chase one's tail
Proposed by a contributor, not yet supported by evidence.
Meaning · English
To spend time on a task that is pointless or achieves nothing
Literally: a dog chasing its own tail
Where it’s used:
Used
Widespread English
Examples
The team has been chasing its tail with this project for months
AI-drafted example auto-approved by rule (illustrative, not a corpus attestation)
Sources & notes
Listed in Wiktionary’s “English idioms” category (retrieved 2026-07-29); definition pending editorial review. Definition drafted by AI (@cf/meta/llama-3.3-70b-instruct-fp8-fast) and auto-approved by rule on 2026-07-30; pending editor spot-check.
Common questions
What does “chase one's tail” mean?
To spend time on a task that is pointless or achieves nothing Literally: a dog chasing its own tail
Is “chase one's tail” formal or informal?
No register label has been reviewed yet — treat it as neutral and check the usage notes above.