What is "hamster wheel"

n. 1 A circular cage for a hamster or other small rodent, which rotates vertically as the animal runs at the bottom. 2 (context figuratively by extension English) A monotonous, repetitive, unfulfilling activity, especially one in which no progress is achieved.

Hamster wheels or ' running wheel' are exercise devices used primarily by hamsters and other rodents, but also by other cursorial animals when given the opportunity. Most of these devices consist of a runged or ridged wheel held on a stand by a single or pair of stub axles. Hamster wheels allow rodents to run even when their space is confined. The earliest dated use of the term “hamster wheel”, located by the Oxford English Dictionary, is in a 1949 newspaper advertisement.