rabbit hole
noun
: a complexly bizarre or difficult state or situation conceived of as a hole into which one falls or descends
I wanted to show this woman descending into the rabbit hole: this loss of self, becoming a servant to her job and to the work.—
Jessica Chastain
Jessica Chastain
especially
: one in which the pursuit of something (such as an answer or solution) leads to other questions, problems, or pursuits
While trying to find the picture again on Google, I fell down the Cosmo rabbit hole, scrolling through a gallery of swimwear, then through "How to Be Sexier-Instantly" and then through all 23 slides of "Sexy Ideas for Long Hair." —Edith Zimmerman
Edith Zimmerman Because it is so early on in this work it is easy to say that we are either at the edge of a remarkable new and useful science or that we are careering down an environmental rabbit hole. —Jack Hitt
Jack Hitt In the season-two premiere of HBO's Westworld, viewers were again tossed down a rabbit hole filled with theories, where one open door leads to many more closed ones. —Josh Wigler and Zoe Haylock
Josh Wigler and Zoe Haylock Synonyms
Examples of rabbit hole in a Sentence
shoreline residents are finding themselves helplessly falling down a rabbit hole in their Sisyphean efforts to halt beach erosion
Recent Examples on the Web
Clues lead them into the world of monsters and ultimately down the rabbit hole to Army officer Lee Shaw (played by Kurt Russell and Wyatt Russell), taking place in the 1950s and half a century later where Monarch is threatened by what Shaw knows.
—James Hibberd, The Hollywood Reporter, 11 Apr. 2024
Lauren Goode: That seems like of all the things to potentially fall down the rabbit hole on, a pretty virtuous one.
—Lauren Goode Michael Calore, WIRED, 4 Apr. 2024
These explainers will just lead you down a rabbit hole of even more explainers.
—Lawrence Hodge / Jalopnik, Quartz, 2 Apr. 2024
Coming from the comedy world themselves, the duo takes listeners down hilarious rabbit holes about pet peeves, dating dilemmas and life hacks.
—Emily Weaver, Peoplemag, 30 Mar. 2024
Television ‘The View’ hosts fell down the Kate Middleton ‘rabbit hole’ too.
—Nardine Saad, Los Angeles Times, 26 Mar. 2024
Like Alice in Wonderland, embracing the rabbit hole means exploring at every turn.
—Ann Kowal Smith, Forbes, 30 Mar. 2024
Basically, the whole world fell down the rabbit hole.
—David Gilbert, WIRED, 26 Mar. 2024
Many of those who fell down the royal rabbit hole in recent days quickly replaced their social videos with apologies and best wishes.
—Lauren Said-Moorhouse, CNN, 23 Mar. 2024
James Hibberd, The Hollywood Reporter, 11 Apr. 2024
Lauren Goode: That seems like of all the things to potentially fall down the rabbit hole on, a pretty virtuous one.
—Lauren Goode Michael Calore, WIRED, 4 Apr. 2024
These explainers will just lead you down a rabbit hole of even more explainers.
—Lawrence Hodge / Jalopnik, Quartz, 2 Apr. 2024
Coming from the comedy world themselves, the duo takes listeners down hilarious rabbit holes about pet peeves, dating dilemmas and life hacks.
—Emily Weaver, Peoplemag, 30 Mar. 2024
Television ‘The View’ hosts fell down the Kate Middleton ‘rabbit hole’ too.
—Nardine Saad, Los Angeles Times, 26 Mar. 2024
Like Alice in Wonderland, embracing the rabbit hole means exploring at every turn.
—Ann Kowal Smith, Forbes, 30 Mar. 2024
Basically, the whole world fell down the rabbit hole.
—David Gilbert, WIRED, 26 Mar. 2024
Many of those who fell down the royal rabbit hole in recent days quickly replaced their social videos with apologies and best wishes.
—Lauren Said-Moorhouse, CNN, 23 Mar. 2024
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'rabbit hole.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Dictionary Entries Near rabbit hole
Cite this Entry
“Rabbit hole.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/rabbit%20hole. Accessed 22 Apr. 2024.
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