tail past participle
chasing its tail present participle
chases its tail third person singular

Morphology

chase + its + tail

The literal image of an animal chasing its own tail is directly evoked by 'chase' + 'its' + 'tail', so learners who know the words can plausibly infer the idea of repetitive, pointless activity. However, the meaning is a metaphorical extension rather than strictly compositional; because it depends on pragmatic inference (though cross-linguistically common), it is not fully transparent.

Etymology

Chase its tail comes from the picture of an animal chasing its own tail, running round and round but not getting anywhere. So it means 'to keep doing the same, pointless work without real progress'.