lemming

UK: /ˈlɛmɪŋ/ US: /ˈlɛmɪŋ/ ,(lem′ing)

WordReference Random House Learner's Dictionary of American English © 2026

lem•ming /ˈlɛmɪŋ/   n. [countable]

1. Mammals a small, mainly arctic animal like a rat, noted for its mass migrations that sometimes result in mass drownings in the sea.

WordReference Random House Unabridged Dictionary of American English © 2026

lem•ming  (lem′ing), n. 

1. Mammals any of various small, mouselike rodents of the genera Lemmus, Myopus, and Dicrostonyx, of far northern regions, as L. lemmus, of Norway, Sweden, etc., noted for periodic mass migrations that sometimes result in mass drownings.

• Norwegian; cognate with Icelandic lǣmingi lemming, lǣmingr loon; akin to Gothic laian to revile, Icelandic lā to blame
• 1600–10

Collins Concise English Dictionary © HarperCollins Publishers::

lemming / ˈlɛmɪŋ/ noun

1. any of various volelike rodents of the genus Lemmus and related genera, of northern and arctic regions of Europe, Asia, and North America: family Cricetidae. The Scandinavian variety, Lemmus lemmus, migrates periodically when its population reaches a peak
2. a member of any large group following an unthinking course towards mass destruction

Etymology: 17th Century: from Norwegian; related to Latin latrāre to bark

ˈlemming-ˌlike adjective