to spin your wheels
2
7.9
- phrasal verb
- Informal
:
perder el tiempo
- If you keep analyzing the problem without taking action, you're just spinning your wheels.
- just spin your wheels
And so you can spin your wheels for weeks and sometimes months on end with no really solid feedback.
- And so you can spin your wheels for weeks and sometimes months on end with no really solid feedback.
- And you know when you are in those boxes and when you're struggling, stuck and struggling with those chains from the past, it's like you're spinning your wheels in mud.
Examples
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He realized he had been spinning his wheels instead of making real progress on his project.
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And so you can spin your wheels for weeks and sometimes months on end with no really solid feedback.
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And it might take you years and years of spinning your wheels to realize it.
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And how often you might spend a lot of your time actually spinning your wheels on something that the machine could actually handle, right.
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Do you ever feel like you are spinning your wheels?
Blog text (5) -
I think you'd just be spinning your wheels with me.
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It is hard to find work when you feel like you are spinning your wheels every time you try and get nowhere.
Blog text (4) -
If you're feeling like you've been spinning your wheels, try this:
Blog text (13) -
In the case of the Greens, the vote is certainly a start, but without the work added to it, you're pretty much spinning your wheels for the foreseeable future.
Blog text (29) -
When the time is right for your business to issue a request for proposal (RFP), there are several key considerations that can determine the difference between achieving your goals and spinning your wheels.
Blog text (22)
Synonyms
728
1.6
To spend time doing things that are not useful instead of doing something more useful
17
5.0
Move or act slowly and waste time, causing delay
4
7.7
To waste time by moving or acting slowly
3
5.5
Fail to make progress even when you try hard
3
6.3
Spend time waiting without making progress, doing unproductive things
1
8.7
To waste time doing small unimportant things
1
9.2
To spend time doing small unimportant things instead of working
1
5.2
To keep doing the same thing without making progress
1
7.5
To keep doing the same task without getting anywhere
1
7.5
To waste effort on something that cannot succeed
1
8.2
To try many times to do something without success and feel frustrated
1
9.9
To waste time doing unimportant or silly things instead of doing something important
1
9.9
To waste time instead of doing something useful
1
9.9
Spending time or effort on something that will not work
1
8.3
To waste time by being slow or unsure about what to do
To spend time on things that are not useful
To waste time on busy work and make no progress
Spend time or money on unimportant things
To waste time doing small, unimportant things
To waste time instead of doing something useful
To waste time instead of working
Antonyms
How Productive
846
2.0
- Jargon
3
3.7
9
3.5
- Informal
2
7.9
888
1.5
Surface Forms
Morphology
The phrase evokes the literal image of a wheel rotating in place so a learner who knows 'spin' and 'wheel' can plausibly infer a lack of forward movement and therefore wasted effort. However, the meaning is a metaphorical extension from a physical scenario to an abstract concept (wasting time/effort), so the mapping is not fully predictable for all B1 learners without some exposure.
Etymology
Spin your wheels comes from the image of a car stuck in mud: the wheels keep spinning but the car does not move. So, the phrase means 'to waste time or effort without making any progress'.